I think I've been forever spoiled by a lot of Asian action films as most of the sword fighting and the cinematography around it often felt middling. Mind you've I've seen far worse in Western productions but aside from a couple good bits a lot of the sword fighting left more than a little to be desired. Honestly its one of the reasons I dread someone attempting a live action version of Berserk lol
Yes and no. It's a redo. It's not the same story from the books or as depicted in the show. CD Projekt RED thought that the Striga was too iconic to not include, so they just went 'Okay, but what if Geralt never actually fully lifted the curse and she still turns into a Striga now and then because of reasons?'.
The actual fight as it appears in the book and the show is in the opening cinematic and mentioned in dialogue with Foltest and Adda.
it's framed as him having to do it again. She's much older at this point, no longer feral when she is in human form.... and... Geralt gets a piece at the end.
I'd say Vilgefortz is slightly miscast, as he's supposed to be pretty much the most beautiful man in existence. Triss is also a bit weird with how in the show she's written and cast like some wiser and older version of Yennefer, while in the original text it's literally the opposite.
She partially stands in for Nenneke this season (is Triss to be our new mommy?).
The actor playing our new daddy Vilgefortz is very attractive in real life, but the show made him look like a greasy schmuck.
I have absolutely no idea what they're trying to do with that character. Kinda feels like Fringe Illa is going to replace him. Especially since she already stole his catchphrase.
What the hell were Pavetta and Duny even doing up there? Like OK, she revealed she has some magical ability which surprised the queen, but... there was a bunch of wind, and they were floating up staring into each other, and.... then what? Mousesack and Geralt were desperately trying to interrupt that spell but I couldn't even tell what was happening or why it mattered.
And uh, this Law of Surprise thing is kinda nonsense isn't it? I didn't really understand what it was all about either.
Pavetta, just like her Daughter Ciri isn't able to control her power. Mäusack tried to decrease the windspeed so Geralt could Aard her out of her Trance. If left alone she probably would've wiped out the whole city and killed everyone including Duny and herself eventually
Some more fun facts about this story arc in the games:
If you saved her in Witcher 1, Foltest will mention that she was married off to the King of Redania in Witcher 2.
In Witcher 3, there is a secret door in a wall in Vizima that contains a note to Roderick de Wett from Alyssandra Deviel detailing how to turn Adda back into a Striga.
Conversely, if these women (I think all the directors are women so far) get anywhere near GoT budgets, this could be fucking sweet doe.
The costume/armor and the locations are great.
Actors are for the most part no-names but fit their role, stories are decent. All that's missing is some legit monstars.
Gotta say the Vilgefortz character/parts were quite poorly done and left me clueless as to what his motives are.
Specifically him bashing that one allied guy's head in at the end, came pretty much out of nowhere.
Vilgefortz is the one that champions the mages to fight against the Nilfgaardian forces and there was no indication that he was holding back in the fight considering he killed some soldiers and ended up being knocked out unwillingly.
There's also a weird time passage going on, when Yen calls out to Vilgefortz it's still daytime but then when she calls out to another mage a scene later it's dark and night time. That seems more like just an editing blunder and them wanting the final fire spell taking place at night though.
Gotta say the Vilgefortz character/parts were quite poorly done and left me clueless as to what his motives are.
Specifically him bashing that one allied guy's head in at the end, came pretty much out of nowhere.
Vilgefortz is the one that champions the mages to fight against the Nilfgaardian forces and there was no indication that he was holding back in the fight considering he killed some soldiers and ended up being knocked out unwillingly.
There's also a weird time passage going on, when Yen calls out to Vilgefortz it's still daytime but then when she calls out to another mage a scene later it's dark and night time. That seems more like just an editing blunder and them wanting the final fire spell taking place at night though.
Yeah, they definitely dropped the ball with showing Vilgefortz's actual motivation. Also he's supposed to be a super powerful mage, yet Cahir fucked him up
Gotta say the Vilgefortz character/parts were quite poorly done and left me clueless as to what his motives are.
Specifically him bashing that one allied guy's head in at the end, came pretty much out of nowhere.
Vilgefortz is the one that champions the mages to fight against the Nilfgaardian forces and there was no indication that he was holding back in the fight considering he killed some soldiers and ended up being knocked out unwillingly.
There's also a weird time passage going on, when Yen calls out to Vilgefortz it's still daytime but then when she calls out to another mage a scene later it's dark and night time. That seems more like just an editing blunder and them wanting the final fire spell taking place at night though.
I'm really not a fan of these time jumps. I feel like I'd enjoy this show on a rewatch trying to fit the puzzle together, at the same time I'm not into the show that much to even want a rewatch
The show jumps around way too much. There are so many throw-away lines about how many years it's been just dotted around between scenes, and it's hard getting context for stuff because there's no clear sense of how the war's progressing, or where and when people are travelling.
Westworld season 1 spoiler, and Witcher up to ep. 5 spoiler:
Westworld was an example of multiple timelines handled in a clever manner, the Witcher has these multiple timelines but doesn't seem to really "do" anything with them.
