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. CrazedCucumber
    Dec 23, 2021
    5
    It's hard to know whether I'm watching the Witcher TV series, or a TV series called The Witcher.
    Adaptations to source material are needed especially when trying to make an entertaining show however season 2 is painfully average. With the rich source material, the show potential is quite high, though they seem to have done a GoT season 8 in their season 2.
    Knowingly making huge    It's hard to know whether I'm watching the Witcher TV series, or a TV series called The Witcher.
    Adaptations to source material are needed especially when trying to make an entertaining show however season 2 is painfully average. With the rich source material, the show potential is quite high, though they seem to have done a GoT season 8 in their season 2.
    Knowingly making huge adjustments from the source material when a good proportion of the fans have been brought in due to that source material Seems foolish. it makes a disconnect between the material and the show thus meaning that the show must fall back on its simple quality.
    Here it isn't all bad, because of noticeable improvements in acting, costume design, set design and visual effects, meaning it doesn't fall flat on its face.
    Reading the reasoning behind an unexpected death in the series, probably the most notable change from the source material doesn't provide any clarity.
    It just seems that they were unable to do proper character development and fell back on people knowing the character from the source material and the games to make that death more impactful.
    Though season 1 was a testament to character development especially for Yennefer It's absent here.
    Although, it's still entertaining and will bring in the views. The showrunners seem to have divided its view base to no clear gain.    … Expand
  2. Jormonation
    Dec 25, 2021
    5
    Season 2 does an excellent job of fixing whatever season 1 slightly confusing with the different timelines much like westworld (which didn't bother me, but I get why some people I talked to didn't like that), they fixed the characters so they look more like what I was familiar with. Eskel was a pretty big disappointment, but thats was my only real gripe
  3. rugaljoeken
    Dec 26, 2021
    5
    Marvellows adaptation, the time line issues in the first season were solved and the characters history is deeppened
  4. 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.
  5. zombox5000
    Dec 17, 2021
    4
    A blundering, ham fisted piece that wastes the potential and goodwill built in the first season. The divergences for the actual Witcher story are not only uninteresting and unnecessary, but also poorly done.
  6. YorkMan
    Dec 20, 2021
    4
    The first Season of The Witcher wasn't brilliant, but it at least moved along at a reasonable pace and with it's 'out of sequence' storytelling around the three central characters it kept you wanting to find out more. The ending, in which 'The Witcher' finds his destiny in the Princess Ciri lead into the second Season quite well.

    So after a prolonged wait that second Season is upon    The first Season of The Witcher wasn't brilliant, but it at least moved along at a reasonable pace and with it's 'out of sequence' storytelling around the three central characters it kept you wanting to find out more. The ending, in which 'The Witcher' finds his destiny in the Princess Ciri lead into the second Season quite well.

    So after a prolonged wait that second Season is upon us.... And dear, oh dear.

    There are good points. Namely the commitment to the acting, the fantastic cinematography and the (seemingly rare) action sequences. But beyond that, this is a sh*tshow of annoying proportions. Annoying because (as others have pointed out in other reviews) it is no longer an adaptation of a book series, but more an 'inspired by', as the narrative and characters are vastly different.

    And it's the narrative where everything falls apart. The first Season worked well because we kind of knew where the main plot element was going, and the various subplots existed to be dipped in and out of.. This second Season seems to move along (slowly) to solely introduce more and more characters, plot points, and insane amounts of meandering exposition. All without really explaining anything... Characters outside the 'big three' are mainly there to say something which is clearly meant to be important, whilst we (the audience) are still waiting for something to happen which helps us understand the last three big 'reveals' that have come along.

    Ultimately this is a massive disappointment. Too much plot, not enough action, too much exposition, not enough pace.

    I'm wanting to see Season 3, but only to see if Geralt actually uses his sword in an actual swordfight in 8 hours of television... He didn't this time round!    … Expand
  7. KayVen17
    Jan 11, 2022
    4
    Eines vorweg. Ich habe nichts gegen das Casting. Im Gegenteil ich finde die Darsteller sogar okay bishin zu sehr gut.

