As an avid fan of the books and games, I am pleased with the series overall, but there are a few things that really bugged me.
First, the positives: Henry Cavill nailed the role of Geralt, from everything like his stony countenance to his gritty voice. Furthermore, the fighting sequences were overall very well executed. You really feel the simultaneous tenseness and fluidity that are Geralt's movements. I also really enjoyed the chemistry between him and Yennefer, although I would have really liked them to have featured the "Shard of Ice" short story at some point in one of the episodes, especially since Istredd has such a prominent role throughout the rest of the season.
Now for the not so positive. Firstly, the entire character of Fringilla was completely butchered. One: She's white, not black. I get that Netflix feels the need to portray themselves as PC in every one of their originals now, which is whatever, but the fact that they intentionally altered the character's skin color for such means rather than staying true to the books is just silly. On the note of not staying true to the books, Fringilla's spot in Aedirn wasn't taken by Yennefer but rather she has always been a Nilfgaardian sorceress, a key element of the novels. Furthermore, I just don't like her character at all in the show. They really vilified her making her out to be a stark POS in my opinion, when there are already so many other characters that could have been portrayed from that angle. Another example is Cahir. Yes, he is initially illustrated as one of the bad guys in the novels, however, the show takes it to another extent with the actor's nefarious smirks and seemingly pure mal intent. I sincerely hope that this changes as the show progresses, although it will be very difficult to empathize for Cahir now that they have painted him in such a dark light. My final complaint is with the use of sorcery in this first season. The mages are painted out to be some of the strongest figures in the novels, such as Vilgefortz who, in the show, loses in a sword fight with Cahir? Here's an idea: maybe, like, use some of that untethered powerful magic? I get that any fantasy work requires a certain suspension of disbelief, but come on. This just felt like the writers didn't do their research.
There are many other deviations from the original novels that I will not get into for sake of time and my understanding of the fact that the writers had to give the first season a sense of chronology and overarching story in lieu of the collection of short stories that Sapkowski intended with his first two works. Nonetheless, I hope they can work on some of these things for the seasons to come.
Reviews
2 Reviews
The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt
(2015 Video Game)
Magnificent: One of the best games I have ever played
21 October 2015
Wow. This game is truly astounding. I went into playing this game not really knowing what to expect, although I had heard good things about it. I have never played any of the first two Witcher games either. I have to admit, it was a weird transition from Bloodborne to the Witcher 3 because of the significant difference in pacing. However, they're two completely different games and the Witcher certainly proved itself to me. From the amazing sceneries to the engaging story, this game is definitely praiseworthy. However, the most compelling part of the story for me was definitely the characters. The character development in this game is amazing, and I truly began to feel a sense of comfort and love for nearly all of the characters. I loved the characters and lore of this game so much, in fact, that I actually played through the game multiple times, covering the main story and various side quests. It is very easy to put in over 150 hours into this game, as I have put in at least 500. Furthermore, I bought all of the books that the game series was based on and I am currently reading them with delight. If buying the entire book series simply because the game was incredible doesn't convince you that this is definitely a worthy buy, then I don't know what will. This game does not fail to impress and I can't wait for the upcoming DLCs. Hopefully you give it a shot, because it is definitely worth your time and money. Congrats to CD Projekt Red for creating such a magnificent experience with the Witcher 3.
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