The Witcher - Review

Following a one-month break from the morally complex world of The Witcher, Netflix's dark fantasy series returns with all the political murk and sword-slashing violence that has come to define it – only this time around, its lively spirit seems a bit dimmer.

It's strange to see Netflix, the original home for binge-streaming, show a willingness to alter its successful business model, yet The Witcher's latest season reveals signs of a trend. Just as Season 4 of Stranger Things was split in half last summer, The Witcher Season 3 has been clumsily chopped into a lopsided two-part event. The streamer's decision to let The Witcher deviate from its typical full-season drop seems calculated. Maybe it’s an experiment to gauge sustained viewer interest in a popular series. But, if it is, is this strategy right for the show? Does this delayed payoff compound excitement for Season 4 or diminish it? Like the Continental politics of The Witcher, the answer is less complicated than it appears to be.

The season's month-long break between volumes has, at the very least, prolonged the conversation centered around the exit of its star, Henry Cavill, who announced last November that Season 3 would be his final bow as the Butcher of Blaviken. Since The Witcher premiered in 2019, the chance to watch Cavill hunt, slay, and lust his way across the Continent has been itsbiggest draw. His quest is now all but over, though series showrunner Lauren Hissrich suggests Season 3 ultimately functions as a "heroic send-off" for Cavill. It does, and it doesn’t. 

One thing's for certain: This final stretch of episodes almost immediately gets down to business, to the point that episode 6 – ludicrously titled "Everybody Has a Plan 'til They Get Punched in the Face" – feels more like a season finale than a midseason ramping-up of events. The unexciting political maneuvering and other achingly dull plot-specific stuff that so often bogs the series down comes to a head in Aretuza, with magical dust-ups that in certain shots resemble Renaisance Faire LARPing sessions while others thunder with the cinematic, budget-busting brio The Witcher uses far too sparingly.

The details of this event can get a bit murky for casual viewers who might – no shade – watch the show on one screen while using another to brush up on all these characters and their motivations. What transpires in Aretuza is something readers of the books will know all too well, but Netflix would prefer I not go into its specifics here. Just know that it culminates in the reveal of The Witcher’s latest big villain, moments before they saunter off to conduct presumably even more heinous deeds next season. "Hiding my real skills, knowing I could take any life, at any time; it was… exasperating," this unnamed heavy says to Geralt as they trade blows. Friend, you aren't joking.

At least this enemy's sneering presence gives something of substance for Geralt to hit. Time of Contempt, the Andrzej Sapkowski novel season 3 more or less faithfully adapts, deals primarily with a mounting war among the various kingdoms of the Continent, which means The Witcher’s earlier procedural charms are all but gone. Monster slaying is out – in fact, aside from a gigantic crawling thing that attacks Ciri (Freya Allan) in episode 7, otherworldly beasts are nowhere to be seen. And since Geralt is largely unbiased in non-monster-related human affairs – though his political neutrality becomes a sticking point for his character later on – whenever he has to pull his sword on some grumpy soldier or mage, he seems more annoyed to do it than anything else.

Episode 6 is a rough portal to re-enter The Witcher with; it's packed with drama, stakes, and a whole bunch of hurt, but its action thins out like so many of this season’s skirmishes do, as though Hissrich and team lost interest in battle choreography halfway through and would prefer we return to all these frowny people talking in rooms. There are some interesting visual flourishes here and there, like a melancholic behind-the-back shot of Cavill that kind of feels like it's supposed to evoke a similar one from Man of Steel. Later, Ciri is pulled away from the chaos for reasons that profoundly benefit her character development (there's hope for Season 4 yet), and the resulting desert photography is gorgeous to soak in. (This extended sequence was shot on location in Morocco.)

So what about Cavill's "heroic send-off?" A callback to season 1 in episode 8 (titled "The Cost of Chaos") attempts to bring his time on the show full circle, even as it makes tantalizing plans for Geralt that have to wait for future seasons when the White Wolf suddenly looks like Liam Hemsworth. It's a catch-22 for The Witcher, and one it’s foisted upon itself; the series plays fast and loose with its source material until it decides it shouldn't, and its insistence on elaborating on Continental politics and prophecy constantly pulls focus away from its appealing lead. It gives the impression that Cavill's enthusiasm for the role was taken for granted until, at last, he decided to make for the door. Cavill, for his part, remains wholly committed to this season, so much in fact that it makes his impending absence keenly felt.

Going forward, should The Witcher follow its own path or Sapkowski's? Gauging by the more faithful direction of Season 3, peppered by a few notable departures (Radovid, we’re looking at you), the series will continue its confounding attempts to have it both ways. The future might feel different – it will certainly look different – but for now, viewers are left with three compromised seasons to reflect on, each with its few exhilarating highs, far too many lows, and one lead actor whose natural charisma gave this series a visceral charge that cannot be replaced so easily. Future adventures on the Continent are on the way. But for some, the true cost of chaos might be the time they’ve already invested in such a disjointed series.