So Yen was trained decades ago, fine, but she's not really shown having affected the political landscape or anything that impacts the world before she meets Geralt by the time she meets Geralt. So why not just have her origin in flashback or have her storyline and Geralt's play out at the same time?
I get that having Yen go straight from training to meeting Geralt like months later would wreck the timeline in the books, but this is an adaptation, if you have to change stuff to make more sense for a different medium, do it, because the show is doing nothing to help convince me she's been a sorceress for 30 years either.
The show is frustratingly "meh." The story needs some serious streamlining because it's all over the place and not even covering that much ground.
I'm really not a fan of these time jumps. I feel like I'd enjoy this show on a rewatch trying to fit the puzzle together, at the same time I'm not into the show that much to even want a rewatch
but the time jumps should be mostly over from now on. Maybe some flashbacks or some such, but the first season basically summed up most of the backstory stuff.
I haven't read the books. I saw a bit of TW1 (my bf played TW1 and 2) and played a bit of TW2, hated both because the gameplay was abysmal and I lost my save anyway and wasn't about to restart.
Pavetta, as Ciri's mother, is a child of Elder Blood. In the books, when they attempt to kill Duny she unleashes her power as an instinct. It's just framed weird in the show, but she nearly kills everyone in the room. Had Geralt not stopped her everyone would've died.
Pavetta, just like her Daughter Ciri isn't able to control her power. Mäusack tried to decrease the windspeed so Geralt could Aard her out of her Trance. If left alone she probably would've wiped out the whole city and killed everyone including Duny and herself eventually
No one in the room looked like they were in mortal danger, they were just going "oh no, wind, what's happening". I asked my two friends watching with me and both said this wasn't clear at all, they were just as confused as I was. Sonic cosplayer dude didn't even seem bothered at all.
As for the Law of Surprise it makes sense. It's basically a play of fairy tales. The idea is that instead of asking for direct payment, you invoke the Law of Surprise. Thus, you ask something like, "give me the first thing you see at home that you weren't expecting." Now, this could be anything from a new horse, to fresh crops, to, of course, a pregnant wife/newborn child. It should be noted that this is a magical contract and you're basically invoking Destiny to choose your reward for you.
In older times, or at least in old tales, Witchers would routinely invoke the Law of Surprise as payment and that was how they'd bolster their numbers. If you played TW3, Lambert actually says that he was a Child of Surprise, that's how he got recruited as a boy. Geralt at this point doesn't believe in Destiny and invokes the Law of Surprise as basically a joke and fuck you to Destiny. Then Pavetta vomits revealing she's pregnant, a thing no one, including herself was expecting. Thus, the child (Ciri) by magical contract belongs to Geralt and he is bound to her.
Further episodes will explore this a bit more as Geralt attempts to avoid Destiny which has grave consequences.
The show jumps around way too much. There are so many throw-away lines about how many years it's been just dotted around between scenes, and it's hard getting context for stuff because there's no clear sense of how the war's progressing, or where and when people are travelling.
Westworld season 1 spoiler, and Witcher up to ep. 5 spoiler:
Westworld was an example of multiple timelines handled in a clever manner, the Witcher has these multiple timelines but doesn't seem to really "do" anything with them.
So Yen was trained decades ago, fine, but she's not really shown having affected the political landscape or anything that impacts the world before she meets Geralt by the time she meets Geralt. So why not just have her origin in flashback or have her storyline and Geralt's play out at the same time?
I get that having Yen go straight from training to meeting Geralt like months later would wreck the timeline in the books, but this is an adaptation, if you have to change stuff to make more sense for a different medium, do it, because the show is doing nothing to help convince me she's been a sorceress for 30 years either.
The show is frustratingly "meh." The story needs some serious streamlining because it's all over the place and not even covering that much ground.
Westworld season 1 spoiler, and Witcher up to ep. 5 spoiler:
I wouldn't say WW is that much more clever about timeline fuckery. At least in Witcher you see jumps and start to align them by episode 3 where in WW they treat it as major plot twist that is supposed to be huge surprise and reveal. And it isn't.
Having been sorceress for 30+ years is less about having her learned some awesome new things to cast or having had big impact on Continent politics (she even says that she was basically sent to just babysit rapists and drunkards), but convey her age and her experiences over that time has changed her aspirations. Cutting that time away or having her meet Geralt right after leaving "school" would fundamentally change who she is for the worse as character.
Season 1 of Witcher is all about looping you the viewer in on who are Geralt, Yen and Ciri. It all comes together as you progress and where show goes from here becomes very clear.
I haven't read the books. I saw a bit of TW1 (my bf played TW1 and 2) and played a bit of TW2, hated both because the gameplay was abysmal and I lost my save anyway and wasn't about to restart.
Westworld season 1 spoiler, and Witcher up to ep. 5 spoiler:
I wouldn't say WW is that much more clever about timeline fuckery. At least in Witcher you see jumps and start to align them by episode 3 where in WW they treat it as major plot twist that is supposed to be huge surprise and reveal. And it isn't.
