The Witcher

:

Season 2
  • Network: Netflix
  • Series Premiere Date: Dec 20, 2019
Season #: 4, 3.5, 3, 2, 1
User Score
3.9

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 803 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 231 out of 803
  2. Mixed: 106 out of 803
  3. Negative: 466 out of 803

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User Reviews

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  1. Hellohound3
    Jan 1, 2022
    10
    Overall, the 2nd season of "The Witcher" takes a very good step forward. The narrative structure is now clearer (although the first season also had a charm with it). It becomes clear that those responsible want to leave the episodic structure of Season 1 behind in order to slowly work towards a larger story, a great fantasy epic. Therefore 10 stars. Hopefully there will also be a 3rdOverall, the 2nd season of "The Witcher" takes a very good step forward. The narrative structure is now clearer (although the first season also had a charm with it). It becomes clear that those responsible want to leave the episodic structure of Season 1 behind in order to slowly work towards a larger story, a great fantasy epic. Therefore 10 stars. Hopefully there will also be a 3rd season. The series deserves it.… Expand
  2. Ranulf_Anduran
    Dec 31, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The director spits at what is in the books and spreads her sick ideology. They bought the film rights to give it a familiar title, otherwise no one would be watching it.… Expand
  3. MorriganPet
    Dec 30, 2021
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Bad news!...instead of creating the world and characters that we viewers can identify with and share the journey together, Netflix has gone for cheap tricks of shock and awe (killing of Eskel -by Geralt, what's more -Geralt would never do that,last resort he would offer himself)and then Yennefer cutting her wrists!...Again!...well, shock is there bvut no awe...disgust is what we are left with.
    One good change...Geralt looks delicious the girls say...and the boys would like to be like him!
    The ugly scar is gone...and Geralt is not an arrogant prick and an imbecile to boot, lioke he is in the game Wild Hunt.
    One thing though about the scar...when we get to Skellige i'll miss ("nice scar, want to see mine")    … Expand
  4. GOONER759
    Dec 30, 2021
    0
    Bad storyline. Boring episodes. What a disappointment. Don’t waste your time.
  5. krzy_chu
    Dec 30, 2021
    2
    THE WITCHER RUINED. The Witcher could be a good series, but the writers showed zero respect for the source material. The novels are good. What they did with them is just stupid and pathetic. Why? Books are rich and full of great ideas – there was plenty of them to choose from. You don't have to change and ruin characters that people love. Unless you think you know better. But you don't.THE WITCHER RUINED. The Witcher could be a good series, but the writers showed zero respect for the source material. The novels are good. What they did with them is just stupid and pathetic. Why? Books are rich and full of great ideas – there was plenty of them to choose from. You don't have to change and ruin characters that people love. Unless you think you know better. But you don't. Novels are art. This definitely isn't.… Expand
  6. jurkiewka13
    Dec 30, 2021
    1
    This season is a PROFANATION of everything the Witcher has to offer. The world of The Witcher is multidimensional, and each character is not unequivocally good or bad. The series looks realy flat against the background of books - everything is black and white, and the viewer is treated like an idiot. Everything that is good in the books has been turned into a vision of screenwriters thatThis season is a PROFANATION of everything the Witcher has to offer. The world of The Witcher is multidimensional, and each character is not unequivocally good or bad. The series looks realy flat against the background of books - everything is black and white, and the viewer is treated like an idiot. Everything that is good in the books has been turned into a vision of screenwriters that is illogical and bland. I appreciate the work of Henry and Joey, but the rest of this show is a tragedy. I'm not waiting for season 3. I go back to books and games to forget what I saw in season 2 of this thing.… Expand
  7. xn_Buba
    Dec 30, 2021
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. To coś nie powinno zostać nazwane Wiedźminem, bo obok Wiedźmina to nawet nie stało.
    Gówniana gra aktorska większości obsady (tylko Henry Cavill odegrał swoją rolę bardzo dobrze), scenariusz ulepiony z błota posklejany na ślinę, zamienienie Eskele w Lamberta v2 a potem w drzewo.
    TEN SERIAL TO J***** żart.    … Expand
  8. Arutrax
    Dec 30, 2021
    0
    Imho the series goes downaward in a spiral since ep. 2. Really sad. Wish we had more character bulding and eastern european flaovour in that series. I mean The Witcher is greatly based on polish folklore, not neo-american hipster ****
  9. TKO
    Dec 30, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Terrible.

    This season destroys more original characters than it kills monsters.

