The last time we saw Geralt of Rivia, the legendary monster hunter, was blundering through a forest in the aftermath of a massive battle searching for his estranged lover, Yennefer, the sorceress. The eight-episode first series of The Witcher, available on Netflix, is now back with another season that chronicles the journey of Geralt on a journey both spiritual and physical.
An epic finale to a series that rapidly gained an enormous fan following worldwide due to its well-written plot, excellent character development, and gorgeous action scenes.
For the uninitiated, The Witcher is a multimedia franchise that began with Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski penning his hugely successful series of fantasy novels.
Although not very well known outside Central Europe, in 2005, a relatively new video game company called CD Projekt Red adapted the series into a game that eventually became a cult classic, eventually spawning two more sequels, out of which the third and last gained astronomical acclaim. And the recent boom in major studios around the globe snapping up well-known fantasy and science fiction series meant that a TV adaptation of The Witcher was, in one word: – inevitable.
The first season introduced us to Geralt of Rivia, a mutant of enhanced skills and strength whose sole job is to travel the Continent looking for monsters to be killed in exchange for money. But en-route, he gets entangled in an ancient prophecy regarding death, devastation and the coming of dark beings from another world and has no choice to fling himself headlong into the chaos.
Try to make sense of it with either his words or his twin swords. Point to remember; witchers always carry two swords with them. The silver blade is for monsters who walk on four legs, and the steel is for, well, monsters who walk on two legs.
The second season picks up where the first left us; right after the decisive Battle of Sodden, where Yennefer incinerated half the Nilfgaardian army and vanished. Geralt of Rivia and Ciri, a mysterious princess, bound to him by destiny, are searching for Yennefer while simultaneously trying to figure out how Ciri is influencing a series of chaotic changes in the lands around them.
Meanwhile, Yennefer is caught in her jam. She is behind enemy lines with her worst enemy and no powers, which worsens the situation more. While around the Northern Kingdoms and Nilfgaard, ancient monoliths buzz to life, and new monsters come clawing out of nightmares to ravage the common folk.
The writing is as striking and fast-paced as before. There is never a dull moment, even the scenes where Geralt broods in silence and contemplates the choices before him. More often than not, these are very few and each equally frightening. Characters are very well written, and some new ones have been included, though my main gripe was that some of the beloved personalities from the books and games like Djikstra or Yarpen Zigrin were not given enough screen time.
Perhaps there will be a third season where we will get to see more of the crafty spymaster and the dwarf adventurer, respectively, as I loved their brief portrayals very much indeed. The blood flows ever more freely in this season, and we finally get what we all were waiting for for for-monster fights.
Henry Cavill is phenomenal as Geralt. He stabs and punches through a whole menagerie of brutish men and terrifying monsters with the same world-weary demeanour, never taking much joy in the act of slaughter. His only moments of joy come from the fact that he is now a father figure to Ciri, and she gives him a reason to live other than killing monsters and passing out drunk in the nearest brothel.
All in all, The Witcher season 2 is a feast for the eyes. Or an assault on the senses if you have read the books and played all the games. Binge watch it this weekend or take it in small doses if that is your poison, but watch it.
All the episodes are streaming now on Netflix.