Having been sorceress for 30+ years is less about having her learned some awesome new things to cast or having had big impact on Continent politics (she even says that she was basically sent to just babysit rapists and drunkards), but convey her age and her experiences over that time has changed her aspirations. Cutting that time away or having her meet Geralt right after leaving "school" would fundamentally change who she is for the worse as character.
Season 1 of Witcher is all about looping you the viewer in on who are Geralt, Yen and Ciri. It all comes together as you progress and where show goes from here becomes very clear.
I don't mean that WW was necessarily more clever, I feel more like the writers were more thoughtful in how they wrote their show. Maybe I shouldn't have said clever because it implies a trick.
I agree with what you said about Yen, and I totally get that that's what they were trying to do, but it didn't really "work." Doing it the way I suggested wouldn't "work," either, but taking one method that doesn't work, and replacing it with another that doesn't work and is convoluted on top of it wasn't worth it.
Conversely, if these women (I think all the directors are women so far) get anywhere near GoT budgets, this could be fucking sweet doe.
The costume/armor and the locations are great.
Actors are for the most part no-names but fit their role, stories are decent. All that's missing is some legit monstars.
No one in the room looked like they were in mortal danger, they were just going "oh no, wind, what's happening". I asked my two friends watching with me and both said this wasn't clear at all, they were just as confused as I was. Sonic cosplayer dude didn't even seem bothered at all.
Yeah, in the books i remember it being much more visceral (might be the german translation) but ultimately you learn about the real danger behind Pavettas and Ciris power later in the story
The law of surprise basically allows anyone, rich or poor to be able to pay for something, and in each case it might be their most precious posession or a worthless trinket.
It's a gamble that anyone can take.
Question episode...6? I think it was? More just about how a certain creature works:
Dopples seem like they have access to a lot of a person's memories and skills and stuff when they become them. Like how the Dopple said he knew that one guy's fighting tricks since he was him at that moment.
So when the Dopple became Ciri, did he have access to that power in her blood? Like is that why he was so freaked out about what he was asked to do, since when he became her he learned that stuff about her?
Question episode...6? I think it was? More just about how a certain creature works:
Dopples seem like they have access to a lot of a person's memories and skills and stuff when they become them. Like how the Dopple said he knew that one guy's fighting tricks since he was him at that moment.
So when the Dopple became Ciri, did he have access to that power in her blood? Like is that why he was so freaked out about what he was asked to do, since when he became her he learned that stuff about her?
I don't mean that WW was necessarily more clever, I feel more like the writers were more thoughtful in how they wrote their show. Maybe I shouldn't have said clever because it implies a trick.
I agree with what you said about Yen, and I totally get that that's what they were trying to do, but it didn't really "work." Doing it the way I suggested wouldn't "work," either, but taking one method that doesn't work, and replacing it with another that doesn't work and is convoluted on top of it wasn't worth it.
WW was written around that thing where Witcher really wasn't for better or worse. Witcher is very blatant about what is going with that.
We do disagree on handling of Yen. I feel how they tell her story over the season and how it shapes her is done well as it all just clicks into place at the end. She is who she is at this point in time because of her past.
Question episode...6? I think it was? More just about how a certain creature works:
Dopples seem like they have access to a lot of a person's memories and skills and stuff when they become them. Like how the Dopple said he knew that one guy's fighting tricks since he was him at that moment.
So when the Dopple became Ciri, did he have access to that power in her blood? Like is that why he was so freaked out about what he was asked to do, since when he became her he learned that stuff about her?
He didn't get Ciri's power, but he would have had all her memories, experiences, feeling etc. up until the moment he copied them for her. He seemingly knew the prophecy and combined that with what Ciri had gone through realized who Ciri most likely. What she is. Hence he was fucking freaked out.
Ciri's power comes from her bloodline, not something one can learn like martial arts
The only thing you need to remember is each of their timelines is in order for them, they just aren't happening at the same time. There is no jumping back and forth in time for each main character except for a flashback which is obviously a flashback.
This show was a solid 4 stars. I didn't think I would like it, but I ended up watching the whole thing in 3 days while on vacation. I'm really looking forward to season 2, and now I want to read the books as well because the mages do some badass stuff.
He didn't get Ciri's power, but he would have had all her memories, experiences, feeling etc. up until the moment he copied them for her. He seemingly knew the prophecy and combined that with what Ciri had gone through realized who Ciri most likely. What she is. Hence he was fucking freaked out.
Ciri's power comes from her bloodline, not something one can learn like martial arts
Oh okay, that makes sense. I didn't know if he was literally becoming them biologically to the point that he'd have her blood and thus have her power, or if it was more just shapeshifting or what.
But that being how he pieced it together makes a lot of sense. By having access to all her memories and experiences and being able to look at them from an outsiders perspective it led him to figure out who she was.
Weird. I wasn't a fan of the gratuitous male gazey nudity in some of the episodes (like those random naked women in that mage's tower in episode 1, come on...), but the sex scenes are fine? The one where Yennefer conjures up an audience that claps at the climax was hilarious.
Just finished it loved it wish it was longer, i have the first and second game, does the series follow the book? i have tried to play the first game but it's so awful, after watching the series, can i skip?