    Everyone is dumb, 100 years mages and witchers act like teenagers. The show spends most of it's time on B team subplot, with B level actors and CW level writing. Prepare to skip forward a lot.    … Expand
  10. Rydhar
    Dec 30, 2021
    1
    This thing can only be called a profanation of Sapkowski's work, the script looks as if it was written by a 12-year-old on the basis of the book's cover. If anyone expects to see in this thing... a good Witcher story in a cruel, racist, greyish world full of deep moral dilemmas and intrigues, it is better not to even start it, and best to forget that such a thing was ever made.
    The plot is    This thing can only be called a profanation of Sapkowski's work, the script looks as if it was written by a 12-year-old on the basis of the book's cover. If anyone expects to see in this thing... a good Witcher story in a cruel, racist, greyish world full of deep moral dilemmas and intrigues, it is better not to even start it, and best to forget that such a thing was ever made.
    The plot is completely chaotic and nonsensical, while the first episode is quite good, the following episodes make people completely brainless (do you really have to explain every emotion and event to the viewer because the viewer is, according to them, so dumb that he does not understand it?). Construction of characters and the world does not exist, it lacks any authenticity, the kings are shown as total pigs without brains, generally the image of the world saying "look how patriarchal and chauvinistic it is, but women are strong and the greatest" and probably that's all that **** focused on, but the best thing is this, But the best part is that the effect is completely opposite, as a viewer it felt like the women in this fanfic were ridiculed, shown in the most stereotypical way possible, devoid of any elegance, seriousness, calculating and intelligence that in the book basically controlled the world from the back seat. This series only leaves some of the more clever donkeys in the form of women further portraying them as annoying mood swings. Also if Lauren's goal was to promote strong women then something went wrong.
    Another issue regarding world building is. the distance, all the scenes feel like they're just across town. For the uninitiated, kaer morhen was far to the north in the keadween, the only people who knew the way there were the witchers of the wolf school and those to whom the witchers had told the location of their habitat, the rest of us could not have known, but anyway it took months to get to kaer morhen from cintra, and according to the series it was a small castle maybe 20 minutes away from the larger cities that even the whores knew the way to.
    All of the above are just the tip of the iceberg of **** that this series is. Lauren is telling fans of the books and games that she doesn't care about their opinions, that she doesn't care about making a good series based on the book and keeping the level. It was created by a person who doesn't understand the Witcher phenomenon, doesn't understand why people love it so much, she despises the source material, doesn't give a damn whether it's going to be good or not, it's obvious that she has no idea what this world looks like, so she created another generic fantasy series as if it was based on Xene or Hercules but with the Witcher tag attached to it, so it's just a cash grab and it's just a way to kill the popularity of the title.

    The good part is of course Henry trying to save it as much as he can, but he can't do it. The special effects are also on a good level, and that's about it, because everything else is hopeless if you still call it The Witcher, but if you call it something else and don't refer to the world of The Witcher then it's just a generic fantasy series that you can play in the background.    … Expand
  11. konraddddd
    Dec 30, 2021
    1
    There is no logic in decision made by characters and results of them. Racism problem reduced to long ears = embarrassing simplification. And so on, and so on. Movie Makers resigned of books and they goal to stupid audience.
  12. Wilk33
    Dec 29, 2021
    1
    Oczekiwałem adaptacji książek Wiedźmina a nie całkowicie nowej i na domiar złego, to słabej historii ni jak związanej z światem i historią z książek.
  13. lavnes123
    Dec 29, 2021
    3
    The Witcher as a series should not describe itself as an adaptation of A. Sapkowski's prose, but as a creature in the witcher-like world. However, ignoring this, judging the series without going into the source material, it is nothing more than an average, banally simple, not requiring thinking and commitment creation, differing only in slightly better special effects than fantasy seriesThe Witcher as a series should not describe itself as an adaptation of A. Sapkowski's prose, but as a creature in the witcher-like world. However, ignoring this, judging the series without going into the source material, it is nothing more than an average, banally simple, not requiring thinking and commitment creation, differing only in slightly better special effects than fantasy series from the 90s, such as Xena: Warrior Princess. It is a bit sad to see such a wasted potential.… Expand
  14. Zappy9
    Dec 29, 2021
    5
    It was okay but not as good as the first season. Was a very generic script writing style. Just standard Ciri is the key to everything and a big bad guy is on his way. Yadda yadda. There wasn't really much story or depth to the season. Nothing really interesting happened.
  15. Warspender
    Dec 29, 2021
    3
    Зачем нужно было так поступать с книгой, бездарная работа сценариста и эта постоянная повестка. Это славянское фантази, если вы собаку назовете кошкой она ей не станет. Это славянское фантази
  16. scyre
    Dec 29, 2021
    9
    I've read the whole saga and i absolutely disagree with much of the negative revivews. The show is worth to look at & in no way as bad as reviewed here.

