The Witcher - Netflix **Spoilers**

Sudden Valley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120090746#Comment_120090746

ah yes I remember he made a bad deal with regard to the royalties, CDPR did have to settle with him. The witcher games are sequels to the books but are not faithful adaptions either but are very good. If you adapt books to tv/movies or games something is probably going to get cut.

Cordell

Of course, different media have different approaches. Books, films and games are different, they work in different ways and you can't have a 100% faithful adaptation between all three. But a Witcher series without a witcher, poorly written and failing to capture a single bit of the things that made the games and books and even the previous series good is something else.

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/EUlC8ue8NFI

Volume 1 of Season 3 (aka Episodes 1–5) returns Thursday, June 29, while Volume 2 (Episodes 6–8) will be held until Thursday, July 27.

DownByTheGarden

I thought he had left the show

Penn

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120519609#Comment_120519609

This is the last season he's doing. Think he might have already finished filming Season 3 when that was announced. Liam Hemsworth has been cast as Geralt from next season onwards.

EoinMcLovin

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120519609#Comment_120519609

He did but after filming season 3. Liam Hemsworth will be taking over from Season 4 on

Slydice

Looks grand. I think I'll be watching.

Sudden Valley

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120519634#Comment_120519634

Odd they are going for a younger actor than Cavill, would make more sense to have a time jump and introduce someone older. I'm amazed the witcher survived three seasons and more on Netflix.

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/SzS8Ao0H6Co

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Slydice

That was fun. Those ferns sure were a shade of green. Felt in spots like the budget wasn't great for some of the greenscreen effects. Maybe they are not finished yet... or maybe netflix just didn't splash the cash.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120692335#Comment_120692335

The FX in The Witcher have always been a bit shonky in places: it's obviously one of Netflix's big hitters yet hasn't always looked the part either (whereas Stranger Things only got bigger and splashier as it went along).

As to the trailer? Can't shake the feeling of a final season TBH, only cos Cavill is heading out the door; have never managed to summon much hype for a lesser Hemsworth stepping in.

Slydice

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120693216#Comment_120693216

I'm grand with it so far. Not being able to figure out a path for Hemsworth to step in, for me, is keeping Cavills charisma front and center in the trailers at least.

Nody

*Blows the dust of the thread* So season 3 first half has dropped... I'm liking it if I'm honest, some poor CGI on occasion (such as the crypt fight) but the story is moving on at a nice pace and the end of episode 3 gives me shivers...

timetogo1

Not loving this season. Can't put my finger on it. Seems a bit meandering and not enough Geralt in it (up to episode 3 anyway).

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120796788#Comment_120796788

Quite political. Hard enough to remember who's who

CastorTroy

Just finished now.

Yeah it's very political. I should've done a rewatch or watched recaps beforehand. May do that now.

Not sure why they split it up. I know they sometimes do it to make people subscribe for more than a month, but both parts will be within the month. Has been the same for other shows they've split. Probably just to spread out the content without going weekly.

Cordell

Mediocre bait and switch, this show is not about the Witcher, he's not the main character. No wonder Henry Cavill left. F you Netflix.

StudentDad

Well this is the final season of Witcher for me. I've only seen the first couple of episodes so far and it's okay.

FortuneChip

I enjoy the cast, I love the music. The fight scenes are enjoyable (dodgy CGI notwithstanding).

So, all in all, I give Part 1 a 4/10 because there is a LOT wrong, IMO.

Starting with one of the biggest gripes - that last episode is a core. It's needlessly repetitive. They could have had a couple of quick flashbacks, without replaying entire scenes from different perspectives, and it's not overly clever either. "All is not what it seems" F*ck off...

Elsewhere, there's weird editing decisions that make scenes feel like dreams, that aren't. We're talking Ciri's encouter when on her horse.

It's just very tedious.

sydthebeat

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120798368#Comment_120798368

We're talking Ciri's encouter when on her horse.

