The Witcher

The Witcher’s interpretation of its original text offers up something new—and that’s refreshing, both within this story and for fantasy TV at large.

Sometimes it’s nice to just let a show cook, and The Witcher continues to make weird meals with its oodles of diabolical double crosses and inevitable “there’s a spell for that” moments that bang the story off in another new direction. (Seriously, there are portals everywhere.) There’s a bit of uncertainty creeping in, given the backstage drama of Cavill’s departure. But everybody else in this series is fully invested and really, really good.

Everything’s played a lot straighter, and it’s missing the hot-blooded camp quality the series initially embraced. The show at its core is still pretty enjoyable for a dark fantasy, and the reappearance of rock-star tunesmith Jaskier (Joey Batey), plus new characters like the flame-conjuring rogue mage Rience (Chris Fulton), help in that regard.

It all builds to a boiling point, with Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer's storylines coming together in an effective reunion that results in an action-packed finale. The show is at its best when the trio is together, which continues to be true with Hemsworth's Geralt.

For all that the acting and writing is frequently ropey – “You’d be married off to the nearest Lord of Bad Breath” and “They lick the boots of humans, the same boots that will eventually crush their necks” are two of the main offenders – it has the pleasantly self-effacing air of a show that knows its first season wasn’t a home run.

Cavill remains fine as Geralt, with his absurd physique and long white hair. He has mastered the art of the humorous grunt and it’s still fun to watch him handily slaughter dozens of men at a time or take on some comic-book looking creature. But there was an audacity to this show’s first season that now seems buried beneath plot complications.

Alas, my destiny is to never watch this borefest ever again.

Excellent

La cuarta temporada de The Witcher no es un desastre, pero tampoco logra recuperar el encanto de sus mejores momentos. El cambio de protagonista se siente, sobre todo al inicio, y la serie **** en encontrar su nuevo ritmo. Hay buenas secuencias de acción, un mundo que sigue siendo atractivo y algunos arcos interesantes, pero el conjunto se percibe más plano y menos épico. Es una temporada que se deja ver sin dolor, aunque difícilmente se queda en la memoria. Para fans que siguen ahí por cariño… y esperanza.

Have not read the books or played the video games but the show has too many plot points and are hard to follow. Cavill plays the part really well but I hear he is leaving the show.

could have been something.. i watched the first 2 seasons like couple times but after that it just went downhill. absolute disaster.

The series falls short of capturing the essence of The Witcher universe. Geralt’s presence feels peripheral; just traveling without interacting with Yennefer, Ciri, or Vilgefortz. Ciri is relegated to a secondary subplot involving thieves. The vibes are shifted to mages conflict.