Filmsane

Sorry for being MIA folks. I had a shitty start of the week. But on the brighter side of things, I binged on The Witcher this past weekend. And for the most part, I enjoyed it. I really did. During those 8 episodes on Netflix, I had a lot of help from my patient and loving husband who decoded some of the plot twists and characters of the first season, but for the most part, it was a fun show to watch even for the beginner like me.

But yeah. Martin is an avid fan of the video games and of course, he’s an even bigger fan of the books, so he really knew the saga inside and out. That being said, he had even bigger reservations about the series (than me) but hey… he was my partner in crime this past weekend. Oh, and with all the critiquing and hating of the Netflix TV series before even watching it, he ended up loving it (for the most part).

I ended up loving it myself too to be quite honest. What surprised me the most was how good Henry was in the lead role. I had Mads Mikkelsen in mind for the role of Geralt (before even watching the TV show) but I really enjoyed his version of the iconic monster slayer. Henry was really good.

He was serious and brooding when he needed to be, charming and funny as well, and he had decent chemistry with the rest of the characters. Case in point with Anya Chalotra in the role of Yennefer.

And aside from the fact that the series suffers from lack of plot development, pacing, and timeline consistency, I really enjoyed the first season. The Witcher series took ages to get to a decent and interesting place but when it happened in the 5th episode, it got really good.

I really appreciated the Slavic inspired music throughout the entire season, but I had some beef with the CGI in some of the scenes, and with some of the casting choices too. Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold was an obvious mishap in the first season and frankly, I wasn’t that impressed with the pick for Yennifer as well. But I guess, the diversity hire must be observed and there’s nothing that can be done about it.

But there is one huge theme from the Witcher that I connected to on a very personal level. Yennifer’s quest for a child. Her transformation from a hunchback Quasimodo peasant girl to a powerful and very beautiful sorceress came with a huge price and the transformation left her sterile. And boy… I very much connected with her struggle to reverse that. She wanted a child so much and she was prepared to go through. My husband and I are trying to have a child and now I understand the struggle that so many couples have on both emotional and physical levels. It’s an emotionally, financially and physically exhausting process, and we don’t even have a baby to drain us emotionally, physically and financially.

For a moment I became Yennefer and for a moment I felt her pain. But the thing is much like her… I want that so much as well. I’m looking forward to the sleepless nights, to the night feedings and the screaming. I want a child soo bad.

But yeah. I loved this character in the TV series as well. I felt that the writers spent too much time on her and her development and I can’t wait for season 2 of The Witcher. I just can’t wait to see how Yennifer becomes a real mother figure to Ciri.

In the end, yeah I would definitely recommend The Witcher. It was a slow burner until the third act, but once it got good, it was really good.