Television Review: The Witcher *Spoiler Alerts*


The Witcher
Starring Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan

I am not familiar with the books and I am barely familiar with the video game but I am familiar with Henry Cavill. I have been since he played Charles Brandon on The Tudors and have been a fan ever since. With that being said having seen a good number of his works, I was thrilled when I heard he was cast as Geralt in The Witcher. I know I said I'm not familiar with the video game but 1) I've attempted to play one of the games prior to the television show being announced and 2) the clueless gamer review by Conan which is actually one of my favorite segments. With that said I know who Geralt and Yennefer are prior to the show just not too familiar with the storyline. 
I had to delay my viewing of the show because my husband wanted to watch with me so I finally finished it and I think The Witcher Season 1 is fantastic! For those not familiar with The Witcher basically you are following three storylines: Geralt (Cavill), Princess Cirilla (Allan), and Yennefer (Chalotra). The tricky part of viewing the story is truly paying attention. If you look away for a moment you will miss a large amount of the story. The series opens with Geralt killing a monster then transitions to the introduction of Cirilla. She plays a game that she is allowed to win when something catches her attention. We don't know what until later in the season. However we find that there is a secret about her that has been kept from her since her birth. In light of an unexpected attack by a formidable foe, Queen Calanthe is forced to confine training and information to Cirilla within only a few minutes before meeting her demise after helping her granddaughter escape the clutches of the enemy. We are then introduced to Yennefer who is not the beauty I expected to see at first. Yennefer was a child hated and disowned by her father, bullied by those in her village for her deformity. She has a hunchback and a crooked mouth, forced to live in the mud with the pigs instead of kept in the house. You truly feel for her. Her father sells her to Tissaia for 4 marks and even then is disgraced by being addressed as "piglet." In an ironic twist, Yennefer becomes one of the most powerful mages however she is quite careless. From the beginnings she's had you would think she would be more humble but alas she's not. However on the other hand she wants to be wanted and aren't we all guilty of that? 
Geralt, we find, has a similar path to Yennefer in the sense that he doesn't bring joy to all he meets but it's not due to a deformity. It is due to who he is. He is a witcher. His journey begins when he is hired to kill someone named Renfri. Renfri tells him before she meets her demise that the girl in the forest is his destiny and she will always be with him. What we learn through Geralt's storyline is that he carries a lot of guilt I feel we may see more of what tortures our hero in season 2. 
One of my favorite moments is when Geralt saves Lord Urcheon whereas he honors the law of surprise by marrying Paverta. Through this exchange we learn that Cirilla is the daughter of Paverta and Lord Urcheon. The humorous part of this scene is when Lord Urcheon insists that he repay Geralt for saving his life. Geralt eventually gives in and says that he would take the law of surprise; pretty much like a "Well I'll just do what you did. Yeah I'll do that" at which point Paverta vomits on the floor signaling that she is with child. At this realization Geralt responds "F$*k." It makes for a very humorous moment. 
Fans of The Witcher books and games are most likely prone to watch the series but if you're not familiar with either you will be immediately hooked. All I can say is I am anxiously anticipating season 2 but it seems we have a wait. What do we do till then? Grind our teeth, rock back and forth, but make sure we eat in between until season 2 is here! (That's what fans do right?! LOL) Yes I put "LOL" in my blog. Keep in mind in the beginning of the season, the storylines are out of sync (in relation to timeline) so sit back, stay alert, and put bathroom breaks on hold. This is a story you don't want to miss!

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