Netflix’s The Witcher debuted right on time and piggybacked off the popularity of Game of Thrones, another lavish series based on a series of popular fantasy books. The medieval flare in the HBO show helped get viewers to try The Witcher. It doesn’t hurt that The Witcher books were already well-liked, and that they'd been spun off into a series of popular video games. Add in Henry Cavill playing the monster hunter Geralt of Rivia, Anya Chalotra as his love interest Yennefer, and Freya Allan as the princess Ciri (plus a catchy song, "Toss A Coin To Your Witcher") and you have a hit series.
After three seasons of The Witcher, Henry Cavill is leaving, with Liam Hemsworth (The Hunger Games) taking over as Geralt in season 4. It stinks that no matter how good Liam Hemsworth is, he’ll always be compared to Cavill. Even if he knocks it out of the park, some viewers may say, “He wasn’t as good as Cavill.” It’s unfortunate but true.
With Cavill not returning, it seemed appropriate to rank the three seasons he was in. All of them were great in their way, but only one can be the best.
The Witcher Season 2
The storyline with Geralt and Ciri was the best part of the season. Ciri refusing to give up becoming a witcher and Geralt training her despite his misgivings was fun. Seeing Ciri eventually succeed and help defeat a monster was important and well-done. And of course, all of Geralt’s fight scenes were great as always. The reason this season gets ranked as the lowest is because of everything else.
Yennefer’s storyline, which involves her trying to get back her magical powers after losing them, fell flat. Everyone else in the season was forgettable. Even after reviewing season 2, nothing is worth mentioning. This wasn’t a good follow-up to season 1.
The Witcher Season 3
Even if you didn’t like how the story ended or that Henry Cavill is leaving, this remained a good season. Maybe not the one you wanted, but entertaining nonetheless.
Geralt and Yennefer going from stubborn frenemies to admitting their feelings was cute. They’d sneak smiles at each other and try to conceal their love, but neither of them could hide it. Ciri being with them helped. They could they stayed together for her, but it was more than that. They went from being alone to becoming a family.
Despite moving around to avoid danger, the group was happy. Unfortunately, there was no way the happiness was going to last. The season ramps up into an exciting action scene at the wizard's keep at Aretuza where several storylines come together. By the end of the season, everyone is apart, which is sad, but at least things happened. Hopefully, the group can get back together next season.
The Witcher Season 1
Today, premiere seasons have to be immediately eye-catching. If not, the show will end up canceled. The Witcher begins with Geralt in full Witcher mode and killing a monster. If you're into the supernatural and intense violence, this is for you. However, the show couldn’t survive on violence alone. Thankfully, we meet Yennefer soon after that.
Yennefer was deformed and teased. However, she had potential. Seeing what she was willing to sacrifice for power was deep. Her story helped make the show more interesting. Not to say Geralt's wasn't, but Yennefer's was more intriguing.
Meanwhile, no one knew what was going on with Ciri. There were moments throughout when it seemed like the show was progressing in a linear fashion. In the end, we find out it wasn’t, and that the story was being told out of order, with Ciri's adventures happening later in time than Geralt's and Yennefer's. It was a nice twist to conclude a nearly flawless first season.
What was your favorite season of The Witcher? Are you looking forward to season 4?
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