The Witcher - Netflix Spoilers

Pawwed Rig · 05-01-2022 10:53am

Christ Is Stranger Things still going? I loved season 1 but gave up half way through season 2 as I had no interest in a teenage romance story and the character of 11 was changed beyond all recognition (and not for the better).

Might be a bit controversial here but while I am enjoying the Witcher I don't think the lead actor is very good. He seems very wooden and deliberate in the way he gets the character across. Maybe purposely so.

seraphimvc · 05-01-2022 11:56am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118419831#Comment_118419831

It is the same girl (abit older aha), the fun fact is that she has her eyebrows dyed blonde in S1 but did not do that in S2 (due to the actress doesn't want to hurt her natural eyebrows etc) so maybe because of that.

I thought I enjoyed S1 more on overall aspects (production, acting, story and pacing), while S2 has some good stuffs as well (Jaskier, Ciri and Henry Cavill) - an ok S2. The thing that bothers me most is actually the generic storytelling that impacts the overall quality of the season. I am not even a witcher game fan (seen the game but not played it myself) but I know who is Yennifer, Trish, Ciri (who doesn't aha), so I couldn't care less on the details in plot but even I get this generic/cliches impression from the story.

What i heard is that Henry Cavill actually made the writers to rewrite some parts of the plot to make it more reasonable/faithful to the source material - i read that as he is holding the writers' hands to do their job so of course we see overall quality drops for S2. There is barely any characters development this season (basically just Ciri) and episodes feel dragged on at times. Jaskier was annoying in S1 to me, but somehow he saved many moments in S2 for me ha.

On the plot (again I couldn't care much but I feel that the writers dropped the ball this season and/or they should have more time to develop their drafts), the noticeable bothering parts that i could remember (ill spoiler tag just in case):

Tissaia/brotherhood party does basically nothing but took much screen time -

I still couldn't get over the fact that Tissaia was incapacitated by some magic powder just like that and did nothing in the end of S1. And then S2 this supposedly superior witch teacher showed no powerful magic again etc lol. Not sure if this is a budget issue (CGI) or is there any reason they don't dare to show more of her.

Yennifer -

Obviously I still cant get over the fact that she looks nothing like the Yennifer that the internet knows - but come on, what a convenient plot that she lost all her powers throughout S2 facepalm and proceed to be a pure plot device in S2, she is like a 'tagged along' really, no character development/decision making/thinking on her own - all these making the final 'sacrifice' scene not moving at all.

and Witcher's base which is supposedly a hidden fortress -

Now anyone can just come and go aha.

I do find that part where the witcher boss tried to use potion on Ciri amusing as I thought that's some effort from the writers to deviate from the source material (i looked up wikia aha), makes me worry for her a bit, and whether they might kill off Ciri this way aha.

Henry Cavill - maybe I am biased because I really like the lad but ya S2 he didn't shine much - just Geralt being Geralt and does Geralt things. I get a feeling that he is helping/trying to fix the overall plot and that his character gets less attention to work on.

Overall, to me, it feels like the writers tend to opt for the 'easy' plot that they have recycled thousands times in tv shows/movies, S2 just feels so generic and full of cliches, low effort writing (and I really can't remember anything smart from it) than S1. Maybe I expected too much but Witcher3 adaptation (since they jumped right into it for S2) is supposed to be THE witcher season with amazing stories and plots no?

Sudden Valley · 05-01-2022 3:55pm

To be honest the Yen plotline was necessary as by the end of season 1 she had become a bit of a mary sue , all powerful arrogant perfect. She had to show her wits to get out of some situations. Just disappointed they haven't combined the book and game Triss and give the character something to do

Need a Username · 10-01-2022 10:29pm

I watched Kaer Morhen yesterday and was very surprised by the other Witchers not having white hair and yellow eyes.

I thought all Witchers looked ike that and that it was how people knew they were Witcher.

So why do the other Witchers look like regular people? The black guy with the burns on his head had different coloured eyes (or seemed to) in a couple of shots.

Plus they were all very emotional - all the time

as soon as the Kin Bodnia appeared as the mentor I was sure something was going to kill him before the episode was done :p so it was a pleasant surprise to be wrong :)

Need a Username · 10-01-2022 10:31pm

Also, how do I stop alerts for some threads?

