The Witcher

[rav3n]

It's excellent! Cavill IS Geralt. We've completed ep 5 and will binge the rest tonight.

 

[rav3n]

Binged the rest. Worth every single second of watching it. This is ten times better than the Mandalorian which I gave up on (H is still watching it) after 4.5 episodes. Near perfect casting with good actors who gave good performances. Plots are good too. Fantasy with a touch of horror done right, rather than the norm in horror where people do stupid things. Costumes are great, sets are great, monsters are decent.

As must be obvious, I'm avoiding posting details. All I can say is that the show hooked me in under ten minutes, keeping us immersed from the beginning of episode one to the end of episode eight. Can't wait for season 2!

 

[Totenkindly]

Is this based on a video game or something? I don't recall.

 

[rav3n]

It's premised on the same short stories that the video games were premised on, written by Andrzej Sapkowski.

 

[The Cat]

Are the ah..."amorous undertones" still intact in the show?

 

[rav3n]

To some extent but they're kept as asides and relatively toned down.

 

[The Cat]

To some extent but they're kept as asides and relatively toned down.

I'll accept that as fine in exchange for seven seasons of this show. I'm really hoping they dont pull the plug prematurely.

 

[rav3n]

I'll accept that as fine in exchange for seven seasons of this show. I'm really hoping they dont pull the plug prematurely.

Yeah, netflix has pulled shows in a rando manner because of cost or whatever else that appears to flit across their minds. But The Witcher has an average rating across all age groups of over eight stars where more than 54% have rated it ten stars on IMDb so it's a huge winner for them. Backlash would be substantial if they pulled it and myself, I'd personally cancel my subscription if they did this.

The Witcher (TV Series 2019– ) - User ratings - IMDb

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

I'm not familiar with the video games or novels this is based on, but two episodes in, it's kept my interest. Well, the Geralt and Yennifer parts anyway. The blonde Arya Stark stuff (and that's pretty much how I thought of the character as soon as I was introduced to her) is not terribly interesting so far, and it seems like I have to endure that for a few more episodes before she finally meets Geralt. Gerault seemed a little cliched at first but he got more interesting after the first half of the first episode. I rather enjoy his interactions with the bard in episode 2 and hope the bard sticks around for a bit.

I don't really understand all the background stuff right now (like who was the group that attack blonde Arya's kingdom.... were they elves?), but for me that's part of the fun with diving in to something like this.

It seems to be leaning much more on the magic side of things than the GOT series ever did. GOT really downplayed the magical elements from the books, which actually might have been a mistake because maybe it would have made Bran's fate seem less random if they'd kept more of that. (I'm still laughing at the people at the r/asoiaf Reddit who thought an announcement about "winter was coming" just before, um, the Winter Solstice meant anything other than that. Wishful thinking can be very convincing, I suppose.)

 

[JocktheMotie]

This show is excellent and Cavill is perfect.

 

[EcK]

I really like the show. Played the games as well. I wasn't sure about Cavil beforehand but he got my convinced he was the right guy for the role.
non-cliched fantasy with great character development.

I just think that they should make the timeline a bit easier to understand for anyone who isn't already familiar with the universe. some characters don't really age - so presenting scenes featuring these characters decades apart without any visual cue (a date, a different visual filter or anything) is just a tad confusing. Actually, even some characters who are SUPPOSED to age as far as I know don't seem to age at all despite scenes being 15 years apart. Like the bard for example or a queen.

I do enjoy shows that don't go out of their way to explain everything / talk down to the viewer but I believe it takes away from the immersion as one starts wondering if everyone is a f-ing immortal and why nobody is mentioning it at any point in the show.

 

[Fluffywolf]

I'm not familiar with the video games or novels this is based on, but two episodes in, it's kept my interest. Well, the Geralt and Yennifer parts anyway. The blonde Arya Stark stuff (and that's pretty much how I thought of the character as soon as I was introduced to her) is not terribly interesting so far, and it seems like I have to endure that for a few more episodes before she finally meets Geralt. Gerault seemed a little cliched at first but he got more interesting after the first half of the first episode. I rather enjoy his interactions with the bard in episode 2 and hope the bard sticks around for a bit.

First season was all about the short stories in which Ciri didn't really play a part. Her story will essentially start in season 2. But the showrunner wanted her to be the third protagonist in season 1 as well, as she is one of the most important characters later on. But I agree that because of it, her screentime felt a bit forced and inflated at times in season 1.

I don't really understand all the background stuff right now (like who was the group that attack blonde Arya's kingdom.... were they elves?), but for me that's part of the fun with diving in to something like this.

Not knowing why the attack happened to Cintra and who was behind it is very intentional. It's also a massive spoiler, so you should try avoiding getting spoiled on this if you don't know about it.

 

[Julius_Van_Der_Beak]

First season was all about the short stories in which Ciri didn't really play a part. Her story will essentially start in season 2. But the showrunner wanted her to be the third protagonist in season 1 as well, as she is one of the most important characters later on. But I agree that because of it, her screentime felt a bit forced and inflated at times in season 1.

I actually was ok with it once I learned why exactly Geralt was her destiny, which happened earlier than their actual meeting. I thought the stuff about him being destiny was really vague stuff for which I'd have to wait years for any kind of justification. Knowing how she actually does tie into the other story (and also learning how interconnected the stories actually are) so soon actually caused me to change her mind. In short, I think I was premature in calling her an Arya knockoff. I think I said that mostly because of how she was introduced.

Not knowing why the attack happened to Cintra and who was behind it is very intentional. It's also a massive spoiler, so you should try avoiding getting spoiled on this if you don't know about it.

Yeah, it makes sense now. Although, I think the Cintran queen may as well have learned about diplomacy from Donald Trump. I'm not saying she should have married her daughter to those guys, but, um, there's ways you could do that without insulting them in front of the whole court. Apparently the attack was in part because of something to do with Ciri and a prophecy by the White Flame religion, but I'm sure that stuff didn't help.

One thing still confuses me that I don't think is meant to be a mystery.. Why exactly did Yennifer help the rectoress, anyway? She treated her horribly even if she didn't turn her into an eel. I did think it was interesting to see her drop her guard during the battle, though.