The Witcher

:

Season 1
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Dec 20, 2019
Season #: 4, 3.5, 3, 2, 1
User Score
7.5

Generally favorable reviews- based on 2682 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 2,028 out of 2682
  2. Mixed: 201 out of 2682
  3. Negative: 453 out of 2682

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  1. Bubber
    Dec 21, 2019
    5
    It's not horrible, but it's a missed opportunity to make a great series due to poor adaptation and the way they felt the need to add forced diversity to the cast plus other progressive ideas that just don't fit in the Witcher universe.

    Overall disappointed.
  2. starilent
    Dec 21, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The story telling is a mess. Too hurry and chaos. The parts of Yennefer and Geralt are good, and the actor and actress perform very well in my opinion. But the timeline and most characters' relationship are not good. They tried to make you feels sad when some character die, but you might not have time to know these character. And even though I think Yen's part are good, this character isn't charming as she is in the original books and games. She's childish, cynical. The show didn't convinced me, that she is the woman who Geralt would suddenly falls in love with her.

    And I don't thing people who hasn't read the original books or played the games will fully understand what happened in the show. Because they cut a lot of important and key in formations out, like what is a witcher, where they come, why people hate them, what is Dryad, why human fears them(they looks like normal human in the show)...etc.

    The musics and battle scene are good. But the visual effects feels very cheap.

