Don's Digest: Let The Witching Hour Begin (A Review of “The Witcher”)
Let’s be honest… I have a love-hate relationship with the Fantasy genre. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is an unquestionable piece of cinematic gold and The Legend of Zelda laid the groundwork for the entire RPG gaming genre. But, when people talk to me about films such as Labyrinth and Legend or critically-acclaimed television shows like Game of Thrones, I typically respond with a sigh of indifference. And to be perfectly blunt, I have never played any of the Witcher games so I didn’t really understand the hype surrounding this tale. In the early part of 2019, Witcher fans around the globe were treated to the first trailer for the Netflix series. Everything from the music and scenery to the costume design and action sequences all looked like Game of Thrones-lite to me so despite my respect for Henry Cavill, the star of the series, I wasn’t chomping at the bit to give this one a watch.
Eight episodes later and I have officially decided to hop on the bandwagon for The Witcher because this show has everything I love in a television series: action, adventure, humor, camaraderie, romance and bloody spectacle. Taking place across multiple timelines which eventually converge by the end of season 1, the audience is introduced to a world full of majestic creatures, war-ravaged landscapes and human beings so greedy and malicious that they make your stomach turn inside out. Numerous plot twists ensue and by season’s end, two armies clash in a showdown filled with swords clashing, arrows flying and tidal waves of magic. What more could you ask for in a small screen fantasy epic?
The Witcher has some many things going for it, not the least of which includes stellar acting by the three leads: Geralt (Henry Cavill), Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Ciri (Freya Allen). Geralt is the living embodiment of torment and raging masculinity. He wanders from town to town collecting bounties on the heads of a variety of mystic beasts while fighting his own inner demons in the process. During Geralt’s never-ending quest he comes across the beautiful but dangerous Yennefer, who becomes his recurring love interest throughout the latter half of the season. Yennefer is full of her own dark secrets: she fights to erase the memories of her rough upbringing, pushes herself to become a powerful mage and gravely desires to conceive a child despite her infertility. And lastly, Ciri has to try desperately to stay alive as she is relentlessly pursued by the vengeful legion that conquered her kingdom and murdered her family.
In addition to the impressive acting, The Witcher is filled with stunning cinematography, eye-catching art direction, extravagant costumes and a musical score that you will be humming to yourself for years to come. In fact, I’m surprised I still haven’t downloaded “Toss a Coin to Your Witcher” as my ringtone. :) To sum up, the storylines may be a bit jarring at the beginning and dare I say, you may struggle to remember certain character names (there are so many that pop up throughout the season), but your patience will be rewarded. The Witcher is an enthralling tale that is perfect for a rainy day (or weekend).