The Witcher is finally back with a new season and the premiere episode did not disappoint. It is kind of a Monster of the week story but also brings forward the overarching storyline. Also it‘s great to finally see Geralt and Ciri together.
The short story "Grain of truth" was significantly changed from the original version by Sapkowski, but it seems to me that it wasn't ruined entirely, at least not to such an extent I had been afraid Netflix may do it. There are important changes, foremost Geralt bringing Ciri with him (in the short story it happens years before he meets Ciri) and the fact that Nivellen is not a stranger but an old acquaintance of Geralt. There is an interesting tidbit about the meeting with Nivellen, as he tells her a story resembling that of Ciri's ancestor the elf Lara Dorren, her human lover and their forbidden love. Ciri seems to like Nivellen and enjoys talking to him, maybe because he is intriudced as Geralt's friend so she can trust him more.
The situation with Ciri's nighttime meeting with Vereena is very strange and creepy, and it is a bit surprising that the bruxa didn't try to harm her in any way. Ciri feels a lot of sympathy for the bruxa, even when her real nature is revealed and Geralt warns her about Vereena, still Ciri disobeys him.
Another significant change from the original story is that Nivellen never tells Geralt the real reason he got cursed, so when Geralt and Ciri hear it after Vereena is killed, they are really shocked, and this explains why Geralt was friends with Nivellen in the first place - because he didn't know the truth.
Yennefer is believed to be dead after searching the battlefield by distraught Tissaia yields no results. Tissaia is really devastated about Yennefer's presumed death, though Vilgefortz, who is still working with the mages, doesn't seem to be moved by it. The scene when Geralt meets Tissaia and she claims that Yennefer is probably dead is quite moving, the way the witcher's face changes when he hears the news. Triss in turn is severely wounded but saved by Tissaia and Vilgefortz. While Yennefer is the prisoner of war of Nilfgard, Cahir has been captured by the North and is being tortured by Tissaia, eager to get any information about Yennefer. I wonder how Cahir's story will go from here since he is important in later volumes of the Witcher saga. Yennefer herself is deprived of her use of magic as Fringilla's prisoner ( I wonder what they'd do with Fringilla's arch since she also plays a crucial role later on in the novels and not as a stauch Nilfgard supporter), but she does talk back to Fringilla and stands back to her. Though it seems to me that it would be better if the episode concentrated only on the travels of Geralt and Ciri and their budding father-daughter relationship, without any interludes about the mages and Yennefer, this could have been kept for later episodes, and removing it would have made it more coherent. I read in some reviews that Geralt is more introspective and thoughtful this season and it seems to be the truth. I also liked the scene when he confides in Roach and talks about his worries about Ciri to his horse :)
Finally, here is season 2 and it is a superb way to start this show. In this episode, the final minutes get me more emotional and remind me of Beauty and the Beast.
Glad it's finally back. Good season premiere.
What happened to you?
That’s a tale requiring wine.
And you?
That’s a tale requiring a wine cellar.
Monsters do bad things to people.
People do bad things, to everybody.
Great start for the second season! Geralt was exceptionally chatty in this one. Loved the interaction between Ciri and the Bruxa, the way the episode was set up like a quest, and the speech about fear especially.
Been looking forward to this!
The movements of the mouth of boar-man are incredibly accurate. So well done.
Looking back on the first season, it doesn't seem as good as I initially thought. Over time, since the first season began, leading up to now, the criticisms became more relatable as opposed to the (excessive and exaggerated) praises, even though I was probably more in line with the latter instead of the former.
So, I guess I hardly had any (or high) expectations and yearning concerning the second season. But I think this was a decent start to the second season. It felt completely different than the entire first season. I hope that will remain the case throughout the entirety of this season.
Hell, I'd go far enough to say that this premiere just FELT much better than the entire first season. All I can say is that it felt better. Even if I wanted to deep dive into why it felt better and whether it is better than the entire first season, objectively, I'm nowhere near qualified enough to do that. Maybe the cinematography; and the linear narrative opposed to the non-linear narrative in the first season were contributing factors.
But I can say that there were some improvements, such as:
The cinematography. It's relatively good now, unlike in the first season. I think it was what stood out the most in this premiere: it stood out in the first season, too, just not in a good way. It looked surprisingly crisp and high-quality. I think it was well-done, not only in appearance but also technically. The use of lighting and the angles of some shots. How some shots were filmed and so on.