    Overall, it's not a bad show, but is not good as well.    … Expand
  3. VonSeux
    Dec 20, 2019
    4
    Don't you feel disconnected from the show when everything, even light, is post processed, and so... Fake? I do not care about book or game fidelity but this is just not good drama.
  4. DizzyStyle
    Dec 23, 2019
    6
    Actually this isn't bad but... It's Witcher. This should be EPIC. Instead they create something usual.
    - Not canonical
    - Misscasting (triss, yen and other girl roles - no comments) - Poor backgrounds (scenes/actions/graphics) - Too mush tolerance for brutal east European fantasy This film try to please everyone but instead this film just please too much tolerant and casual people.    Actually this isn't bad but... It's Witcher. This should be EPIC. Instead they create something usual.
    - Not canonical
    - Misscasting (triss, yen and other girl roles - no comments)
    - Poor backgrounds (scenes/actions/graphics)
    - Too mush tolerance for brutal east European fantasy
    This film try to please everyone but instead this film just please too much tolerant and casual people.
    Witcher is brutal, no comprise and dark fantasy. But this is just a netflix teleshow.    … Expand
  5. Orestes
    Dec 20, 2019
    5
    What I miss the most is good dialogues and good acting. Cavill as Geralt is fine, but the rest of the cast is an abomination. I cannot empathize with any of the characters, they al seem modern actors not prepared to incarnate pithy fantasy characters. The dialogues obviously do not help at all. I don't believe in this mythology that they are trying to convey, their words doesn'tWhat I miss the most is good dialogues and good acting. Cavill as Geralt is fine, but the rest of the cast is an abomination. I cannot empathize with any of the characters, they al seem modern actors not prepared to incarnate pithy fantasy characters. The dialogues obviously do not help at all. I don't believe in this mythology that they are trying to convey, their words doesn't communicate reliability or seriousness. I miss real drama in here. People tend to think that fantasy worlds cannot have dramatic plots, rich narratives and poetic backgrounds, but that was precisely what made Game of Thrones so big. The photography is nice, the setting location was a good choice (thumbs up for the Canary Islands) and even the fighting choreography is pretty decent. I give them that. Nevertheless, I will never take this tv show seriously because it lacks authenticity and credibility. The actors and actresses are not believing in their lines. It's like watching puppets (Not Herson's puppets, that's otherworldly). They are dressed and equipped with fantasy kits but they don't believe in fantasy as a legitimate genre. The show hasn't got a soul. It has beautiful facade but not a single glimpse of heart. It is really dissapointing to see once again how producers take fantasy for granted as a tradable currency. Good fantasy requires a tremendous delicacy and touch and over all good lines for the characters, to make them feel alive and important.… Expand
  6. caramba45
    Dec 21, 2019
    6
    Unfortunately, the Witcher cannot defeat the Game of Thrones. What catches the eye, the miscast of some actors, the low budget of many scenes, in the first episodes there is a very torn narration and poor work with the original source. But the last episodes are getting rid of some of these problems, I hope that further the series will change in the same direction. Very pleased with theUnfortunately, the Witcher cannot defeat the Game of Thrones. What catches the eye, the miscast of some actors, the low budget of many scenes, in the first episodes there is a very torn narration and poor work with the original source. But the last episodes are getting rid of some of these problems, I hope that further the series will change in the same direction. Very pleased with the game of all the actors, many give their best and the soundtrack is incomparable.
    But the question remains open whether this series was really needed or whether it was better to create your own stor?    … Expand
  7. KUTC
    Jun 19, 2020
    6
    I guess it's okay. As someone who have read the books, the first season seemed not as confusing as for people who just met this series, but at the same time some moments were painful to watch - a lot of adaptation imagination.
  8. enk1du
    Dec 20, 2019
    6
    I have mixed opinion about first two episodes but, man, this show is growing after with every episode, and it has very strong ending.
  9. winzentween
    Jan 25, 2022
    5
    Season 1 review: Im a huge fan of all things witcher so trust me when i say it's not terrible but sadly it's far from good. Though the cgi IS truly terrible at times, as are the shockingly cheap sets. The acting is too often confused and wooden as the script is a complete mess. All likley due to the weak direction and a total lack of quality control. Not sure who to blame but it's likelySeason 1 review: Im a huge fan of all things witcher so trust me when i say it's not terrible but sadly it's far from good. Though the cgi IS truly terrible at times, as are the shockingly cheap sets. The acting is too often confused and wooden as the script is a complete mess. All likley due to the weak direction and a total lack of quality control. Not sure who to blame but it's likely the show runner who has a track record of hit and miss projects. Sadly this is no game of thrones! It does get better as it goes along (but not by much) though it's just so much worse than the books or game or even the anime. The brand deserves so much better. The anime despite it's own problems really nails the feeling of what it is to be a witcher while this show doesn't have a clue. It's embarrassing at times how cheap and lazy the production is. I believe Henry has actually taken tips from fans for s2 because he had as much of a clue who Geralt was.. as the show runner. It's a real shame as the casting is excellent as is the source material. The show is technically based on the books but clearly the games as well even if its not officially acknowledged. The show is much like xena and hercules but not as fun. It's also inexplicably dumb at times but this might be due to the misuse of the giant budget. Also It is all filmed in a weird disconnected order to its detriment as it confuses viewers. I believe this was the show runner attempting to make the missteps in production more interesting in editing. Maybe season 2 will be better now it's so popular. I Hope so. Worth a look but keep expectations low. Like really low...as there are equal good parts as there are clunky stinking ones :.

    Also if you do love the games go watch the nightmare of the wolf anime first. It's meant to help with season 2 but it's just so much truer to the brand than much of season 1. 6/10

    Ggg    … Expand
  10. Turbodowg
    Jan 2, 2020
    5
    The Witcher is okay... it never gets close to brilliance, but it isn't terrible either. It's somewhere in between passable and average.
    It lacks the magic that made both the books and the game so brilliant, but it does have some strong points; mainly Henry Cavill. He play's Geralt to almost perfection and looks exactly like the character in the game. The series would have worked much    The Witcher is okay... it never gets close to brilliance, but it isn't terrible either. It's somewhere in between passable and average.
    It lacks the magic that made both the books and the game so brilliant, but it does have some strong points; mainly Henry Cavill. He play's Geralt to almost perfection and looks exactly like the character in the game. The series would have worked much better if the focus was on Geralt, taking on a new Witcher contracts and fighting a different monster of the week each episode.
    Instead the series attempts to introduce the viewer to a ridiculously large cast of characters over a long period of time within the eight episodes, which ultimately leaves each character feeling flat. The story feels messy and without any on screen dates, or a map it is very hard to follow when and where the story is taking place.