    Get to your own decision, thats all i'm saying.
  17. Ff7re_violates
    Dec 29, 2021
    0
    Why?
    Lets make sex and the city for men and The Witcher for women... or whoever this adaptation is supposed to cater to. Why try and make a square peg fit a round hole? This show has this exact disconnect. Trying to force a "fix" onto something that wasn't broke. Look at the witcher video games and try to figure out why they are beloved even though they have unique stories in the world and    Why?
    Lets make sex and the city for men and The Witcher for women... or whoever this adaptation is supposed to cater to. Why try and make a square peg fit a round hole? This show has this exact disconnect. Trying to force a "fix" onto something that wasn't broke. Look at the witcher video games and try to figure out why they are beloved even though they have unique stories in the world and why this show is not loved the same way. Please just try and understand what you are doing wrong here Lauren    … Expand
  18. theTRUTHson
    Dec 29, 2021
    3
    Season 2 is disappointing. This is not how you do Witcher.

    Not enough action, not enough tension, not enough epic moments, not enough humor, not enough Geralt.

    Too much filler, too much build up, too much information thrown at the viewer, too many actors that don't fit the part (Yennefer).

    It's a pity but at least it's a motivation to pick up the books again.
  19. TomWish
    Dec 29, 2021
    5
    I know neither the books nor the games, so I approached this series without any preoccupations. But while I didn't have any problems with the discontinous narrative of the first season, and actually quite enjoyed this fantasy world which was completely new to me, I was rather annoyed by the second season.

    For the first half of the season I was totally confused about what's going on, who    I know neither the books nor the games, so I approached this series without any preoccupations. But while I didn't have any problems with the discontinous narrative of the first season, and actually quite enjoyed this fantasy world which was completely new to me, I was rather annoyed by the second season.

    For the first half of the season I was totally confused about what's going on, who all these people are and what they want. By the end of the season you have a better idea, but then I was rather annoyed by the cheap B movie narratives and the shallow and unconsistent characters. All woman suddenly find their soft spot and become nice. Geralt becomes almost boring in his flat good guy role.

    Special effects are much better than in the first season. But this doesn't help if the story is not interesting. This series lost me, I probably won't watch a third season.    … Expand
  20. Femtonihilus
    Dec 26, 2021
    10
    I have noticed how the season improved a lot in terms of making it more dynamic and creative and perhaps moving away from the original plot since adding the books as such would be impossible since the first book is mini stories of the adventures of Geralt and the later ones already speak of the main plot preceded by many secondary characters throughout the story which in the Netflix seriesI have noticed how the season improved a lot in terms of making it more dynamic and creative and perhaps moving away from the original plot since adding the books as such would be impossible since the first book is mini stories of the adventures of Geralt and the later ones already speak of the main plot preceded by many secondary characters throughout the story which in the Netflix series corrects giving more participation to Ciri and Yennifer as well as the emphasis of their motivation is that they will be seen throughout the episodes also something that saddened me It was the death of a sorcerer which was very important but this is used as a catalyst for the plot to advance and therefore I see it admirable by the writers so that we have a more interesting plot taking into account the books and CD games project which in this second season many more easter eggs are shown.… Expand
  21. Marcoo
    Dec 28, 2021
    0
    Trash. Too many liberties, they ruined Geralt’s character and vibe, women ARE NOT supposed to be witchers, whole thing is pandering to the max. Really sad effort and just another example of Hollywood trying to please it’s liberal base
  22. capt_morgan
    Dec 28, 2021
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Ok, its not as good S1, 1st season was more rough (which for the Witcher is good), better pacing and more to the point. S2 was hard to follow because of all the factions introduced and their motives, think of GOT with all the players and motivations squeezed into eight concurrent episodes with endless dialogue forcing the issues. Also, I found the whole witch possession overwhelming and lacking explanation. Now for some good, the last two episodes did manage a decent buildup for promising next season (hopefully).… Expand
  23. ypablo
    Dec 28, 2021
    0
    Absolutely nothing makes sense in this show. The story is ridiculously illogical and has nothing to do with the original story. it simply doesn't add up. Whoever created that script is either incompetent or dumb or both. It was painful to watch it. Unbelievable garbage.
  24. qziem6
    Dec 28, 2021
    3
    I've read the books and i love them. This is no adaptation. Only 10 - 15% material in series is from book, other is invented by creators. But, I try to be honest and try to rate series without thinking about books and its terrible. Actors are bad, costumes are bad, dialogues are terrible, plot is dissaster - full of logical mistakes and not engaging intrigues (elfs and nilfgaard). I hateI've read the books and i love them. This is no adaptation. Only 10 - 15% material in series is from book, other is invented by creators. But, I try to be honest and try to rate series without thinking about books and its terrible. Actors are bad, costumes are bad, dialogues are terrible, plot is dissaster - full of logical mistakes and not engaging intrigues (elfs and nilfgaard). I hate it. I'm frustrated because i know that if they wouldn't change everything it has potential to be a good series.
    Only one thing i like: monsters and action scenes, thats all.    … Expand
  25. CheesyDaddy
    Dec 28, 2021
    6
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. As someone who only played the games, I didn't hate this season, but I didn't love it either. The show looks good and the acting, for the most part, is great. The writing however just doesn't always do the story a lot of favour.