    Was mich wirklich stört ist das Drehbuch. Einige Änderungen zur Vorlage verstehe ich einfach nicht. Ich hätte mir tatsächlich lieber eine Staffel die Ausbildung von Ciri angeschaut und wie sie 8 Stunden den Hindernis-Kurs versucht anstatt das zu schauen, was ich gesehen    Eines vorweg. Ich habe nichts gegen das Casting. Im Gegenteil ich finde die Darsteller sogar okay bishin zu sehr gut.

    Was mich wirklich stört ist das Drehbuch. Einige Änderungen zur Vorlage verstehe ich einfach nicht.
    Ich hätte mir tatsächlich lieber eine Staffel die Ausbildung von Ciri angeschaut und wie sie 8 Stunden den Hindernis-Kurs versucht anstatt das zu schauen, was ich gesehen habe...

    Die politischen Konflikte verstehe ich zwar, sind aber für Leute ohne Vorkenntnisse einfach zu schlecht erzählt.

    Der Produktionswert ist super. Nur bitte bleibt lieber bei der Vorlage. Denn eure Erzählung ist leider einschläfernd...    … Expand
  8. Quickmiratius
    Dec 22, 2021
    4
    Весь сезон происходит какой то сумбур, скачки из одного места в другое, пустые диалоги которые вообще не двигают сюжет, персонажи все пустые абсолютно, мотивация у всех на уровне - ну надо, значит надо. Ближе к концу сезон более или менее разгоняется, но так и остаётся максимально средним по ощущениям. Помимо, нам пытаются показать масштаб событий, разворачивающихся на площади несколькихВесь сезон происходит какой то сумбур, скачки из одного места в другое, пустые диалоги которые вообще не двигают сюжет, персонажи все пустые абсолютно, мотивация у всех на уровне - ну надо, значит надо. Ближе к концу сезон более или менее разгоняется, но так и остаётся максимально средним по ощущениям. Помимо, нам пытаются показать масштаб событий, разворачивающихся на площади нескольких стран, но масштаб этот не чувствуется абсолютно, все персонажи в шаговой доступности друг от друга оказываются в течение сезона, будто там всё в одном районе находится. И вот вроде специалисты по декорациям и костюмеры постарались со своей частью, создав определённый антураж, но сериал все равно не погружает в себя и чувствуется пластмассовым.… Expand
  9. Berik
    Dec 21, 2021
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. In December 2019 the first season of Netflix's The Diverse Witcher launched, and after two years the second season has finally released. Ciri and Gerald have finally found each other through the bs powers of destiny. Does destiny also have the strength to make a good follow-up season? No!!

    The season starts out strong with an atmospheric and dark first episode, but quickly becomes a mediocre dramashow that features hours of insecure people needing constant reassuring (Was the writer of The Old Guard involved in this?) and **** their way to the end of each episode. Ciri has turned into a whiny stubborn nuisance that needs a baby sitter all the time. Geralt can't turn his butt or she has started new drama somewhere.

    You'll probably have guessed it by now, but I'm very annoyed and frustrated with the characters in this season. What were once strong, focused and disciplined characters have turned into whiny insecure parodies of themselves. Yennefer is nothing, Cahir is cooked air and Fringilla is just a shadow of the bad ass Nilfgaard Mage that made the counsel **** their pants. Geralt is kinda there, but follows the plot points around him for contrived goals.

    And then there are the new characters. Vesemir... is an old grumpy goat that has an one track mind. The Witchers are a joke, being killed like disposable soldiers. For a bunch of mutants that are specialized in killing monsters they die pathetically easy. You can't sneek up on a Witcher... except through Ciri's plot armor and contrived powers -_-

    After eight episodes it feels like the season wasn't done, yet was filled to the brim with filler that could have been cut out. People teleport from one location to the other as if traveling doesn't matter, and they find each other because... Destiny again? It's contrived and dumb writing.

    Apart from the first episode and Yennefer's low cut dress there was little in this season that i found entertaining. Once again, the sets look so clean as if it was made on the set of a low budget porn movie. Geralt barely fights anything, and when he does it is over in 60 seconds. Phillipa Eilhart is latest character to have been black washed by the compulsive 'pro-diversity' movement, and now there are even black witchers, a red-head Lambert and Eskel is killed off... Yup.