    The other major issue is that they made some strange choices with the casting of characters, forced diversity is squeezed into every shot to fill Netflix's bizarre and over the top diversity quotas. It just looks out of place having POC I a show based on Polish folklore. The show also focuses way to much on the female characters and side-lines Geralt.
    Triss was completely miss-cast and badly written and many of the other characters you will not care about.
    Visually The Witcher looks good, but lacks any grand vistas or scenes that made the game so spectacular. The CGI monsters are ropey and would have looked a lot better if they had been physically created.
    Apart from all the poor stuff mentioned above, I did really enjoy a number of the episodes, Betrayer Moon been amongst my favourites as it feels the most suited to a Witcher TV show.

    As a fan of the games and books I’m pleased they made the show, and hopefully if it gets a season 2 it will be improved. I’d certainly recommend it to fans to watch (for curiosity) but I can’t see any non-Witcher fans getting much enjoinment from it.    … Expand
  11. nbassano82
    Dec 24, 2019
    6
    The pacing and editing of the show are pretty bad. The multiple timelines are unforgivably confusing. Having read the books and played the games I knew what was going on but struggled to figure out why it was put together as such. A lot of it seemed really illogical. Overall the cast is fabulous and without them the show would not be watchable. I’m hoping as with the novels that after theThe pacing and editing of the show are pretty bad. The multiple timelines are unforgivably confusing. Having read the books and played the games I knew what was going on but struggled to figure out why it was put together as such. A lot of it seemed really illogical. Overall the cast is fabulous and without them the show would not be watchable. I’m hoping as with the novels that after the (fist two) things pick up and follow a more traditional narrative that makes for a much more compelling story. I’m hopeful.… Expand
  12. Kheliko
    Dec 23, 2019
    4
    Henry and Anya are great and the action is solid. That said the terrible time skips ruin any type of build up. Very little world building or lore is given. I guess they assume you should know? Ciri's story should of been put thru out the final 3 episodes instead of the entire season. 2 episodes could of easily been combined since they are almost exactly the same footage with Geralt beingHenry and Anya are great and the action is solid. That said the terrible time skips ruin any type of build up. Very little world building or lore is given. I guess they assume you should know? Ciri's story should of been put thru out the final 3 episodes instead of the entire season. 2 episodes could of easily been combined since they are almost exactly the same footage with Geralt being in one of them to show he was there. Just poor decisions when editing this togather. I do hope it manages a season 2 to give it the respect it needs.… Expand
  13. Neeedles
    Dec 23, 2019
    6
    Fight scenes are great. Henry is great as Geralt. Freya is a good Ciri, but im still not convinced Anya was the best choice for Yen, even tho her acting skills are amazing for sure. The music is absolutely great.
    The cinematography needs to improve in season 2 as well as a lot of the CGI.
    The camera work as well, and the effect where only the middle part of the screen is sharp while the    Fight scenes are great. Henry is great as Geralt. Freya is a good Ciri, but im still not convinced Anya was the best choice for Yen, even tho her acting skills are amazing for sure. The music is absolutely great.
    The cinematography needs to improve in season 2 as well as a lot of the CGI.
    The camera work as well, and the effect where only the middle part of the screen is sharp while the top and bottom are kinda blurred which is in every episode needs to go, its horrible. There are times at which the camera angle and sometimes bad CGI make the show seem amateurish.
    I cannot speak much about the writing as i've read the books and writing these stories the way they are in the show seems kinda easy and maybe even lazy.
    If you read the books you'll be dissapointed at how much this is stripped down and rushed to make room for Yen's origin story which is boring and irrelevant. Unnecessary changes to the story throughout. No room to breathe or soak in the witcher atmosphere. Too much focus on Yennefer cause she's a strong WOMAN character and don't get me wrong, her character deserves the attention just not this early in the story and not at the mercy of the short stories. Also making her the ultimate hero goes against the essence of the books where noone is really a hero.

    The show is quite decent but needs to improve in season 2 and follow the books more because even now in season 1 some things just dont make sense the way they are.(SPOILER) Like Ciri hugging Geralt who she'S never met before etc.