The dialogue, maybe. I seem to think that it wasn't great in the first season. But overall, it felt like an improvement in this premiere. Of course, there's still room for even more improvement.
The writing remains to be seen. Upon first impression, nothing about it stood out in a semi-negative way, which is good. I hope that continues for the rest of the season. I think this will be a season of improvements over the first season, all-around. And even if there are moments written poorly or conveniently, I doubt they'll be worth it to care about them.
Here are some of my other thoughts regarding the episode:
The contact lenses (?) that Henry Cavill and Freya Allan were wearing gave each of their characters something needed. I'm not sure if Henry was wearing contact lenses in the first season or if the color of his eyes was CGI. I'm pretty sure that neither was the case for Freya. I can see why some people may not like them. They look a little uncanny. But to me, both of them look way better, aesthetically, with the (these) contact lenses. And they're further amplified by the crisp, high-quality-looking cinematography.
Geralt and Cirilla's relationship/dynamic seems wholesome, although they seem pretty close already, which is odd. They're still pretty much strangers. But maybe there was enough time for them to grow closer to each other. Off-screen. Or it could be :sparkles:destiny.:sparkles: Either way, I like their relationship/dynamic already, and I hope it gets even better throughout the season.
I can't be the only one who thought Tissaia was going to do the magic memory search thing on the guy who was on their side that Vilgefortz bludgeoned to death nearing the end of the first season. I'm aware that both locations were different, but they had to have been close to each other. Bodies also seemed to be being brought to where Tissaia was. I think my initial thought had some merit of possibility, yet it was a bit far-fetched at the same time.
MyAnna Buring's acting carried this episode, acting-wise. I'm assuming that'll be a popular opinion and an opinion that most people would find agreeable. As far as Tissaia is concerned, I like the amount of care and attachment she has towards Yennefer; and the lengths she'll go for her. I'm interested to see how their relationship will pan out throughout the season.
The CGI (?) for Nivellen looked pretty decent. There still looked to be a tiny bit of uncanniness, but nothing immersion-breaking. And the animated (?) moments of his mouth during speech and drinking looked decent, as well. If anything, the CGI during those moments looked more uncanny, sometimes, than his entire look.
The acting by Kristofer Hivju as Nivellen was pretty decent as well. I haven't watched Game of Thrones, but I'm assuming that he's somewhat of a high-profile actor who's also a pretty good actor, so I guess it was cool to see him in (only) this premiere. If only he played an important character who'll be a central part of the story at some point.
Unless there's something I missed at the end of the first season, Cahir's capture seemed random. I guess it wouldn't have been impossible for him to be captured and given how many of Nilfgaardians Yennefer took out with her final attack. But it still felt random. Maybe I'm alone on that.
The fight sequence of Geralt against (the Bruxa) Vereena was filmed quite nicely. Choreography-wise, it started pretty decently, but once she transformed into the bat-like creature, there wasn't much to it anymore. Still, something about it made it seem better than the fight sequence of Geralt against the Striga in the third episode of the first season.
Overall, this premiere was somewhat of a slow start to the season. It did pick up further into the episode. Story-wise, the pacing wasn't too fast or too slow. Pretty much, this was a decent/entertaining premiere. It'll likely get better and more exciting starting with the next episode, so I'm looking forward to continuing watching through this season.
Now, this is a way to open a series. I liked the first series, I'm loving this one so far. As a side note, had you told me that Henry Cavil was not the one playing both Superman and Geralt I'd believe you. That's how good is acting is.
very good opening episode, this is the tv programme i signed up for, it has a really good amount of action but also has a really deep storyline, and what i think makes it a real storytelling masterpiece is that you question whether Geralt is a good guy or a bad guy, brilliantly done.
kristofer hivju without his beard what a weird look
To be honest the first series look like cringe crappy movie B-class. But who's going to wait better from Netflix.
I quite enjoyed the change of pace in this episode—the characters had more space to talk, reflect, and simply exist, instead of always being caught up in massive battles. I especially liked the warm setting of the mansion.
The bruxa was terrifying!! So creepy!
He could've knight her 10 times
Immediately sucked right back into the story! I watched the 'previously on...' bit and I had to dig very deep into my memory as to what precisely happened back in season one - since it's been a while - but the first episode just hit right where it should.
I'm glad they didn't drag anything out in regards to Yennefer's whereabouts.
First episode served action, good dialogue, tension and just enough to lay some groundwork for the upcoming quests. I'm really excited to watch the rest of the season.
