The Witcher S1 (2019) Review

 

The Witcher S1 (2019)

The Witcher Season 1 follows Geralt of Rivia, a monster hunter, who’s exploits lead him to coming across a powerful mage named Yennifer and acquiring a daughter of sorts in the Law of Surprise, in this decades spanning season that culminates in Nilfgaard attempting to take the North. 

I tried watching this upon it’s original release, and having no knowledge of The Witcher books or games, felt lost and ended up giving up. I started the Witcher 3 last week though (why I have been very absent on here of late) and decided to give the show another shot now that I posses a modicum of knowledge regarding the source material and I must say, now that I understand what’s happening, I absolutely love it. 

Season 1 might come off as sort of confusing, as it goes all Dunkirk on us, and has several story lines going on at once, in different (unspecified) times throughout the past 30 odd years. Mainly, the exploits of Geralt that made him famous, Yennifer’s transformation from an untrained hunchback to a beautiful, and very powerful mage, Ciri’s escape from Cintra, all diverging into these characters’ paths eventually crossing. It’s complicated at first but an interesting way of storytelling that always keeps things fresh, detailing the time up to the events up to the main canon for Geralt. 

It’s also important to understand what kind of character Geralt is because without understanding him, much of his character will come off as stilted. He’s a Witcher, a mutant monster hunter ‘void of emotions’ (not necessarily true), a trait that makes him a hell of a monster killer, lover, and one of the funniest, deadpan characters in the entire show. I was also impressed with the characterization of women, primarily Yennifer in this series. The Witcher books and games are no stranger to themes of overt sexuality and while it’s put on full display here, they also managed to make these characters incredibly involved, powerful, and multi dimensional to where the focus lays on them as much as Geralt (which is usually annoying but it’s done really well in this case). 

We get a really great cast, starring Mimi Ndiweni, Anna Shafer, MyAnne Buring, Joey Batey, Freya Allen (please god, stop bleaching actor’s eyebrows), Anya Chalotra, and Henry Cavill as the titular Geralt of Rivia. Batey was probably the biggest surprise of the series for me, bringing a nice, humorous touch that really brought out the best of Cavill. And Cavill is just wonderful here, nailing the deadpan, ‘couldn’t give a shit’ attitude Geralt is known for, while still adding a steady balance of heart and kickassery to boot. Really enjoyed Chalotra too, who got a ton of characterization that made Yennifer more than just a pretty face. 

The Witcher Season 1, directed by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, is a bit convoluted in it’s storytelling but captures all the heart, humor, and action that makes the games (all I’ve indulged in) so great, beautifully filling in many of the details leading up to the main story of The Witcher and setting us up for what looks to be a hell of a season 2. 

8.4/10