    Hope next season get's more episodes and doesn't have to jump all around and fleshes out the story more.    … Expand
  14. MNEMENT
    Jan 2, 2020
    6
    It's ok. But it's NOT the real witcher. I like a people with money finally see goods in this GREAT witcher story. But they step away and loose sense of the original. In books there is much more moral, good jokes, hard actions, better fights and more real characters. In this TV show characters are good or bad. It's too simple. In books all characters have good and bad sides. This make toIt's ok. But it's NOT the real witcher. I like a people with money finally see goods in this GREAT witcher story. But they step away and loose sense of the original. In books there is much more moral, good jokes, hard actions, better fights and more real characters. In this TV show characters are good or bad. It's too simple. In books all characters have good and bad sides. This make to read so interesting, because it's not so predictable as TV show. If TV show auditory should be kids, then why are so many **** on the screen. If auditory should be 16+ (18+), then why characters and problems so simple and where is a real Witcher? I hope it will come some time, but not too late! Like "Lord of the rings" in it's time.… Expand
  15. LordCrash
    Dec 28, 2019
    5
    People tend to compare the Witcher to Game of Thrones but that's probably the wrong take. The show never wants to be any serious and it never actually tries to achieve any depth or nuanced meaning that would elevate it above the usual cheesy sword and sorcery pulp fantasy. The Witcher is more like a 2019 version of Xena or Hercules. It's an anachronism that acts like Game of Thrones andPeople tend to compare the Witcher to Game of Thrones but that's probably the wrong take. The show never wants to be any serious and it never actually tries to achieve any depth or nuanced meaning that would elevate it above the usual cheesy sword and sorcery pulp fantasy. The Witcher is more like a 2019 version of Xena or Hercules. It's an anachronism that acts like Game of Thrones and other groundbreaking TV shows in the past 10 or 20 years never happened and that shows like Xena or Stargate were still the pinnacle of great TV entertainment. The show can only be seen as naive fun but not as anything with a serious message or story. It's only fitting that its budget seems to be severly limited, resulting in poor costumes, ridiculously poor attle scenes, completely unbelievable medieval weaponry and fighting and bad CGI and special effects.

    The Netflix adaption also shows no respect and has no understanding of its own source material. It lacks all the core strings of the novels, like the Slavic melancholia, its nuanced but very down to earth dialogues, its lifelike and nuanced characters, its complex political and societal elements, and most important, everything about Geralt's and Ciri's relationship and the true meaning of destiny. It only adds to the the show's mediocrity that it has a terrible "telling instead of showing" habit that results in bad dialogues and many repetitions. The show also only rarely cares to show its characters motivations. They just act because they plot needs them to act in a certain way.

    If the prospect of a shallow pulp fantasy show with the flair of the old cheesy sword&sorcery series of the 1990s and early 2000s the Witcher might be exactly your kind of thing. Or maybe you only want the characters from the games be part in a series? Have fun watching it, it won't do you any harm. Anybody looking for a deep and nuanced show that builds upon everything that happend in the genre in the past 10 years or a show that transports the core elements of its source material should maybe skip and watch something else - or just (re-)read Andrzej Sapkowski's fantastic novels.    … Expand
  16. QACritic
    Dec 23, 2019
    5
    TL;DR :Bad choices in story telling and casting make the Witcher series lose what made the Witcher books/games interesting.

    I see a lot of fans reviewing unrealistically either giving it a 10 because they ae fans and love the Witcher games/books and want this to succeed or a 0 by the fans who are pissed of that the show is kind of average virtue signaling bs that does not work with the    TL;DR :Bad choices in story telling and casting make the Witcher series lose what made the Witcher books/games interesting.

    I see a lot of fans reviewing unrealistically either giving it a 10 because they ae fans and love the Witcher games/books and want this to succeed or a 0 by the fans who are pissed of that the show is kind of average virtue signaling bs that does not work with the Witcher setting. The reality is that this show is just average TV with nothing to recommend to anyone new and disappointing for existing fans. So a rating of 5 to 7 is the best it cloud do given the production company the show runner that does not understand the source material and Slavic mentality that produced the Witcher books and what made them unique as compared to the **** of similar fantasy drivel available by native English speakers.