Pawwed Rig · 11-01-2022 10:19am

Triss is a confusing character. She seems to have appeared randomly to be a main character without bothering to show the back story that the other mains got. I understand she has high importance in the book but just seems odd in the series.

Sleepy · 11-01-2022 6:04pm

Loved season 2 myself, the linear story-telling worked far better (does make me wonder if a re-edit of Season 1 would make the show more popular - my other half was extremely dubious about starting a second season but ended up loving it.

Need a Username · 11-01-2022 7:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118456707#Comment_118456707

No a re-edit would be terrible

And why do you think it would be more popular?

are you suggesting people were put off by the three timelines?

I doubt it because if you are a newcomer to the Witcher then you don’t know there are three timelines until they reveal in the show

Padre_Pio · 11-01-2022 8:21pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118457225#Comment_118457225

People were definitely confused by the timelines. They even referenced it in Season 2.

Need a Username · 11-01-2022 10:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118457493#Comment_118457493

If people are confused by season 1, I doubt a anything can be done to help them.

Need a Username · 11-01-2022 10:35pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118457855#Comment_118457855

The politics is very straight forward. Nilfgaard has invaded and destroyed the rulers of Cintra and will do the same to other kingdoms. In the episode I saw last they’ve started an alliance with Elves who used to be in a position of power until an event called the Convergence (I think)

I’ve come to to the thread to ask question about the mythology - sometimes becasue I have forgot what is said in the show previously and sometimes because I’m impatient to wait for for when they explains thing more.

I don’t think there is too much for a person to absorb. They certainly explain enough as they go along to just enjoy it.

Pawwed Rig · 11-01-2022 11:22pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118453909#Comment_118453909

So I just finished season 2 and don't know what the point of Triss was.

Decent action scenes in the last episode. It probably needs to be a couple of episodes longer to pad out the politics of the various actors.

Padre_Pio · 12-01-2022 2:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118458191#Comment_118458191

That's a fair opinion, but it's not one universally held.

https://www.ign.com/articles/witcher-season-1-timeline-confusing

pixelburp · 12-01-2022 7:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118458191#Comment_118458191

It was confusing in the sense of being structurally muddled, and made intentionally unclear how all the three main threads tied together - or didn't as the case turned out. There wasn't any real payoff or point so just made the decision to have all the stories occur across different times a bit pointless.

Still enjoyed the show mind so didn't keep me up at night - while thoroughly enjoying season 2. A very brazenly pulp fantasy show, happy to wear its vulgarity on its sleeve without seeming too exploitational.

Penn · 12-01-2022 9:01am

The trouble with Season 1 was that because so many of the characters don't age or age far more slowly, there was little to distinguish the passage of time. But then even Jaskier knew and met Geralt before the party episode with the Law of Surprise thing, yet 14-15 years later now that we've reached where we are with Ciri's age, Jaskier still looks the same even though he's just human.

I think showing the year on-screen for the first shot of each of the main three characters in each episode would have helped a lot. They definitely can't re-edit it and put it in chronological order though, because the first few episodes would be great with Geralt and Yenn, and then we'd get 3-4 episodes of just Ciri p*ssing round the woods for 3 episodes until Geralt and Yenn come back.

I can see why they went with the different timelines, they just needed to do a better job earlier to let the audience know we were seeing things on different timelines.

sydthebeat · 12-01-2022 9:12am

I didn't even realise there were three different time lines in season 1, I thought there was two....

pixelburp · 12-01-2022 9:14am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118459388#Comment_118459388

Yeah, the on-screen year would have solved a lot.

Penn · 12-01-2022 9:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118459408#Comment_118459408

Yeah I think the Yenn/Geralt timelines are different for the first few episodes until they meet.

sydthebeat · 12-01-2022 9:21am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118459428#Comment_118459428

That's makes sense, though I only saw it as "the past" and "the present"

plastic glass · 12-01-2022 9:30am

Loved the 1st season. But really disappointed with season 2. Believe it or not I found season 2 more confusing than season 1. Characters kept popping up that were seemingly important and I kept trying to remember if I had met them before or not.