    Dissapointing. By now Netflix is already marketing spin-offs like Blood Origin, even if The Witcher has yet to make a lasting mark as a tv-series. I give this season a 4/10.    … Expand
  10. Ahlgren
    Dec 18, 2021
    4
    So i played the game first and loved it.
    Even thou its not based on the game, i cant help for compering the show to the game.
    That´s part of why i don't really liked this show. Henry cavill is the reason i came back for the 2 season, but i have only watched 4 episodes. I find my self distracted by another things that's more interesting. In the game Triss is one of my favorite    So i played the game first and loved it.
    Even thou its not based on the game, i cant help for compering the show to the game.
    That´s part of why i don't really liked this show.

    Henry cavill is the reason i came back for the 2 season, but i have only watched 4 episodes.
    I find my self distracted by another things that's more interesting.

    In the game Triss is one of my favorite characters in the game, shes strong sex and interesting.
    In the show shes non of this...    … Expand
  11. Orzel94
    Dec 25, 2021
    4
    Technically good, good actors(Henry cahil well done) but the plot.... Forget what you read on books... Season one had strange ideas but season two is ****
  12. MarinoMele
    Feb 9, 2022
    4
    I get the critics. The overall quality has drastically improved, especially the CGI.
    But the writing is just SO bad you can't think about anything else.
    As the showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich herself said: "She didn't know how to adapt the third book, so she made up a whole new story to replace it." Such a bad idea. Especially since the books are just that good. Sadly, Lauren's inability    I get the critics. The overall quality has drastically improved, especially the CGI.
    But the writing is just SO bad you can't think about anything else.

    As the showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich herself said:
    "She didn't know how to adapt the third book, so she made up a whole new story to replace it."
    Such a bad idea. Especially since the books are just that good.

    Sadly, Lauren's inability to deal with this series is highlighted (aggravated) by the terribly written dialogues and a completely off-character cast.

    The Witcher is just a multi-million-dollar FANFICTION.    … Expand
  13. shmitzles
    Dec 21, 2021
    4
    I wanna love this so much but the writing is so poor and the majority of each episode is so much of a slog focused on characters that are so one note and boring I can't recommend this. If feels like the writers think I'm stupid. The game and books are much better. Geralt, Ciri, Yen, and the bard are the only characters I enjoy in the show. Please for season 3 stop focusing on such boringI wanna love this so much but the writing is so poor and the majority of each episode is so much of a slog focused on characters that are so one note and boring I can't recommend this. If feels like the writers think I'm stupid. The game and books are much better. Geralt, Ciri, Yen, and the bard are the only characters I enjoy in the show. Please for season 3 stop focusing on such boring characters with basic storylines we've seen a dozen times before.… Expand
  14. OhitsStefan
    Dec 20, 2021
    4
    This review is specifically meant for Season 2, just so you know.

    When Season 2 was announced I was really excited, I was one of the ones that quite liked Season 1 despite the problems it had. Upon release though I realised that it's just too different from the books. This is mostly due to the changes they made which, in my opinion, do not improve the overall story in a substantial    This review is specifically meant for Season 2, just so you know.

    When Season 2 was announced I was really excited, I was one of the ones that quite liked Season 1 despite the problems it had. Upon release though I realised that it's just too different from the books.

    This is mostly due to the changes they made which, in my opinion, do not improve the overall story in a substantial way. Characters often behave nothing like their book counterpart which its based on which makes it feel like a totally different story, and not in a good way. Social commentary on real life issues, which I normally enjoy in media, is shallow and on several occasions the show demonstrates very clearly that it is ill-equipped to tackle said subjects. Pacing is definitely better compared to Season 1 but it's all sort of lost because the plot did not interest me apart from a few scenes that were well done, but you can count those on one hand.

    Such a shame because the amount of time, money and passion that went into this shows. On a technical level, it's an improvement over everything Season 1 did. Cinematography is stunning, effects look more lifelike and blend better into the environment but again, since it's not supported by stellar writing, it all falls flat for me.