    I understand that some changes need to be made in order to translate a story from a book to the screen and, to be fair, some things I understood were changes are definitely for the best. I think showing Ciri's teleporting abilities and foreshadowing the Wild Hunt was very necessary, and Voleth Meir provided a much needed and very Witcher-esque antagonist that could tie the season togather. However, how Eskel was handled was a completely unnecessary slap in the face of anyone familiar with the franchise.

    While most people zoom in on Eskels death, the worst change in my eyes was Yennifers arc, which just doesn't make sense even to someone unfamiliar with the franchise. Stregobor casually interrogating Yennifer and getting away with it was **** Yennifer turning against the brotherhood and Aretuza was **** Yennifer making her grand stand, of all opportunities she had, in front of a delegation of sorcerers and kings was **** Yennifer, after completely whiping out a complete Nilfgaardian army, deciding spiring Cahir was necessary was **** Yennifer and Cahir actually getting away completely unarmed and without magic from what has to be an impossibly tightly guarded area was **** Yennifer trying to sacrefice Ciri to a demon was **** and puts a lot of strain on her relationship with Ciri and Geralt that future seasons will have to try very, very hard to rectify.

    If you're going to play around with the source material, please look at the games for an example of how to do it sensibly and respectfully. Don't have characters make decisions that are completely out of character. Don't break the internal logic of the world. And while you're at it: Stop making unnecessarily diverse casting choices. Xenophobia is a big deal in the Witcher universe. Lean into it. I would've 100% preferred all black elves and white nords over every race being completely random real-life ethnicities.    … Expand
  26. Jubus
    Dec 28, 2021
    3
    This second season was very poorly done, a big disappointment after what was a promising first season.
    The writers have tried to strike out and put their own spin on the original plot and characters but have done a poor job overall which has led to a story that is boring at best and utter nonsense at worst, I quickly lost interest in what was happening and really had to force myself    This second season was very poorly done, a big disappointment after what was a promising first season.
    The writers have tried to strike out and put their own spin on the original plot and characters but have done a poor job overall which has led to a story that is boring at best and utter nonsense at worst, I quickly lost interest in what was happening and really had to force myself through those last episodes.
    I think Henry Cavill is portraying a great version of Geralt still. It is rumoured he did have to influence some of the writing of his own character during filming, which is likely why his character is the the most enjoyable and consistent throughout but highlights he himself saw how flawed the writing was.
    No other characters stood out unfortunately, mostly keeping me bored anytime Cavill was off screen.
    Ultimately wherever all that extra budget money went for the second season, it definitely wasn't put towards the writing, and the show suffers because of it.
    A real shame as with better thought out writing for their new plot or alternatively just sticking much closer to the original source material the show had the potential to be something special. I won't be tuning back in for a third season    … Expand
  27. Zeitgeistical
    Dec 28, 2021
    0
    Honestly I have no idea how the official critique got better score than Season 1 in some platforms. Season 1 was decent, I could accept the changes from the source material and the pace in that one. Season 2 however, every build-up from the previous season, quickly turned sour.

    Season 2 was all about character arcs corruption, and also of the Witcher universe. The stories are    Honestly I have no idea how the official critique got better score than Season 1 in some platforms. Season 1 was decent, I could accept the changes from the source material and the pace in that one. Season 2 however, every build-up from the previous season, quickly turned sour.

    Season 2 was all about character arcs corruption, and also of the Witcher universe. The stories are meaningless, character choices are irrational, the world means little and less considering the characters just simply go to extreme distances in a scene cut (and no, not using the conventional teleportation methods laid by the show).