100%

Spoiler Warning

that scene was really weird in that it practically came out of nowhere, it was very dream like, and geralt also appeared out of nowhere to save the day. I guess it was purposely made to feel dream like because ciri commented when she say the armour "this was actually real"

i think ill have to watch volume 1 again to get my head around the different factions

CastorTroy

Yeah that horse riding sequence did seem to come from nowhere. Didn't help that the close ups just looked like green screen as there seemed to be little movement from Ciri or the horse.

And I'm a bit unclear about the creature he encountered when he found "Ciri". So were the 3 girls' heads real or were they just a trick to stop Geralt from hurting the creature?

pixelburp

Man the relative inactivity in this thread with the return of the show is ... interesting. Honestly I'd forgotten it even had returned 'til Nody mentioned it.

Cordell

If it was a creature designed to defend the girl, then it wasn't a good one. It looked like the heads belonged to the bodies that made up the creature, and I guess that's all we will ever know about it. Probably one of the creative geniuses had this idea for a while and they grabbed the opportunity.

Cordell

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120799225#Comment_120799225

We are all speechless :)

Sad Professor

I enjoyed the first season enough to watch it twice. The second season I almost gave up on and Cavill leaving has killed whatever remaining enthusiasm I had for this show. All the same I may put this on in the background at some point but waiting until the whole season is available first. I am concerned at the implication by the showrunners recently that Cavill may turn into Hemsworth a la Doctor Who in the last episode. I won't be watching if that's the case.

pixelburp

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120799816#Comment_120799816

I saw those comments too, and while they didn't say explicitly what they were gonna do, the eyebrow waggling alone was enough to make me think similar; that they're gonna come up with some contrived in-universe justification for Geralt suddenly looking different. Why they can't just recast and get on with it, I don't know.

And am also in the same boat: thought I might get enthused once the new season actually came out, but this departure of Cavill has really thrown my enthusiasm into reverse gear. The knowledge he's being replaced with a Lesser Hemsworth only increasing my sense of apathy. It's a shame cos the show really was a guilty pleasure I could look past the faults of.

Brock Turnpike

I just finished the first episode and I'm struggling to stick with it. I loved season 1, but found season 2 a bit of a chore as there was a lack of the Witcher in action. While the first ep of season 3 does actually give him some action, the storyline is very dull.

I'll give it another episode but I'm not sure I'll stick with it.

Relikk

They actually had a character say "on accident". Awful.

billyhead

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120805970#Comment_120805970

Likewise. I think.ill give the rest of the season a miss.

Blut2

I watched two of the latest season and gave up. Its barely about the Witcher, its more like badly written fanfiction loosely set in the same universe.

Watching it you can see why Henry Cavill felt the need to quit, even though he apparently loves the character and the books. The writing is just that awful.

Cordell

No, fan fiction would be Geralt fighting monsters for half of the time, and banging Yennefer and Triss (who would look like she is supposed to look) for the other half. Then the Wild Hunt grand finale. It would be shallow but entertaining.

Brief_Lives

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120810820#Comment_120810820

i am prepared to keep going because of Anya Chalotra....

Penn

Just finished Vol.1. It was.... okay. Verging on bad. The last episode helped to salvage things, though as someone said above it was trying to be too clever with the different perspectives, repeated snippets of conversations, "All is not what it seems...." It tarnished the episode because it made it abundantly clear that it wasn't going to be Stregabor and there was going to be a twist.

I can't imagine caring about the show once Cavill leaves. There's just not enough good in the show to warrant having to put up with the bad. The performances are largely what carry it, but even if Cavill wasn't leaving it's getting to the point where the performances aren't enough. I'll finish up the next run of episodes, but pretty sure I'll tap out after that unless somehow Liam Hemsworth and the next season get rave reviews.

