What’s good? #35

With so much stuff on Netflix, it can be a little overwhelming finding something to watch, especially when one scrolls through and half of what they see are foreign flicks and tv shows that they have absolutely no interest in. With that said, the purpose of these weekly posts is to share something that i watch on the service. Hopefully it will help someone find something new…or keep them from something they might have wasted their time with otherwise.

This week I’m going to cover…

Genre: Sci-fi/Fantasy, Drama
Duration: 1 seasons (8 episodes; ~47-67 min each)
Cast: Henry Cavill, Freya Allen, Anya Chalotra, MyAnna Buring, Joey Batey

First, let me say it is good to be back doing these “What’s good” posts. In these uncertain times where we are all stuck at home with nothing to do but stream movies and shows on our various devices, this seemed liked the perfect time to bring this back. Second, The Witcher on Netflix is based mostly on the books, rather than the game. There seems to some slight confusion about that when speaking on this series.

Full disclosure, I know very little of the witcher going into this series, other than the aforementioned books and video games (of which i have not touched). It would seems that this a very popular franchise, though, and Netflix is hoping it can turn into the next Game of Thrones.

The series follows Geralt of Rivia, a witcher, as he travels the land in search of coin. An interesting way of storytelling for this show is that there are two other main characters and we follow their lives as well, though it seems to be through different timelines. From my understanding, the next season (which has been put on hold due to the current health crisis) will have them come together.

The medieval setting is great for showing how violent and gory humans can be, not to mention giving us some fantastic beasts to see. Strangely enough, this show tends to try to stay more grounded and we don’t see as many creatures as I would like, but the ones we do see are a sight to behold. As far as the violence goes, well, the fight scenes are great and much blood is spilled, but there is nothing we haven’t seen before.

Henry Cavill, whom we all criticized for being a brooding Superman, is better suited as Geralt, as he is a big, brooding…um, brute? There are times where he does get to show some humanity, but for the most part, he’s just wandering around killing things and swearing when he gets mad.

For me, there are two other characters that are worth mentioning. The bard, Jaskier. Obviously meant to be comic relief, he does bring a sense of levity and fun that is much needed. Hopefully we will see more of him in the future.

The other notable character is Yennefer, who is set to be one of the main characters of this series. Starting out as a hunchback mage in training, we learn more about her past and see an amazing transformation in her both physically and mentally. I must warn you about the physical transformation, though. It is not for those with weak stomachs

With only 8 episodes, this is a quick watch. Those that are into binging shows can probably finish it in one setting. I wouldn’t go so far as call it the next Game of Thrones, though. I feel more like this is the next Legend of the Seeker (hopefully it will last longer, though). All that said, I enjoyed what I saw from this first season and look forward to seeing some more. When you get the chance, if you haven’t already, check it out!