The Witcher (2019)

The Witcher (2019), created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, based on the stories written by Andrzej Sapkowski, starring Henry Cavill, Freay Allen, Anya Chalotra, Joey Batey, Eamon Farren

Most people came aware of the Polish fantasy series The Witcher the time CD Projekt Red released a game bearing the title, starring white-haired mutated monster hunter, Geralt of Rivia. Still, for most Geralt was just a character in a game, as not many necessarily realized that his origins were in the world of literature, him being a creation of a Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. As the games were a hit, the literary works of Sapkowski began slowly to pour outside Poland and now we are finally here, where his works have been adapted into a Netflix series. 

Unlike the games, the series is an adaptation of the novels of Sapkowski. The world and the people in it have been in the games as well, but narratively CD Projekt set the games taking place after the official novels and the original author had no hand in the writing.

The eight episodes of the Witcher consist of three overlapping narratives. The framing story is about Cirilla (Allen), the princess of Cintra, who has to escape her home after the Niflgaard invasion. Before her death, Queen Calanthe (Jodhi May) urges her granddaughter to find Geralt of Rivia (Cavill) who is to be her destiny. Geralt, on the other hand, is used as a device of introducing the viewers to the mythological side of the world the series is set in. A bard Jaskier (Batey) (Dandelion for those who have played the games) following at his heels, the white-haired monster slayer travels the lands in the seek of coin and monsters. Yennefer of Vengerbeg (Chalotra) shows the ropes with the magic of the world as well as the political intrigues of the brotherhood of mages.

The events told in each episode take place at different times. Yennefers story is the oldest. Despite her looking young, it's the magic she uses that keeps her alive and young. Cirillas tale is the current events and Geralt is from somewhere in the middle. Yennefer and Geralt cross paths several times during the story and only during the last episode do all the events reach each other.   

Geralt's parts of the series are the most independent. While he meets with Yennefer on several occasions, Geralt's stories tell of his work, his profession and his personality. They tell of how the things around him shape him and how he shapes the world he lives in. Geralt tries to be an objective observer, staying clear of politics and ideological squabbles. Being objective is the witcher way of doing things, but he rarely manages to stay out from making decisions. In the end, objectivity is not Geralt's strongest suit and the decision he makes tie him up to the future of the free world, no matter what he would want.

Yennefer is tied closely to the political aspects of the world, albeit her story is also of personal growth. Before becoming a mage, Yennefer was a deformed farm girl, shunned by people. She wanted what she thought she could not get, acceptance and love and perhaps even power. Fate frees her of her former life when she turns out to be a powerful conduit of chaos, the source of magic. This ability to control chaos allows her to escape her former life. It even allows her to reshape her appearance.

Cirilla is the mystery of the series, tied to Geralt by the Law of Surprise, a debt promised him by her parents. She also is at part a reason why Nilfgaard attacks Cintra, her having powers of her own she isn't quite yet aware of. At her heels runs Nilgaardian commander Cahir (Farren), who is hellbent on catching her, no matter the cost.

I had very little expectation of the Witcher series. Fantasy is a hard thing to do, but in the end, Netflix managed to pull it off. Sure enough, the series does at times look rather cheap, especially when some of the more fantastical monsters are on screen or if there's a large fantasy cityscape insight. But it still works, mostly thanks to the script and strong acting.

Cavill as Geralt does a good job, but the real standouts are Anya Cholatra, and Jodhi Mays queen Calanthe. In many ways, their roles end up being the backbone of the whole first season. As a whole, the acting is pretty solid, even with characters that could be somewhat hammy like Jaskier, who is a downright contemporary character in the midst of the fantasy characters.

So, yeah. The Witcher ended up as a surprisingly pleasant surprise. A couple of first episodes are somewhat uneven, sprinkled with some stuff that works and some that feels a bit off. But after the series finds its stride, I'd dare to claim it to be the best fantasy series since the first season of Game of Thrones.

The next season for The Witcher has already been slater from the 2021 release. Here's hoping Netflix won't drop the ball. And maybe they could put a couple of more bucks into the SFX teams as well. And perhaps they could even do something to the ballsack armour of the Nilfgaardians. I know they are dicks and all, but it doesn't have to be so literal.

With that, I'd recommend any fantasy fan to at least check out a couple of first episodes. If you know the world of Witcher only through CD Projekts games, be aware, that this iteration looks different, as it is an adaptation of the books, not the games. As for how loyal they are to books, I can't say, as they still are on my "to-read list", which is quite extensive. So I'll ramble more about that later if I ever get that far.