Brief_Lives

Episode 5 was the first clever epide

Sudden Valley

I think Cavill leaving is a dark cloud the show cant escape from. I feel a bit sorry for the Triss and Yen actresses as I dont think they have enough screen presence to keep the show going on their own. Outside of the House of The Dragon it seems every fantasy tv show seems to have alot of negativity surrounding it at the moment.

Nody

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120833050#Comment_120833050

Well I think the negativity is picking a relatively well known source material (i.e. Witcher, LoTR, WoT, Pratchett etc.) and then decides to twist it to fit their personal views and more or less ignoring the source material beyond name of characters. The problem then becomes the audience who knows the source material get annoyed (for all the obvious reasons) which means the brand name that's suppose to pull people in fails; while the once who don't know the source material or brand name usually get a very confusing show as it's not coherent or interesting (as shown most writers can't write a half decent show as shown with fan recuts etc. of the same material). It would be like EA buying the rights to make the FIFA fotball game license and then decide to make an action RPG instead.

Cordell

The popularity of the franchise is due to The Witcher 3 game - ignoring this is the biggest mistake they made. The Witcher 3 hooks you in with action and deep cleavages and keeps you interested with good stories and atmosphere. The show has none of those, not anymore.

Pawwed Rig

I just finished the first half of season 3 and it was hard work. I can see why Henry Cavill quit coz the series is going nowhere. Episode 5 was a nonsense that was repetitive and predictable. I liked the first 2 seasons but cannot see myself watching the rest of this season.

Ciri is getting more annoying as the series goes on aswell. Caked in makeup regardless of where she is. She is barely recognisable from season 1. Is it an acne issue or something like that?

BKtje

The books themselves lost their way a bit and I didn't enjoy later ones nearly as much as earlier ones. I must admit I struggled to finish them.

I think the series is going much the same way.

Sudden Valley

The season quickly lost its way after the first episode, I really struggled to get to ep 5. Are the books really well regarded though in the world of fantasy books/ I know heir sales increased drastically after the witcher 3 got big, but I've only heard middling reviews of them.

EoinMcLovin

https://youtu.be/1yYc4IH3xUk

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Sudden Valley

Some leaks on how they are explaining the recasting in story have come out, and it doesnt sound good. Next season must be last one, doubt it has viewership to justify anything more. I hope they make another Witcher game as I dont think they will make another Witcher Tv series /film in at least a few decades and I dont read the books.

Brock Turnpike

I won't be watching after Cavill goes. I'm sticking until end of this season as I've come this far ( against my better judgement)

Sudden Valley

I will watch next season, even though I think it will be a trainwreck. I just think we will be starved for Witcher content after this, so will continue until the end.

Potential-Monke

I had binged all the seasons again once part 1 of S3 came out, so I was only quiting about a week to see these 3 episodes.

Not gonna go into the many small issues, but I have to say I did enjoy the last 3 episodes after the first 5 were poor. I particularly liked the fight scenes, the one at Aratuza was really well done (aside from not having a number impact at the start to explain the amount of bodies and length of the fight). The mixture of close combat and magic was done really well.

No idea how they're gonna explain the swap. It doesn't leave any hints as to how that'll happen, and indeed leaves you expecting to see more Cavill. Also felt a bit rushed, but enjoyable all the same. Having binged the whole lot I wasn't lost with the sheer amount of names and factions!

Will watch the next one. Not sure what to expect.

Varik

will watch the start of next season at least for some schadenfreude.

They really don't have to explain the recast, the actors may not be similar but the white hair and gravely voice do enough.

Cordell

If it's going to be good I won't have any problem with the recast. But for that they need to go back to what made it big in the first place. Until then

https://www.rottentomatoes.com/tv/the_witcher/s03

Brief_Lives

hold on... is the 3rd season over already? it finished with a stupid ballroom dance?

Nody

https://www.boards.ie/discussion/comment/120908551#Comment_120908551

Yes it's over; no it did not end there as they released the last 3(?) season 3 episodes yesterday.

Brief_Lives

ahhhh great, thanks...