    The only character from this show that are good are: the actors for Geralt, Queen Calante, Mousesack, Eist.Pavetta and Tissaia everyone else is not portrayed well either due to directing/writing or bad acting (although this is not much of an issue).
    Very little left of what made the books and games interesting (read all and played all). I had low expectations due to the "diversity hires" (which make for some WTF moments) but that is the least of the problems in the show. The main problem is the story telling, you get most of the end at the beginning which could work if the series was a movie and moved way faster than it does. The bad interweaving of the different story line makes things even worse because it is just pointlessly confusing especially for people new to the series (if you are one of those please read the books they are much better). The really missed opportunity is that the first two books that this season is based on are composed of short stories that could have made good introductory season.. After that there is enough content for at least 2-3 seasons.
    Yennefer should have been a supporting character until she was needed for the story instead we got a lot of torture porn that ruined her character based on a few lines of guessing by Geralt in the books, it does not help that the actress cannot convey a character that has age and experience hiding behind a pretty face instead we have a petulant child as Yennefer.

    Comparing this to GOT is a joke since this is a 3 compared to seasons 1-4 of GOT and barely better than season 8.    … Expand
  17. AzorAhai98
    Dec 22, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. A moment of silence for the slavic people. The TV Show is based on a slavic book series, yet there are more black people and Indians than slavs. The showrunners are using a beautiful slavic fantasy story for their political agenda.
    Horrible casting, costumes,music and boring storytelling. They even managed to make the battle sequences boring. Henry Cavill is the only good thing in this whole mess.    … Expand
  18. TwiTu
    Jan 1, 2020
    5
    Its watchable. But not that great.
    The virtue signalling undertone is very present and destroys this fantasy with politics from the real world. Thats that. But even if you ignore that, the casting and actors arent that great either, mostly very bad actually. The actors playing Yennefer and Geralt are the best, yet they cant really save this series from mediocrity, and even if they are    Its watchable. But not that great.
    The virtue signalling undertone is very present and destroys this fantasy with politics from the real world. Thats that. But even if you ignore that, the casting and actors arent that great either, mostly very bad actually. The actors playing Yennefer and Geralt are the best, yet they cant really save this series from mediocrity, and even if they are good actors, they were still badly cast. Geralt simply doesnt look like He-Man, like this actor does.

    The writing is bad, too. You feel as if youre dropped into a hot pot of stuff you have to know but dont know. Especially if youre not great with names this will confuse you a lot at the start.

    You never get a feeling of epicness like in the games or books. It feels childish and cheap, best comparable to Hercules or Xena. Even though it uses a lot of nudity and gore. They think (judging from the sad music) that you feel for this or that character, that this or that character dies, yet you dont feel anything for them, because the series never establishes their character well and makes the dialogues very weird and awkward, unnatural. Its worse than on The Walking Dead. The story feels extremely rushed, as if they try to explain the whole Witcher universe in just a few hours. Maybe it should have had 24 episodes instead of just 8. But I guess thats just signs of the time. Characters and their personalities arent important anymore, because we live in a very anti-social time because people are mostly sitting at home, not having much social interaction anymore - and thats me saying, who isnt really the biggest social interactive person either.

    The jokes are unfunny, mostly because you cant really build up a relationship to the characters because of the reasons I already mentioned.

    People comparing this to Game of Thrones have obviously never watched Game of Thrones. I cried like a baby many times when people died in GoT or something bad happened to them. Here I dont even flinch.
    Its like comparing a Lada to a Maybach.
    I get that some people are starved for a fantasy series after the end of GoT, but this is in no way a substitute.