    The worse character development (if you can even call it that) was by far from Yennefer. Not only she lost all the build-up from Season 1, from wishing to be a mother so hard that she'd almost kill herself to protect a random baby, to go to extreme lengths to chase a dragon for that kind of power, even to consider giving up HER OWN CHAOS to do so. What does she do instead in this Season? - I'll spoil it for you, because it's that bad - when she loses her power, she decides the only thing that is reasonable is to sacrifice a child to get the chaos back. Not only a simple child, Geralt's child.

    And why did Lauren do that? Because, as she said herself, she wanted "women to be at the center of the story" and to "create another story for Yennefer" which she found more fullfilling. And by doing that they created a terrible, meaningless, clueless, irrational story, in which the script is so bad the acting feel like a submediocre soap-opera.    … Expand
  28. KodiakB
    Dec 27, 2021
    4
    The first episode gave me hope that the season might be good - showing an interesting, morally ambiguous and self-contained story that doesn't need preliminary introduction or complex interaction of characters, events etc. in order to understand and enjoy. However, the rest of the season delved into exactly that - explaining how numerous storylines combine into a single plot about theThe first episode gave me hope that the season might be good - showing an interesting, morally ambiguous and self-contained story that doesn't need preliminary introduction or complex interaction of characters, events etc. in order to understand and enjoy. However, the rest of the season delved into exactly that - explaining how numerous storylines combine into a single plot about the "chosen one". In my opinion, it just doesn't work. Exploring that many storylines and treating them like cogs in a "chosen one" plot machine means you don't treat any of them in a meaningful way. Additionally, I think that the way scenes were shot was pretty bad - e.g. seeing how Geralt was standing in the background doing nothing in the final fight scene was ridiculous. It doesn't even matter if it went along with books or games, one can make a good series by not relying entirely on the source (or side-source) material.… Expand
  29. WJ4
    Dec 27, 2021
    3
    I waited 2 years to see blood of elves adapted to tv. That's 24 months, 104 weeks, or 730 days. I'm still waiting. After episode 1 the source material goes out the window, and an entirely original plot with entirely original characters takes its place. The acting wasn't bad, and I didn't hate everything about it, but they certainly weren't awe inspiring. The books live in my memoryI waited 2 years to see blood of elves adapted to tv. That's 24 months, 104 weeks, or 730 days. I'm still waiting. After episode 1 the source material goes out the window, and an entirely original plot with entirely original characters takes its place. The acting wasn't bad, and I didn't hate everything about it, but they certainly weren't awe inspiring. The books live in my memory forever. I hope I forget about this season in a month or so.… Expand
  30. 65Terbium
    Dec 27, 2021
    3
    I can't enjoy the show. Even if you accept that it is just a fiction series, losely based on the witcher novels, abondon all your prior knowledge and hopes towards the show, even then it is just a mediocre fantasy tale. At times it reminded my of those janky 90s Xena/Hercules shows, because the people looked way too clean and the acting was stiff. Don't get me wrong the cast is good. ButI can't enjoy the show. Even if you accept that it is just a fiction series, losely based on the witcher novels, abondon all your prior knowledge and hopes towards the show, even then it is just a mediocre fantasy tale. At times it reminded my of those janky 90s Xena/Hercules shows, because the people looked way too clean and the acting was stiff. Don't get me wrong the cast is good. But the script is horrible. The sceneries fitted well. Also while being too clean the costumes still were great.… Expand
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Most Discussed TV Season of 2021

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
69

Generally favorable reviews - based on 23 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 14 out of 23
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 23
  3. Negative: 0 out of 23
  1. Polygon
    Reviewed by: Joshua Rivera
    Jan 6, 2022
    80
    The show has earned a sizable amount of goodwill in an impressively short time, and even if we can no longer see the destination, The Witcher still feels like a hell of an adventure.
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  2. IndieWire
    Reviewed by: Ben Travers
    Dec 19, 2021
    67
    Watching the foundation get laid isn’t always exciting, but it does feel like showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich is building toward rousing sequences and cares about each of the characters equally. Whether you feel the same doesn’t really matter. “The Witcher” is in it for the long haul, and even if Season 2 feels longer than it should, you won’t regret the ride.
    Read full review
  3. RogerEbert.com
    Reviewed by: Brian Tallerico
    Dec 17, 2021
    50
    “The Witcher” constantly struggles to balance its dialogue-driven scenes with pushing the plot forward. It can be an exhausting show in terms of pace—every single episode feels longer than it actually is.
    Read full review
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