★★★
Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts.
Episodes: 8 Classification: 15 Channel: Netflix
"Yes you're right maybe real adventures would make better stories and you sir smell chock full of them, amongst other things I mean what is that? is that onion? it doesn't matter whatever it is you smell of death, and destiny, heroics, and heartbreak."
"It's Onion"
That small interaction between the Witcher Geralt and the Bard Jaskier pretty much sums up my impression of the first season of Netflix's latest fantasy adventure. For all of its epic scale, themes of intertwined inescapable destiny and plenty of swordplay to make the adventures of Geralt of Rivia, monster hunter of legend an engrossing fantasy for audiences the grandiose nature of it all can still feel a little hollow. In no means a disappointment, it's strange actually that so many of the elements work, from performances, production design, the episodic structure and how the series explores complicated timelines between characters yet something about The Witcher can still feel off. Much more than just something to be dismissed as a "Throne Clone" Lauren Schmidt Hissrich and Netflix have developed a series to brings the fans of the books, games and newcomers together as passion both on and off the camera for the material elevates while celebrating fantasy conventions.
Following the titular Witcher Geralt of Rivia, a man turned mutant who must travel the continent slaying monsters for coin and is conflicted to the morality of true good and evil. Henry Cavill goes from the Man of Steel to the Man of Steel and Silver swords as he delivers an incredible performance as the rough, stoic, crass beast of a man in a role that not only boasts his physical talents through thrilling action but shows stunning control of the character's complex balance of emotion. It is said Witchers cannot feel emotion but Cavill leads this series with a captivating passion for his character and the source material, he's torn by ethical dilemmas, loyalties and love he forms over his years as they all tie back into a destiny he refuses to take responsibility for. Cavill is able to convey so much through body language and monosyllabic grunts that when later in the series as his relationships with Jaskier and Yennefer reach their narrative apexes in the season Geralt's outbursts of fury and passion are all the more striking. You can feel a weight bearing down on the character's shoulders for the entire season, as episodes slowly peel back the history and connective tissue you realise that the cataclysmic events depicted in the opening episode and beyond ties directly back to Geralt's actions.
The entire show revolves around destiny, a concept of fantasy familiar to many and one that I struggle with, it's more of a narrative pet peeve I feel it boxes in characters and makes narratives predictable. With The Witcher Schmidt Hissrich and her writing team have made destiny far more interesting, having it revolve around the concept of The Law of Surprise. The three main characters of the series The Witcher Geralt, The Sorceress Yennefer, and Princess Cirilla of Cintra are tied together by destiny through this very measure. Rather than prophecy spoken by a grand wizard in an ancient temple, all manner of people either noble or peasant are all bound to the laws of destiny, a higher power above them all specifically the law of surprise, a custom that sees a saviour rewarded with a gift from the one they saved that is unknown to both. In many cases, it would seem the law would reward those with the saviour with a harvest, livestock, or even a child, The Law of Surprise is absolute and cannot be denied and those that would dare to tempt fate's wrath. To have destiny act as its own character moving unseen chess pieces becomes fascinating as it creates the perception that characters cannot escape the unseen consequences of their actions. The first episode ends with the invasion of Cintra by the Nilfgaardian army, (there's lots of worldbuilding and names to get used to like any fantasy but stick with it and it will all make sense) and Ciri is told by her dying grandmother Queen Calanthe "find Geralt of Rivia, he is your destiny" and is then cast out into the night. Later episodes reveal that both Calanthe and Geralt had resisted their allegiance to the Law of Surprise in relation to Ciri and suddenly the violent geopolitical conflict of Nilfgaard takes on much more mystical contexts. Every action has a reaction and the series is so great in making the seemingly minor actions of the characters feed into the development of larger storylines.
Geralt's destiny is the driving thematic arc of the show but the actual episodic nature of the show is far less serialised, The Witcher episodes are more stand-alone episodes that see Geralt and others grow as characters through the specific events of each adventure. Everything ties back into each other in one way or the other but one of the more interesting components to the way Schmidt Hissrich has structured the season is the passage of time. Geralt and Yennefer as magical beings, do not seem to age as we do, years pass between the episodes, and there are huge time differences in each episode that separate the storylines of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri. It makes the series prime for rewatching after figuring out the trajectory of all the characters and going back to find more subtle clues in hindsight. Some reveals in episode eight make you want to rewatch episode one right away but the passage of time within the universe is dampened by the binge-watch design of the Netflix model, I would suggest spacing out your viewings.