I think a big problem of the show is that bad a few of the main characters the secondary cast is really really below par. Compare that to something like GoT where the ensemble cast for the most part was flawless. For some shows you can get away with having a sub par ensemble but it doesn’t work here. I realise every show can’t have the budget of GOT but I would have liked a bit more thought going into the casting of the wider cast, and indeed the writing of these characters. I feel this is a common theme in Netflix shows. Strong central cast but after that the quality drops

Need a Username · 12-01-2022 9:32am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118459190#Comment_118459190

There isn’t anything confusing in the mixing of the timelines.

I’d understand a brief confusion when and/or after the reveal occurs

I don’t know the purpose of the link - did they an audience poll? Internet “reporters” are not none for fact checking or research

Penn · 12-01-2022 9:45am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118459456#Comment_118459456

I have to agree. I nearly wonder is it a budget thing more than anything else. I was surprised Kristofer Hivju (Tormund from GoT) was brought in for one episode this season to play a monster, and then in the very next episode we're introduced to Lambert who Hivju would have been absolutely ideal to play.

With GoT, most of the older actors are ones you'd at least recognise from something else, even if it was a fairly minor role in a movie or show. I barely know any of the actors from The Witcher bar the obvious ones.

Sleepy · 12-01-2022 10:17am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118457225#Comment_118457225

The jumping timelines with no indication of what was taking place when was confusing for the casual viewer who's a newcomer to the story. I've never played the games nor read the books. Penns suggestion of showing the year on screen would have been a big help for the likes of Mrs Sleepy who had to ask "didn't she die already?!" a couple of times during the first season and who I had to cajole into giving season 2 a chance...

I take the point that a re-edit may have left later episodes wanting as siri bounced around the forest etc. but that could have been easily dealt with by adding an extra two episodes and intercutting those scenes with "Monster of the Week" side quests for Geralt.

Pawwed Rig · 12-01-2022 10:24am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118459463#Comment_118459463

It confused me

Sad Professor · 12-01-2022 11:23am

I agree about a lot the supporting cast being weak or miscast. I found the other witchers this season totally forgettable. Also the actress who plays Fringilla seems a bit out of her depth, though the writing may be part of the problem. I'd say a lot of money is going to Cavill and the producers have to be selective how they spend the rest. However I think this happens with all tv shows to some extent. Producers decide what part of the production is most important to them and where to spend. Even GOT - it spent a lot of money on sets and actors but in its early seasons it also hired a lot of mediocre tv directors who shot episodes like they they were a soap opera. It wasn't until later seasons that they started bringing in the big name directors who brought a proper sense of scale to the show.

pixelburp · 12-01-2022 9:57pm

Hit the halfway point and yeah, definitely feeling this season more than the last. Structurally flows better, characters feeling a bit more purposeful for the most part, all with their own clear goals and objectives - compared with season one's slightly ad hoc, almost improvised feel. Don't really notice any issue of acting TBH, seems fine to me; nothing offensively bad that it has ever pulled me out of the episode.

Only quibble might be the show still throws out the odd important, world building detail through mumbled or blathered dialogue, leaving a need to think what was just said. It can be a little bad with Geralt, Henry Cavills grumbling occasionally a little hard to understand.

Oh, and Jaskiers follow-up wasn't a patch on Toss a Coin. Ah well, lol.

Sonics2k · 13-01-2022 10:24pm

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118452378#Comment_118452378

Geralt has white hair as after completing the Trial of Grasses, he was subjected to additional trials, as he was apparently able to withstand more than most of the kids that took it, and that caused his hair to go white.

The yellow eyes thing is slightly less clear, all Witchers are described as having cat like eyes, but usually in a yellow/orange shade. I noticed a few of them appeared to have 'normal' eyes, which seems like a strange choice

De Bhál · 15-01-2022 1:53am

Enjoyed season 01, but had to push through to the end of season 02 just to be done with it. Got very bored with it. Not sure why, maybe just wasn't in the mood.

May have been me and not the show

Dyr · 15-01-2022 11:18am

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/118478307#Comment_118478307

Why would you "push through" multiple episodes of something that you did not enjoy?

Take a look through this forum for people constantly doing similar. Netflix has managed to make people consume low grade shite voluntarily, it's actually genius on their part.

The Witcher - Netflix **Spoilers**

Comments

The Witcher - Netflix Spoilers