    I am glad it's doing well because it brings more people to these amazing stories but sadly the show seems to be for an audience that I am not a part of.    … Expand
  15. Datojet
    Dec 25, 2021
    4
    While I enjoyed season 2 a bit more than the first one, I still don`t understand who is this adaptation for.
    If they wanted to attract the folks who loved the games to take the advantage of the hype The Wild Hunt generated, then they missed terribly. If they targeted the novel fanbase, then they misfired even more dramatically, since not a single character in the series even remotely    While I enjoyed season 2 a bit more than the first one, I still don`t understand who is this adaptation for.
    If they wanted to attract the folks who loved the games to take the advantage of the hype The Wild Hunt generated, then they missed terribly. If they targeted the novel fanbase, then they misfired even more dramatically, since not a single character in the series even remotely represents those from the books. And that`s the problem we have with modern trend of "lets try to push in several books into an 8-episode TV series". The narrative feels underdeveloped and rushed, the number of characters vs the number of episodes ratio denies their proper exposure, a terrible miscast alienates you from feeling sympathetic to at least somebody on a screen. I have a lot of respect to Henry Cavill, but he is just not a proper Geralt, he just isn`t. He`s too buffed, too brutal, too handsome, too perfect. That`s not how a witcher must look. And when you fall short so hard with your main character, there`s no surprise the rest will go even worse. The only two I can sorta comply with are Ciri and Jaskier. And what the hell happened to Eskel? Why does he look like a mentally unstable, 17-year old junkie who is in the middle of his puberty? WTF? And what about Vesemir? Where is that old, calm, and experienced witcher who replaced a father and became a mentor to the rest in Kaer Morhen? What we got insted is a middle aged man who seems to have a drinking problem and is incapable of holding his **** together, making one bad decision after another. WTF, Netflix?!
    So, the show fails to deliver the atmosphere and experience the books and the games were able to, leaving to core fanbase unsatisfied, while simultaneously being too rushed to explain anything to those who know NOTHING about the Witcher universe. It is just ok enough to sit through it for a couple of evenings while having a snack, but has nothing to add upon or improve regarding books and games, making it completely not worth your time.    … Expand
  16. Cloneus
    Dec 23, 2021
    4
    Honestly disappointing, I really wanted to like this season since the first one was so entertaining. The writers inserted so much cheesy dialogue that it killed the vibe halfway through the season. Many of the actors did a terrible job in conveying the emotions of their characters with Geralt being the only consistent character with his development being built upon in a good way. A lot ofHonestly disappointing, I really wanted to like this season since the first one was so entertaining. The writers inserted so much cheesy dialogue that it killed the vibe halfway through the season. Many of the actors did a terrible job in conveying the emotions of their characters with Geralt being the only consistent character with his development being built upon in a good way. A lot of plot points make no sense and nothing is explained by the end of the season so you come out of it with more questions than answers which I don't think we should be having as an issue from the second season of the show. I'm going to look at reviews before using my time on the next season after seeing this one get botched so badly.… Expand
  17. OhNoFly
    Dec 19, 2021
    4
    Why does ciri have cakes of makeup on. Looks immaculate after being in a fight in the woods and the makeup stays perfect throughout the series. Why is geralt always grunting he can talk he’s not a dog. How did the big bad flame magic guy(already forgot his name) find kaer morhen? Doesn’t make sense. Hopefully next seasons sticks to source material and doesn’t let Netflix writers destroy it.
  18. Roghul
    Dec 21, 2021
    4
    Story is written in a terrible way, it doesn't remind the original story. It's sad but sometimes I was laughing due to dialogues or CGI effects. Camerawork is impressive, acting was good.
  19. Neskel
    Dec 22, 2021
    4
    It'll be much quicker to share the positives:
    -Geralt played by Henry Cavill is really good, I see Geralt on screen when Henry is shown and that is really something considering how much Henry differs visually from Geralt described in the books. He feels what Geralt is and it shows. Great actor. Same thing goes for Joey as Jaskier. These are great casting choices, and I really wish they    It'll be much quicker to share the positives:
