Every episode of The Witcher season 3, ranked from worst to best
The first five episodes of The Witcher season 3 are here (the final three will release in July), and they’re a good binge. Perhaps that’s due to the bits of fan service here and there, perhaps to the character dynamics receiving more attention now that the main characters have stronger bonds. Perhaps it’s because the writers seem to be sticking to the plot of the Witcher books once again, for the most part.
Volume 1 starts and ends very strong, with a bit of meandering in between. While the season as a whole is easy to appreciate, some of the individual episodes tend to repeat themselves. This didn’t bother me much during my first watch, but looking back, it feels like the characters were running in circles to get to where they were going. It’s also interesting that so many of them are searching for either Ciri or the people after Ciri, but few think to investigate Emperor Emhyr, the man behind it all. But I might just think that because the show gives us a semi-omnicient perspective on things.
Regardless, the new episodes are fun, and I am very much looking forward to Volume 2 premiering on July 27. The highlights of the season are certainly the family scenes between Geralt, Ciri, Yennefer and Jaskier. Any scene with Philippa Eilhart also gets points.
Without further ado, let’s rank every episode of The Witcher season 3 from worst to best.
Worst episode of The Witcher season 3: Episode 303, “Reunion”
I struggled with which episode to put in the bottom slot, but the honor went to “Reunion.” Emotionally, this episode had a lot of potential, but there was too much holding it back. To put it simply, much of it felt like filler.
Geralt’s quest in this episode revolves around Taryn, a girl who has been manipulated to believe she is Ciri. While it’s fully in Geralt’s nature to want to get to the bottom of this and help the girl, I don’t think a whole episode was needed to explore it.
Meanwhile, Ciri’s arc in this episode was all about disobedience and not standing for what she doesn’t like. The section at the market felt long and unnecessary, and her reasons for running away from Yennefer were a bit weak, especially knowing how much danger she’s in. Thankfully, she ran right into Geralt as she escaped from the Wild Hunt, another thread I hope will be addressed in Volume 2.
Magic portals aside, all this traveling back and forth made me feel like I needed a map. Is it realistic for all these characters to travel in different directions only to reunite this easily? Maybe that’s just me being scarred by the nonsensical traveling in the last few seasons of Game of Thrones.