The first season of the live-action adaptation of The Witcher was careful. It was the service's answer to Game ofThrones, a bloody fantasy epic with a story that spanned a continent. In keeping with the source material, it was a lot of fun. There were some great comic relief in the form of an annoying bard, steamy bath scenes, and a full-on orgy. It had everything.
The second season of The Witcher attempts to raise the fantasy stakes by focusing on some of the bigger questions about the universe, from the origins of monsters to why a young princess screams. The result is a show that is more ambitious and epic, but also loses some of the personality that made it such a hit in the first place. The issues mirror the trajectory of the books, but they feel more pronounced in a live-action series where so much depends on the characters and their performances.
This review is based on the first six episodes of The Witcher season 2 and contains light information.
The story picks up after the events of the final episode of the first season. After eight episodes, Geralt and Ciri finally reached each other, after spending the past eight episodes seemingly running in parallel across an entire continent. The battle ended after Yennefer used dark forces to temporarily defeat the entire army. The cast was left in some interesting places after these events.
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There is a lot going on. Geralt, the lone wolf, is now a father figure and takes Ciri with him to Kaer Morhen, a secluded spot in the mountains that serves as the home base for the witchers, in order to keep her safe and plot his next move. Ciri is going to train. She wants to become strong enough to defend herself after spending the first season almost entirely on the run. Yennefer is a prisoner of war who is dealing with a personal loss.
The second season of The Witcher attempts to broach some big, universe- defining questions. The conjunction is at the center of it all. The likes of humans, elves, and monsters were kept separate before the conjunction. They were forced together, creating the world we know as The Witcher. The existence of the witchers, the sudden appearance of new monsters, and Ciri's powers are just some of the things that are tied to this event. The animated movie Nightmare of the Wolf is a great example of a history of witchers and monsters.
The best part of this setup is that you can see the main cast from all new perspectives. Even if it means upsetting the other witchers who just want to kill things and sleep for the winter, Geralt has become such a dad, focused almost entirely on Ciri's well-being. Ciri makes a dramatic turn into an incredibly determined budding warrior, while Yennefer is forced to deal with life after losing a defining part of her life. Jaskier is no longer a happy-go-lucky bard, but rather a lover who was hurt by his split from Geralt. Wait until you hear his new song.
This season also brings the underused mage Trish Merigold into a more prominent position and turns Fringilla into a sympathetic leader. Some new faces are introduced in The Witcher. Vesemir is Geralt's mentor and father figure, who is desperate to keep witchers from going extinct, and Rience is a dark mage tasked with finding Ciri and Nenneke.
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It is easier to keep things straight this time because everything is happening on the same day. The show pokes fun at the complexity of last season with a self-aware joke. I miss the monster-of-the-week structure from the first season, but the second one is better because of its central mysteries and the shifting perspectives on the main cast. It isn't just more of the same. The show still offers a lot of what I want. There are at least one sad death, a terrifying vampire, and a very specific kind of tragedy that makes you feel bad when a giant bug monster is murdered.
The bits that are missing are very important. A core part of the appeal is the sex and jokes, which is what The Witcher is all about. The second season is missing. I realized how important Jaskier's comedy relief was once it was almost completely gone. It is cool to see a new side of the character, but I wish he did not take all of the jokes with him. It is remarkable how sexless this season is for a franchise where almost every iteration of the video game to the live-action series is linked with an image of a buff man in a bath. The sex in The Witcher is not tied to violence or rape, it is fun and joyful. It is virtually non-existent now.
I binged through the season quickly because I had to see what happened next. The second season has a lot of energy that keeps it moving forward. It felt like the show was moving away from what made it unique. I love watching Geralt slice apart monsters and get caught up in political turmoil. A few laughs along the way would be nice.
The second season of The Witcher will premiere on December 17th.