I been waiting so long for this, now I got reminded why I love this show so much. What a great first episode!
One correction .. Yennefer and Geralt never met before Cirilla was born or she was claimed as surprise by Gerlat. so yennifer didn't make him claim ciri but he changed his mind after meeting her.
A great start to season two :)
Seems like Tissaia is pretty broken after they lost Yennefer. It's quite interesting to see that side of her. Even resorting to torture... :o (but then again she never seemed particularly kind).
Their eyes are cool btw. I presume they wear contact lenses? Geralt has yellow eyes, Ciri green ones, and of course Yennefer with the purple eyes.
Geralt and Ciri are very interesting together. And even fun, e.g., when Geralt mentioned the marriage and food :D
Nivellen was so full of twists. They met him as a monster, then he was kind/friendly, then there were the doubts and that he's hiding something (a cool friend but one that might not be as trustworthy as it looks), until he killed the monster that he loved, but finally he revealed that he raped the priestess... What a ride!
And that other monster (Vereena) was also nice. So interesting to watch yet very unsettling/frightening. And what she put in Ciri's head might have bad consequences.
Yennefer's alive! #YAY But her being with Fringilla might be worse than death... :o Until they were attacked - what a cliffhanger! Hopefully Fringilla will free her and they'll part ways (i.e., Yennefer will escape).
And last but not least: I'm so confused regarding Ciri. Did they change the actress? I definitely need to check that! She seems so different - too different. Older (and IIRC the two seasons are only 1-2 years apart, right?), she looks different (more like a barbie - which is ok but not ideal), feels different (much more chatty/talky, which is nice - vs. in the last episode where she was so silent), and even her voice sounds different. So I guess it must be a different access but I never know for sure (IIRC I was wrong regarding something like this before).
I seem to be in the small majority that thought this was a pretty rough start to a new season. With a nearly 3 year gap, I felt the show suffered. Ciri aged years and is no longer a child, something that ruins the whole idea behind her. I felt like this episode was just an episode of The 100 with Beauty and the Beast, and it was pretty weak.
A solid ending promising a, hopefully, better progression in the next episode. But overall pretty forgettable for most of the episode.
WOW! This episode was a powerful opener for the 2nd season. looking forward to episode 2!
I love this show, and this world, and these characters SO SO MUCH!!! Gotta savor this as much as I can, or at least try haha
I enjoyed it! It was a good start after a long wait.
A nice twist on the same setting from the short story. That last moment with Nivellen hit hard. Very well crafted writing.
just when i liked the beast so much, he ends up being just as bad as the rest. it teaches u to never trust in humanity anymore.
Oh I don't know. seems like it doesn't justify the wait much.
First, I've read all the books in the Witcher series multiple times and played all the games before the first season aired, so I can't have the same perspective as someone who has never read or played any of the existing Witcher content.
I would like to give a rating for this episode, and I will make suggestions to improve future seasons.
The first episode is mostly about the short story with the Witcher Geralt and Nivellen. The story arc was for my taste a bit slow. It also doesn't make any sense to wait for the second season to show this short story because Geralt was never there with Ciri. It also takes away the mystery and detective work that Geralt does to find and kill the Bruxa. The Bruxa is very well portrayed in the way she moves, speaks and behaves. They should focus more on the books overall when it comes to the screen time they give the various characters. Why do they give Yennefer so much screen time for a really bad explanation where none is needed. I don't like how they change the settings of the different characters, because it makes each character's story seem slower than it could be, and takes away screen time from Geralt at the same time. The final scene where Geralt fights the Bruxa is really close to the books and in my opinion well-choreographed, but it doesn't make sense that Nivellen tells at the end that he raped the priestess because he told him that from the beginning. They missed the opportunity to explain why he raped her and how he tried to lift his curse himself, because I think Sapkowski was trying to write a more realistic version of "Beauty and the Beast" in his own universe. In the end, as a reader, you don't really know how Nivellen feels about his curse being lifted, because he is laughing and horrified at the same time, which is not shown in the episode.
In conclusion, it has to be said that the first episode was the best episode of the season, because it still followed the books the most out of all the episodes. Nevertheless, this short story should have been told in the first season without Ciri, because it doesn't fit into the plot of the first novel and further slows down the actual story from the novel. Henry Cavill as Geralt and the actor from Nivellen made this episode worth watching in the first place, or only because of it.
Shout by DeletedBlockedParent2021-12-17T12:12:30Z
To be honest, I already like this episode much more than the entire season 1.