Some more characters and elements from the book are introduced, as Istredd is doing his research and visits Codringher and Fenn (Fenn is a woman in contrast to the books but it does not seem such a big problem), they are both shown in a bit more positive light than in the novels rather as researchers and collectors of old literature (pity it's going to go down in flames together with Codringher & Fenn) and they tell Istredd about Lara Dorren and Ciri's ancestry. Mother Nenneke and the temple of Melitele are also introduced. Nenneke shows a lot of empathy and support towards Ciri, and the temple is atmospheric with its addition of the candle burning custom. It is really a nice touch that they included the historian apprentice Jarre, who was not a crucial character so it is great to see him included as well. I wonder if Shani and Yola would make their appearances later on? They become important in further volumes of the saga. Jarre also tells Ciri about oneiromancers and the tower that can be a portal, which suggests that the events with Tor Lara and the character of Condwiramurs Tilly would be introduced in further seasons? I hope so.
I do not really care about the Cintrean storyline, it is nice that Francesca finally has her baby (Fringilla seems genuinely happy about having helped the child to survive) though that does not have much to do with the novels. Cahir seems bent on following Emhyr's orders and finding Ciri, he seems rather a cold-blooded person who does not have any feelings for the girl, whereas in the novels he was secretly in love with Ciri and wanted to find her only to protect her. His character seems to be permanently changed for the worse. Just like with Lydia, who works with Rience rather than being an innocent mage blinded by her love to Vilgefortz, here she seems to be a conniving and calculating person. Rience attacks Kaer Morhen and almost kills Vesemir, but manages to steal the vial with Ciri's blood (this resembles a bit the story from the game Witcher 1, where the gang of Salamandra steals the witcher mutagens). Triss helps the wounded Vesemir but finally decides to teleport to Tissaia and inform on Ciri.
Yennefer and Geralt reunite in the temple of Melitele, they kiss but from their conversations later it does not seem like they are fully reconciled. And anyway, Yennefer is yet another person who wants to use Ciri for her own purposes, this time to regain her magic, Geralt senses that she is nervous but cannot really detect the reason behind this, but Yennefer is here to kidnap Ciri. It seems that only Geralt cares about Ciri herself and not for the purpose she can be used to gain, he is the one who protects her rather than use her. He doesn't think what Ciri can do for him but rather how he can save her. It turns out that Ciri is not treated fairly by any other characters, even the positive ones, who perceive her as a means to their end rather than as a person with her own feelings and dreams, even Vesemir, Yennefer, Triss and others do it.
Come ON. you can do a lot of things in this show that is… not right not still somewhat ok, but I can’t forgive what you decided to do with Roach. Geralt isn’t Geralt without Roach.
Glad they brought up unicorns though. At least somethings canon. Did enjoy the fighting scene too.
Did they kill Плотву?! For real? Damn..
That fight scene in the temple was worth the price of admission alone!
The further into this season I go, the less decent it seems. I believe the beginning of the season was pretty decent, yet now, it's like it has become meandering, the spark fizzling out. I guess Rience's fire magic is a little too powerful.
I'm not interested in Fringilla's storyline with Francesca in Cintra, alongside the latter's pure-blooded elf baby's birth. I feel like there hasn't been enough focus on all of that for me to care about it. The structure of everything going on hasn't been as good as it should've been. It's been too long since the second episode with a lot of other stuff happening; too little of a continuous focus on that aspect of this season. I can't suddenly care, now. Despite it about to be more focused on due to the imminent arrival of Emhyr.
It wasn't much, but the "fight sequence" against the Chernobog was cool. The first/final attack, I mean. The VFX of the blood as Geralt was slicing through it was a little shoddy-looking: but not super bad.
cont.) And it would seem like a chernobog is something that wasn't in the novels, or the games, even. I'm still in the process of watching this season: so as not to spoil myself; because of that, I haven't looked more deeply into that to know for sure. All I did was google the name. And from the little preview sections under one or two articles, it mentions how it's entirely new.
After watching the episode, I read the summary, and it genuinely took a few seconds to figure out who the close friend was. That's how much Roach's death went over my head into outer space, never to be seen again. I wonder if the writers meant for people to be emotionally impacted by her death because I wasn't.
cont.) There will be a new Roach, like always, I'd imagine. Geralt's pretty up there age-wise. I bet he's had quite a few horses in his time. Ones that were killed by monsters, as this one was. And ones who died naturally. Just because this time it happened on-screen doesn't automatically make it impactful.