    Oh yeah, and the excessive use of colored contact lenses (sometimes they wear them, sometimes they dont, sometimes they are not centered, sometimes they are) also add to the childishness of this series. It looks completely unbelievable. Directors should know that in the age of 4K resolution.    … Expand
  19. Cesium06
    Jan 1, 2020
    5
    I'm a huge fan of the Witcher. I play Gwent regularly. I've read the some of the books. I've played all of the games. However, this show is still pretty mediocre. Odd pacing. Most parts fairly unenjoyable and unnecessarily drawn out. Anytime Geralt is on the screen it's an enjoyable adventure. I found myself skipping ahead to get back to the parts with him in it.
  20. julius98
    Jan 2, 2020
    6
    Fun enough, but dragged down by some really horrendous writing and poor characterisation of Geralt.
  21. BillyBobSusanMa
    Jan 2, 2020
    6
    Henry Cavill does a great job as the Witcher, pretty good show generally, would of given it a 8 if it wasn't for the seemingly obligatory Wokey forced Diversity crap that permeates everything these days,

    seems Medieval Fantasy Europe was far more "Progressive" than 100% Black Wakanda?
  22. Hawk235
    Dec 23, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Как фанат книжной саги пришел в ужас от сценария и повествования. Смысл каждого книжного рассказа исказили почти во всем,а где не исказили приходиться додумывать самому. Ну и финальная сцена это что такое было вообще? Как можно было слить самую трогательную сцену в книге? Цири бежит обниматься к человеку,которого никогда не видела. В книге у них был мотив - они встречались в Брокилоне и привязались к друг другу. А тут добавили ту же сцену, но вырезали главное. При этом зачем-то еще вплели сюда Ренфри,что Геральт должен искать какую-то лесную деву и он поэтому побежал в лес,а Цири типо узнала его из снов и побежала обнимать незнакомца. Это равносильно,что я сейчас кого-то увижу во сне и потом встречу его в жизни и побегу к нему обниматься. просто гениальная завязка сюжета!… Expand
  23. gorg
    Dec 22, 2019
    6
    I feel that the opportunity to make a truly great tv show based on the Witcher universe is utterly wasted. The writers butchered and cut very important bits out of the beautiful short stories of The Last Wish by giving them very little time to properly unfold, in order to provide time for the backstory arcs of Ciri and Yen, which are not really that necessary (although truth be told thereI feel that the opportunity to make a truly great tv show based on the Witcher universe is utterly wasted. The writers butchered and cut very important bits out of the beautiful short stories of The Last Wish by giving them very little time to properly unfold, in order to provide time for the backstory arcs of Ciri and Yen, which are not really that necessary (although truth be told there are some interesting bits in the new additions to the story). There are also several inconsistencies regarding worldbuilding and the geography of the Continent and the timeline is kinda broken. The writing is average and cringy sometimes, the performances are decent for the most part, Cavill is good as Geralt, Chalotra didn't really convince me as Yen, and Allan is alright I guess. I can't say the show overall is bad, but for a guy that has read the books before the show, it just wasn't enough, the books are a 9/10 where the show is a 6/10. The only thing that watching the show really did for me, was reigniting the desire to go back and read the Witcher Saga for the fifth time.… Expand
  24. Poisonedblade
    Dec 21, 2019
    4
    Henry Cavill did a great job as Geralt, and the effects and music are pretty good.
    But the writers are the Butchers of Blaviken. The story skips back and forth so much, it feels like you're reading chapters of the books in random order. I doubt people new to the series can follow the story. When you do this, you ruin the character and story arcs, so the audience stops caring.
    Another    Henry Cavill did a great job as Geralt, and the effects and music are pretty good.
    But the writers are the Butchers of Blaviken. The story skips back and forth so much, it feels like you're reading chapters of the books in random order. I doubt people new to the series can follow the story. When you do this, you ruin the character and story arcs, so the audience stops caring.
    Another issue is the forced diversity. Every group of people needs 1 black person. This is historic fantasy, not the Twitter offices in SF. It becomes a distraction and you aren't going to get black people to watch the show just because a few boring side characters are black. Nobody is that racist. This is like remaking the 7 Samurai with a Mexican, Black dude, a Woman, Gay White Guy, and 3 Japanese guys. Nobody cares about race quotas and it ends up being a distraction.
    The Witcher features:
    1 black dryad. Just one.
    1 black elf . Just one.
    1 black elite guard in Cintra. Just one.
    1 black sorceress. Just one.
    If Vesemir was in this, he'd probably be played by Kevin Hart to fill the 1 black guy quota.
    Netflix should have had Geralt kill a monster per ep, and in the season story arc, fill in the progress of the Nilfgaardian Army. Also post the year when you need to skip a head. 1272 Temeria... 1273 Cintra...    … Expand
  25. aksakal
    Dec 21, 2019
    4
    I finished all games and never tried books so I'm comparing show to the game series.
    Overall I can rate the show as average. Average for Netflix, not average overall. Picture is boring. I don't rate Game Of Thrones as high as others but I have to admit that it has a really nice picture and Witcher is not even close.
    There are no Polish/Slavic culture references at all. It was a nice pick    I finished all games and never tried books so I'm comparing show to the game series.
    Overall I can rate the show as average. Average for Netflix, not average overall. Picture is boring. I don't rate Game Of Thrones as high as others but I have to admit that it has a really nice picture and Witcher is not even close.
    There are no Polish/Slavic culture references at all. It was a nice pick for the in-game atmosphere and made it a bit different from other games. Netflix removed it completely.
    I feel no witcher spirit in the show too. It's just another typical middle age Europe with some magicians and creatures just like in many other tales/fantasy books.
    Geralt doesn't match with my in-game experience. He is too shiny and occasionally emits pathos. It's definitely not what I expect. I assume that he was Hollywoodized for the main audience but it came with the price of a lost spirit. Is it a Geralt of Rivia or Conan's The Barbarian little brother?
    Storytelling is too fast for me. I like to either know the story behind the character or just meet the stranger without any backstory. The choice obviously depends. Witcher show is right in the middle. I see some backstory but it's short and fast so it's hard to draw a reasonable picture of a character in the head. Also a horde of characters appear in initial episodes so it's hard to keep track of who is who. I want to see a slower pace! Make it step by step. Don't focus on just the main story. Give us some side stories for secondary characters too.
    All these problems are bad enough to make me pay zero attention to multiple missed casts and black elves. By the way, I haven't spotted any Asian people. Why are they missing? Isn't it a racism too? Why?
    I finished 3 episodes so far and that's it. I don't see any reason to continue at this point but I have to admit that it could be way worse so I hope that Netflix can improve it in upcoming seasons.    … Expand
  26. PlacidDragon
    Dec 31, 2019
    6
    Its a season with a lot of promise of what might be at some future point, but Netflix is not there yet. At this stage, its mostly a jumbled mess. Acting is a.. ,mixed bag, CGI is also a very mixed bag. Some of what they did looks very good, other things looks like it came from a computer game in 1995 (that the very first moments of the series, the Kikimora fight has terrible CGI doesn'tIts a season with a lot of promise of what might be at some future point, but Netflix is not there yet. At this stage, its mostly a jumbled mess. Acting is a.. ,mixed bag, CGI is also a very mixed bag. Some of what they did looks very good, other things looks like it came from a computer game in 1995 (that the very first moments of the series, the Kikimora fight has terrible CGI doesn't exactly sell the series to the random watcher)..

