Geralt and Ciri are finally together, but is it good? – pre-premiere review of the second season of “The Witcher”

Nice bad beginnings

The second season of Netflix’s The Witcher series begins calmly. Without any major surprises, Geralt and Ciri set off from Sodden to a place that is to be used as a shelter. At the very beginning, the witcher and the princess must get to know each other. Aside from the fact that they do it very quickly, Geralt will not forget to teach Cirilla a few lessons. The relationship between the main characters is built optimally. It is true that Ciri, as befits a young princess, does not agree with several issues of hygiene, but in the end the relationship becomes positive. For both Geralt and the viewer. You can feel this story progress. This is no longer the same Butcher who just wanted to earn. From the very beginning of the second season, Ciri is defended by Geralt. At the beginning, only because of the contract and the child’s rights surprises. Then from the nascent account.

Better structure

It was difficult to create the first season of The Witcher from the stories. According to many, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich did not make it. The show’s structure was intricate and the threads were intertwined. Season two is even joking about it. For the first 6 episodes of the second season, things get much better! The main story is told from two perspectives that take place at about the same time. Yennefer’s and Geralt’s stories are separate until their climax. This is all a plus for people who have not read books. Now everyone will be able to find their way in the story because it is linear. Unfortunately, I have bad news for the readers.

This is the world of Netflix

The rules for adapting books are fluid. Showrunner knows this and is doing everything to make the readers have a lot of comments. It is very difficult for me to evaluate this cultural work as separate, without source material. I’ll try, but later. For now, it’s worth noting that Netflix creates its own world. The political situation in Sapkowski’s world is presented just like in the books. The most important threads also, but here they are modified very often. Every half an hour or so I realized that the action had originally happened, but the details were just different. Sometimes terrifyingly different. All characters mentioned in the source material appear. Their stories, however, differ. I am talking about both the background of the character and what is happening in the series. I don’t want to go into spoilers, so I’ll just say this that the characters are played completely differently. They have different characters and manners. Not all, but many. The appearance of an extensive Yennefer thread allowed the showrunner to add a large number of side stories. They are not all bad, but unfortunately they are not as good as they might seem. On the plus side, I can evaluate one thing. Do you remember the movie The Witcher: Bane of the Wolf? The series also. The threads in this movie are touched, and it’s really wonderful. The brand is growing and well. The threads in this movie are touched, and it’s really wonderful. The brand is growing and well. The threads in this movie are touched, and it’s really wonderful. The brand is growing and well.

Characters like from books, but still …

Let me point out right away, Henry Cavill played and looked amazing! You can see that he was playing games and reading books. His emotions, tone of voice, humor – all this reminds me of the Geralt we all like from games. Often he even sounded almost like Doug Cockle, who portrayed the White Wolf in The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. It’s great to watch, the actor must like this role. Another thing is actually… with each of the characters. This is the problem of adaptation. If you’ve played games, you may feel disappointed. But! The acting alone was good for everyone, if we judge adherence to the script. Listening to Yennefer, we feel emotions, Vesemir – old age and nostalgia, and Dandelion – his wise-sweet goofiness. However, if we compare it all to a game or books, we feel huge differences in most cases. Vesemir should not be nostalgic, but should be the strict but funny father of witchers. We still see him in the role of the father, but he lacks much of the fond character from the books. Yennefer is resourceful, brave, but absorbed in the pursuit of infinite strength. Anya Chalotra played wonderfully, just not the character we know. And then there’s Freya Allan, who plays Princess Ciri. Has she finally shown her true potential? In my opinion, not entirely. He has a few moments of his own, he can show emotions, but I miss something. It often seems to be detached from reality. Maybe it was the idea, but sometimes it doesn’t work. Joey Batey played Dandelion very well. He’s still a wooden-ear bard that we adore. So much joy was flowing through me when I saw him on the screen. I assess the appearance of all characters positively and I have nothing to complain about, maybe the armor of the Nilfgaardians, but that’s a thing from last season. but sometimes it doesn’t work. Joey Batey played Dandelion very well. He’s still a wooden-ear bard that we adore. So much joy was flowing through me when I saw him on the screen. I assess the appearance of all characters positively and I have nothing to complain about, maybe the armor of the Nilfgaardians, but that’s a thing from last season. but sometimes it doesn’t work. Joey Batey played Dandelion very well. He’s still a wooden-ear bard that we adore. So much joy was flowing through me when I saw him on the screen. I assess the appearance of all characters positively and I have nothing to complain about, maybe the armor of the Nilfgaardians, but that’s a thing from last season.

Politics is everywhere

Politics in these six episodes was always good! The world of The Witcher is bloodthirsty and scary. Witchers are still loners, elves have no rights in Redania, and racism is evident in many locations. You have to show how terrible life is during the war. How corruption catches up with magicians, and the fight for power and control is more important than the lives of loved ones. How the elves try to survive, even when a great part of humanity is against them. In my opinion, all the necessary political threads were raised, there was not enough of it, but at the same time it was impossible to get saturated.

Adapt your way

What if you cut yourself off the source material for a while? How about these 6 episodes as just another fantasy series? It is okay. Watching it, I felt almost no weariness. The action speeds up and slows down at the right moments. The plot is interesting, even at times when it goes away from the books. The camera movements are interesting. Not infrequently brave. They look best during Geralt’s fights. Rotating camera behind dodges, zooming in towards the sword. It is important that the blood after the blows was emphasized. The blows have their weight and power. Fights with monsters are spectacular, just like using potions by witchers. All this attracts the viewer’s attention. Interestingly, the music made an impression on me only from the fifth episode. I’m not saying she was bad before. It simply lacked experiments and notes that were associated with The Witcher. The color scheme is almost the same, except for a few magic elements as last season. If it worked then, so does it now. Finally, the structure of the series is clear not only to people who have read the books, but also to new audiences. I do not know how it will change in the last episodes, but so far it is positive. I have reservations about one of the new threads, without spoilers, let me just say that the monsters, unfortunately, do not always resemble those from Slavic mythology.

Will it be better?

I would need the remaining episodes for a perfect rating. For today, however, I can say that Lauren Schmidt Hissrich deviates in his adaptation from ideas from books and games. Many heroes behave differently from those in the source material. Henry Cavill saves the memories of playing the series of games from CD Projekt Red. The showrunner changes a few threads and adds new ones. The plot of this season is based on The Blood of the Elves by Andrzej Sapkowski and I think the climax will move the history of the books. Will he do it right? We’ll find out at the premiere. The second season has moved away from books and creates its own world. Hopefully it doesn’t go too far.