The series doesn't have a sprawling cast of characters like other more famous fantasies, Geralt's adventure is shared alongside a recurring Bard Jaskier, played by the delightfully comical Joey Batey. His exuberant enthusiasm contrasts well to Cavill's gruffness creating a fine little odd-couple double act as Jaskier always seeks out Geralt's glory as inspiration for his next hit song. Essentially the show boils down to Geralt, Yennefer, Ciri and to a smaller extent Jaskier, those familiar with other Witcher materials will recognise other names as being more important down the road but Schmidt Hissrich makes the wise decision to keep the introductions limited and not overstimulate the audience. Every supporting character is introduced through an interaction or connection to one of the main three, the very structure of the scripts revolving around the intertwined natures of the character's destinies. Witcher covers a lot of ground and ideas, but by filtering the geopolitics, magic, and monsters directly through the character's discoveries helps the audience digest exposition a lot easier. The time-bending does allow for dramatic irony at times but speaks to how all roads lead back to destiny, chance encounters and isolated incidents take on greater meaning.
Most people are thinking about Game of Thrones when they start the series and are probably subconsciously comparing it as you see some nudity and hear Cavill drop some f-bombs. It's clear right from the outset that Witcher is a different beast altogether (no pun intended) with HBO fantasy seeking to imbue realism into fantasy elements, making it seem more like a historical drama with dragons, Witcher leans heavily into its fantasy roots with a pulpy sensibility. However, Thrones's worldwide phenomenal success means that Netflix is willing to front the resources needed to give Witcher a similar sense of visual splendour. Not everything is perfect, some CGI monsters wow and others irk, the vast fields and paths Geralt travels all seem to blend together never really giving a true sense of traversal or unique features to other kingdoms. It feels like an empty world that Geralt travels in at times, it does work in establishing him as an isolated traveller but locations like Blaviken, Cintra, and Temeria all just seem to be the same assortment of castles, taverns and forests.
One of the visual highlights of The Witcher is definitely in its stunt choreography in how it depicts the unforgiving brutality of the world as Geralt swiftly cuts through foes both human and monstrous. The camera follows Cavill as he delivers an incredible combination of grace and viciousness, an efficiency to combat that makes Geralt such a formidable opponent. It's thoroughly entertaining to watch this Witcher be called to arms with the action elements serving the dramatic ones. One signature highlight being where Geralt tasked with defeating a creature known as a Striga and lift its curse, having to hold his own against the monster all night in a dilapidated castle. Cavill is being hurled into walls, pushing himself to an extreme but all to display Geralt's subconscious commitment to an honourable code. Witchers slay monsters, all he has to do is draw his sword cut its head off and get paid but after learning the history of the monster sees a chance to save it and so will take the punishment. The show talking several opportunities to display how monsters come in all forms and Geralt's is so much more than a thug for hire. All the episodes present Geralt with moral quandaries, on what side to take with the plots resembling the RPG elements to the missions of the videogames. There is no "right" answer and Geralt is forced to confront his own morality as his growing connections to other characters force him to action. Geralt does not want to be the one who decides what is good or evil, he is paid by men to kill monsters and that is as far as he wishes to see the world, in its black and white state but keeps having to wade into the grey mass that surrounds it all. Making every time Geralt draws his sword a moment of importance, to represent his commitment to becoming involved in the affairs of monsters and kings with his moments of pacificism or defiance then becoming all the more striking. Cavill, the stunt team and the writers having every action of their hero feel so critical that you don't doubt destiny shifts in his direction.
Destiny also quivers in the face of the series co-lead Anya Chalotra as the phenomenal, powerful, tantalising yet compassionate sorceress supreme Yennefer of Vengerberg. It's a few episodes in before Chalotra and Cavill meet with explosive chemistry and the show makes sure to have Yennefer be so much more than a love interest. While Chalotra's transformative performance on the show is a highlight, literally as Yennefer's transformation scene is shockingly powerful, especially when edited against Geralt's fight with the Striga.