    -Geralt played by Henry Cavill is really good, I see Geralt on screen when Henry is shown and that is really something considering how much Henry differs visually from Geralt described in the books. He feels what Geralt is and it shows. Great actor. Same thing goes for Joey as Jaskier. These are great casting choices, and I really wish they could play their characters with better script written for them,
    -First episode "Grain of Truth" was pretty good. It showed what adaptation is all about: It doesn't have to be exactly like in source material, some freedom is needed but if the show is called "The Witcher" it should stay true to the atmosphere of the original and don't change the story at it's core. Wasn't awesome, but it filled my heart with hope.
    And that hope was gone after 10 minutes of watching the second episode of this season. Bad storytelling and usage of characters from the original story without understanding their personality and values (not gonna mention changing whole story of some them, cause that could be fun if done right) Boring dialogues, boring music. Maybe the fighting scenes were pretty fun but that's it. Show is rotten, I truly wish someone else would make series about the Witcher, it deserves much better.    … Expand
  20. MustafaSaidK
    Dec 22, 2021
    4
    Besides first episode, which still has some flaws and controversial elements in my opinion, it was overwhelmingly boring, bland and convoluted mess with no regards to consistency, conciseness etc. Cheap Hollywood entertainment in a nutshell. From adaptation POV it was mostly unforgivable. A bad fanfiction at best.
  21. 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
  22. Makestar
    Jan 11, 2022
    4
    Ужас, растянули сериал. Рассказывают глупые истории. После игровой адаптации, я не могу смотреть на Йениффер, а тем более на Трисс. Боже какое же убожество!!! Господи много чернокожих персонажей. Генри Кавел конечно молодец, но вот остальное аж глазам больно. Лучше бы не ибали мозги, и просто скопировали игровую адаптацию.Ужас, растянули сериал. Рассказывают глупые истории. После игровой адаптации, я не могу смотреть на Йениффер, а тем более на Трисс. Боже какое же убожество!!! Господи много чернокожих персонажей. Генри Кавел конечно молодец, но вот остальное аж глазам больно. Лучше бы не ибали мозги, и просто скопировали игровую адаптацию.
  23. Mattheusheck
    Dec 23, 2021
    3
    As an adaptation of a book, the series is terrible. As a generic fantasy - at best mediocre. Nice filming and CGI, but very poor script full of logical inconsistencies. Also, it shares with the books only character names and 3-4 minutes per episode (except for the fisrt one). I'm dissapointed!
  24. 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.
  25. Qgal5kap
    Jan 9, 2022
    3
    Massively disappointed with this season. S1 was decent enough, but this was just well and truly boring. It could have easily been fixed with some better dialogue and proper writing. Boo! 3/10
  26. playahater
    Feb 16, 2022
    3
    I really hope Netflix is paying attention to these reviews! Stop adding character arcs that don’t exist! Stop pissing on the source material! You have a fantastic cast. Let them play the parts as written at least close to the books. Half the season never happened in the books!
  27. 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
  28. Paul_M_Dema
    Dec 19, 2021
    3
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Good thing is that good amount of monsters fighting (some lazy but some are good). Again Geralt and CIri are best parts of the show and everything else is pretty much trash.
    Elves always start conversation from talking **** about humans ("they hate our ears"... gods..). Interesting how they excuse wars between humans.
    Overall story makes no sense. Everyone knows where everyone is. Stories lead to nowhere. Hookers in Kaer Morgan... no comments.
    Eskel destroyed as character. etc etc etc    … Expand
  29. hoodie_666
    Dec 18, 2021
    3
    This is anything but an adaptation. It's like they skimmed through the books, wrote down what they remembered and then built a story around that. Only a handful characters are the same as in the books, only some of the plots are the same.

    Maybe I would've been fine with it if this new story was actually interesting and if it made sense, but it isnt
  30. Rhadamanph
    Dec 19, 2021
    3
    Awful, I could not even imagine they are possible to make things worse. Won't be awaiting the next season.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Most Discussed TV Season of 2021

Critic Reviews

All reviews »
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.
    Read full review
  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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