    The fight choreography is very good, and i'll omit the story entirely to avoid spoilers :)    … Expand
  27. EFRAM
    Dec 25, 2019
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. When will any streamer, or for that matter any network at all create a show that has fantasy in reality structure and not based on a series of books which cannot ever be plowed into a reasonably watchable scripted series. Such is the case with The Witcher, an uneven oft times annoying treatment of the video game and subsequent books that came before it. A usually loquacious and amiable Henry Cavill is relegated to grunting monosyllabic answers and surly undertones. The storyline is a wandering mishmash of "you're supposed to already know the language and dialogue and dialects of the inhabitants of The Witcher milieu" tropes. I wanted to like the series, but again I was both annoyed and disturbed by the lack of great storytelling this kind of material needs. And lets not forget the Bard who makes his appearance in episode 2, to the dismay of both and Gerald of Rivia and everyone else I have canvassed. Come on Netflix, lets dispense with this adaptation of novels and video games and give some real show runner creators a chance to create something totally original and geared towards an audience that is hip, smart, and waiting for you and Amazon and Apple TV and Hulu and Peacock and everyone see to step up to the plate.(At least Amazon tried to do this with Carnival row, which I am sad to say was also a miss the mark presentation) the Wticher, for all its video game and novel appeal is a distinct disappointment.… Expand
  28. Redfrod
    Dec 20, 2019
    4
    if you are not familiar with Witcher. You haven't read books or played games, then you will like this series, but for me it's something strange and it's nothing to do with the names of the heroes here.
  29. donjcast002
    Dec 22, 2019
    6
    The only character I like on this show is Geralt of Rivia being portrayed by Henry Cavill. Jaskier (Dandelion) is alright and Yennefer is okay. The rest of the cast is meh and I must say, both Triss and Fringilla are horribly miscast. The fight scenes are entertaining, but not epic like LOTR. I wish they didn't modernize it and just stuck to what was in the books because it's hard to lookThe only character I like on this show is Geralt of Rivia being portrayed by Henry Cavill. Jaskier (Dandelion) is alright and Yennefer is okay. The rest of the cast is meh and I must say, both Triss and Fringilla are horribly miscast. The fight scenes are entertaining, but not epic like LOTR. I wish they didn't modernize it and just stuck to what was in the books because it's hard to look at some of these characters knowing they aren't supposed to be there. The last two episodes I started to get a bit bored and just wanted it to end.… Expand
  30. Olbery
    Dec 21, 2019
    5
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The plasticine ears of elves and the red-faced features of the face of their king, who is dressed as a bum. Banquet hall in aretus with loft-style walls of broken brick and tables with crackers at the reception of all the kings of the north is also ok? And the fact that Gerart’s embarrassment simply dragged the castle all night, while she was gutting the rest in a split second, did she fall in love in any other way? And the mine in Temeria where they walked along the floor with a vacuum cleaner - otherwise it is difficult to explain that cleanliness. Black Elf. Nilphs who run scattered on heavy cavalry, and that in turn is waiting until they get closer to a distance of 20 meters are also normal? Yenifer, who fell into a couple of minutes to wait until they brought her sleeping pills and suffered infernal torment - is this justified right? The Volttest, which looks like a greasy unwashed drunk (he was even better in the Polish series) was normal too? Dryads with crossbows, and an intrusive incomprehensible glow in the forest. The dragon looks cartoonish. They killed Myshovur, who lives and lives in the book - why was this done? The battle at Sodden is generally some kind of shame - where is the epic, a hundred nilfgaards - is this the great battle at Sodden?