Yennefer's storylines, however, are where The Witcher can get bogged down in obtuse exposition. While Geralt and Ciri are bound by The Law of Surprise, Yennefer's place in all of this seems less clear but it garners more intrigue as her abilities and ambition are revealed. Originally a deformed outcast, I'm sure some may find it upsetting that Yennefer submits to horrifying magical torture to become "beautiful" but it speaks to the vanity of this world just like our own. A beautiful Yennefer is now desired but is now underestimated and undervalued because those she serves sees her as a sexual object as opposed to a monster. Yennefer's actions as a sorceress like Geralt also have unforeseen consequences towards Nilfgaard and Ciri but Yennefer's feuds with fellow magical teachers and students just lack the same narrative excitement as when she interacts with Geralt. Representative to the connection between the characters, two people outcasted and mutated through magic but find a devotion to one another. Yennefer yearns for motherhood, essentially to have someone love her for who she is as opposed to what she could be to them, to have a sense of belonging she has never known in her life but her ability to do so has been robbed from her, a consequence for her own desired power. While Yennefer's storylines with other mages speak to her powerful abilities and her fury mostly fall victim to typical fantasy tropes, everything with Geralt speaks to a humanity that both think they have stripped of. They are bound by destiny but Chalotra and Cavill keep their romance and connection grounded in beautiful intimacy.
The weakest element of the season is Ciri's storyline mostly in how obvious the scripting made the development of the entire plotline. Ciri is the one moving through the present, Geralt and Yennefer are catching up to her but Schmidt Hissrich needs to pad out the time with predictable roadblocks. Freya Allan's performance is great capturing vulnerability, fear but tenacity but while we get to see Cavill's Geralt struggle with his connection to Ciri we don't get to see much on the other side. Ciri is said and shown to have a great magical power, something that seems to make her a target of Nilfgaardian pursuers but it just seems to be a storyline that will be expanded in the next season. Ciri's storyline could be interpreted as a helpless girl in need of a hero as almost every scene of hers has her facing danger and being reminded of needing to find Geralt, while Yennefer is given plenty of opportunities to establish her characters agency apart from Geralt, Ciri grand importance to everything just seems to rely on the moment the two characters finally meet.
Before we wrap up, I want to give special shoutout the music of the show, Sonya Belousova and Giona Ostinelli compose a number of tracks which capture emotional and epic beauty to suit the vistas of action and reflection. It matches against the iconic soundtrack of Marcin Przybyłowicz and Mikolai Stroinski from The Witcher 3 video game in the sense that it establishes itself apart from a sound that most of the audience would recognise yet still makes itself familiar with fantasy and folklore. The best example of this is when Jaskier would regale audiences with songs of adventures and the most insidious earworm of a song that will keep you thinking about the show long after you're done. "Toss a Coin to your Witcher" is such a great ode to show's whole aesthetic, Jaskier romanticises Geralt's exploits to make him more appealing to people to the Witcher's annoyance. Speaking to grand epic tales about a lone hero who can save the day, for a show that has such a great focus on destiny, one can't help but think the song speaks to the show's narrative endgame. Geralt may not seem like a righteous hero but his journey during the season has him begin a quest to become one.
A terrific but also tempered start to what will hopefully be an engrossing adventure, this season clearly presents itself as an introduction and it introduces so many elements that capture the audience's attention. For those, both aware and unaware of Geralt's greater history will surely be pleased by Cavill and co's interpretation with great fervour as the stage has been set for the next step of this hero's journey. The underwhelming elements of this season can be improved upon, essentially find a way to make the other storylines and conflicts compelling in a way where it doesn't need to rely on Geralt. The show just seemed to drag whenever it didn't focus on him despite the talented cast or intrigue of the worldbuilding, it just didn't have the same hook, seriously Cavill just dominates every moment he's on-screen. But for a first outing, it does what it needs to do to get the ball rolling and have itself stand out from the never-ending outpour of streaming content. Action, romance, monsters and adventure The Witcher has it all in varying quality of intrigue and execution, whatever the future of the series holds one thing is for certain.
Destiny awaits.
Creator: #LaurenSchmidtHissrich
Main Cast: #HenryCavill, #AnyaChalotra, #FreyaAllan, #JoeyBatey, #MyAnnaBuring, #MaheshJadu, #MimiNdiweni, #EamonFarren, #AnnaShaffer
Release Date: December 20th 2019
Trailer:
Written review copyright ©CoreyBullochReviews
Images and Synopsis from the Internet Movie Database
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