Huh. So, what Cirilla recited that time in the first season is Ithlinne's Prophecy. Interesting. But how did Geralt know about that? Earlier in the episode, Cirilla did bring up the instance where that happened; because of that, I guess we're to assume that's how he knows. Yet she didn't tell him about what she recited. Not to mention, I think this is the first time that we know she remembers saying it later on in the episode, even though she was in that trance-like state.
It's obvious how Geralt knows about her reciting something. It's just that I find it weird how the writers wrote Cirilla to bring up that very instance and then have her not mention the words she said during that instance. I guess it happened off-screen for some reason. Maybe I'm forgetting/missing something.
I thought Yennefer and Geralt's reunion was wholesome, alongside Cirilla's involvement. A good ol' family. Already. How cute. I also liked Yennefer's personality in this episode. Specifically in the scene with all three of them; her attitude. It was completely different than how she's been in previous episodes, how she was in the first season, even. I wonder if it has anything to do with having hope now: hope to get her magic back.
cont.) I feel like it's a mixture of that, reuniting with Geralt, and maybe a subtle hint of motherly-ness towards Cirilla that may already be blooming. Being a mother was an aspect of this episode with Francesca. I liked this new Yennefer, and I hope it's a Yennefer presented a lot of times in the novels: one that the writers will do the same in this show's future.
Perhaps an unpopular opinion: the fight sequence with Geralt against Rience's gang was cool. The choreography wasn't bad, and it was nice seeing a fight sequence with hand-to-hand combat. Those who had the most responsibility, though, could've done a better job, I'll admit. Particularly the VFX. Besides that, I thought the way it was done filming-wise, along with its choreography, was decently done. It certainly beats that fight sequence in the "Rare Species" episode in the first season, the fight sequence in the cave.
I think the episode became worthwhile once Yennefer showed up. Everything afterward was also more enjoyable, not just when Yennefer was on-screen. Other than that, there wasn't much excitement to be gleaned. I hope the last two episodes have more excitement and that the season ends on a good/high note.
Well, that was unexpected. F
I'm trying to enjoy this and failing at every attempt. Don't get me wrong, this is solid entertaining mainstream tv. With that comes your typical lack of attention to details, plot conveniences, upped drama & visually pleasing action. As someone who read the incredible source material of the witcher though, I can by now clearly say that this is a mainstream retelling falsely advertised as a faithful adaptation.
The differences are not in any way, shape or form subtle. Yennefer, one of the 3 main characters of the series, has a widely different arc throughout this season than in the books and her arcs' climax in this episode is a betrayal to her character and her relationship with both Ciri & Geralt. Ciri can apparently open portals before training & learning how to control her chaos. And let's not start on Vesemir. The changes extend to the very lore of the continent with elves being able to reproduce now which would render some of the future conflicts with Ciri meaningless. That's just a small portion of the changes. Plot, lore & characters changes.
They had a perfectly apt source material with a huge fan base ready to love & support it. They advertised it as a faithful adaptation and spread stories on how henry cavill is making sure they're staying true to the books, which sounds ridiculous now. Then they either failed to follow up with their intentions or straight up decided the story wasn't good enough and needed their interference. Beyond disappointed.
8.5/10 - Very cool and interesting :) Ciri really starts to trust Geralt now :)
But RIP Roach... :o Geralt didn't seem as heartbroken as I thought though. At least he still has Ciri. But that horse was kinda his closest friend (based on how much time he spent with it and how often he talked to it).
That temple is pretty cool and the priestess is very interesting :)
I was quite happy to see Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer together. They could make a great family. If only Yenn wouldn't have that hidden agenda... :o Only Yaskier was missing.
Unfortunately it didn't last long... Let's see what Yenner will do next.
Good episode up until that fight scene... what was that? It was entirely awful. Such a shame that they absolutely butchered one of the best action scenes from the books.
RIP Roach, a true hero. And fuck monster dragons!
Someone was clearly a fan of Kingsmen, at least judging by the fight between Geralt and the Michelet brothers. I'm not complaining - it was really well-executed. Now I wonder how a John Wick-fight would look like in The Witcher.
Shout by GEEKZTORVIP 7BlockedParent2021-12-21T07:39:16Z
Another awesome episode, I love all the reunions that this seasons has brought us. If I have to say something critical about the episode, it would definately be the fight scene. They could have done much more to it.