    P.S. I will add that Geralt, Buttercup and Cyri turned out to be very good. The color palette and the music are very good. The battle scenes look impressive and delight the general plans of nature and Cintra. I hope in the second season there will be more budget and more logic in the script.    … Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Most Discussed TV Season of 2019
77
#77 Most Shared TV Season of 2019

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
Metascore
53

Mixed or average reviews - based on 17 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 6 out of 17
  2. Mixed: 8 out of 17
  3. Negative: 3 out of 17
  1. The Independent
    Reviewed by: Nick Hilton
    Jan 3, 2020
    40
    The Witcher is a messy tangle of plotlines in a world underdeveloped to the point of obscurity.
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  2. The Telegraph
    Reviewed by: Ed Power
    Jan 3, 2020
    60
    As a mindless fantasy rollercoaster, Geralt’s journey is five stars all the way to tea-time. Sadly, for those who like brains with their brawn, it may be more of a slog.
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  3. Time
    Reviewed by: Judy Berman
    Dec 20, 2019
    30
    It takes a while for viewers to learn how these characters are connected, via an exasperating Westworld-esque narrative knot that takes much of the season to unfurl. ... The Witcher heightens our confusion by fumbling details that would have helped it set a cohesive tone. Dialogue vacillates, from line to line, between theatrical fantasy-speak and modern colloquialisms (“Dragons are, in fact, a thing!”).
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