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The Witcher (Netflix)

6K views 66 replies 13 participants last post by  Naren 
#1 ·
#7 ·
I watched the entire first season this weekend, and I have to say that I didn't hate it. It was awesome in a guilty pleasure sort of way. You know, like how one watches Xena and Hercules episodes when no one is looking. That's really what it reminded me of. The big take-away for me was "I really need to play that game again".
 
#8 ·
Binged first season. Fucking loved it.

I feared Cavill as Geralt. Really thought it was going to suck. But man, he NAILS Geralt completely. It's a bit of a slow start, and lots of threads, but considering the source material, it's really just exposition for the first 2-4 episodes before it starts to come together. Cannot wait for the second season, this one was way way way too short. But I am so going to rewatch it.

backstories are cool too, even if they initailly don't seem like it, but they all tie iin to character motivation.

I will say, this first season is pretty much a setup for the rest (much like the short stories Last Wishj book it draws from)

Need more Geralt. It is fucking Epic. The battles, man oh man, brutal.

I loved the game, and love this.
 
#12 ·
Just finished the first episode and I gotta say that I love the elements they've taken from the games. The biggest element is, of course, the music (at least 2 and 3. I don't remember if 1 had this style of music or not). The music for the games is very unique and very iconic, and while so far, I don't think the show has used any of specific melodic themes or motifs from the games (though I might just not have noticed), they've used the exact same style, the exact same instrumentation, and overall feel.

No matter how many trailers I saw, I had trouble seeing Henry Cavill as Geralt, but the first episode alone won me over. He's doing an excellent job. He might not quite have the look perfect (though that's impossible since he just wasn't born that way), but he's pulling off the attitude, style, mannerisms, and everything amazingly. And one could argue that film should be a lot more forgiving, such as the wide range of different looking people who have played James Bond.

Those who don't know that the games aren't adaptations of the novels might be surprised to find Cirilla to be about 11 years old when she's around 22 or 23 in the Witcher 3 video game, but the very first Witcher novel takes place about 10 years before the very first Witcher game, the game mainly being sequels to the novel series, taking place after they ended (since the series was originally 7 novels published from 1993 to 1999, while the first Witcher game came out in 2007 as a sequel to the final novel).

Looking forward to the rest of the series (and the second season too since I saw that Netflix has already confirmed it).
 
#13 ·
Wife got me watching because she likes Cavill. He's alright with me too. No background with either the novels or games. We are almost done with season 1. It's pretty good. It was confusing at first when it jumps around 20 or 30 years at a stretch, sometimes with scenes flip flopping with each other taking place in different time lines. But pretty enjoyable. I really love how Geralt says, "Huhn" to everything.
 
#20 ·
I finished watching the first season a little over a week ago, and it really had me wanting more. Even though it's basically 8 hours long (since it's got 8 episodes with most right around 1 hour long each), it really feels too short. Which is a great thing for them, because it means a lot of people are looking forward to the second season.
 
#22 ·
I found this interesting video that compares one scene from the Netflix show and one scene from the third game where the same dialogue from the novel is used to compare the voice actor, but I have to say that I really do think Henry Cavill nailed the Geralt voice:

(Warning, though, there's some nudity in the Netflix scene, so not safe to watch at work)


EDIT:

And I'm guessing that Henry Cavill probably took a lot of inspiration from Doug Cockle's performance in the games (which he actually won and was nominated for several awards for his voice acting) since I just saw this interview with him where he says he actually sought out the role of Geralt because he's a huge fan of the Witcher games.

 
#24 ·
^ :lol: I'm playing through W3 now and this is so accurate. I don't skip the dialog on the main quests but this is every side quest for me in a nutshell. I love the silent pauses where they just stare at each other too, it's spot on.
 
#25 ·
I tried watching this. Tried. Had to skip around a lot, trying to find a part that didn't suck.

For reference I first got into The Witcher when the first game was still based on the Neverwinter Nights engine, read the books after playing the first game. Played the second. Loved the third. Iconic game. So it's not like I'm not a fan, I'm going in predisposed to like it. One thing people don't realize is the books were never that good, they were sort of obscure polish b list fantasy incorporating a ton of other legends. The first game was cool, but it was really the second game and REALLY the 3 that made the world iconic.

I thought the Netflix adaption fucking sucked. Had nothing on the third game.

Maybe it's OK on its own merits, but its not The Witcher. There's too much shit to go into fully, but basically it boils down to:

-The entire fucking point of the Geralt character that the world came to love when the games came out is he is a tired old man who is too old for this shit. If you take away the characterization that he is a grumpy old man, you take away the core of his character. Yeah, he was younger in the books, but no one cared about those until the second and third game's writing staff showed what the world was capable of.

-Not a knock on Cavill, but Doug Cockle's vocal performance is iconic. Gravelly badass. Cavill's voice sucks in comparison.

The nicest thing I can say about the show is it made me realize what a fucking iconic game 3 is. Every character in the game is more fleshed out than in the show. Gaunter O'dimm was a better villain than anything in the show. Play the Hearts of Stone expansion or the main campaign of 3 and tell me anything on the show was on that level. It fucking wasn't. Even minor villains in the game were insanely memorable, this was just generic fantasy hash. Every character in 3 was larger than life. The Crones, Sigismund Dijistkra, Thaler, Keira Metz, Whoeson Jr, the fucking Bloody Baron, etc. etc. etc.

Honestly I think the mega positive reaction some have is just due to the fact people fucking jump on every HBO/Netflix Fantasy or Sci Fi series and act like it is the most legendary thing ever.

On its own merits it might be a mediocre fantasy show, but in comparison to 3 or even 2, it sucked.

If you liked it, cool. But the seeming consensus of "THIS IS THE GREATEST THING EVER" is another case of hardcore fans getting drowned out by the bandwagoners who jump on every fantasy or Sci Fi IP when a high budget adaption comes out. I mean, maybe it was cool as mindless fantasy fodder, but I couldn't even watch a whole episode. Generic as fuck.

I regret feeling that way because it makes me look like a hipster. But better a hipster than someone who mindlessly proclaims every fantasy IP adaption that comes out is the greatest thing ever . I really wanted this to at least be decent, I honestly didn't expect the adaption to be as bland and milquetoast as it was.
 
#27 ·
The entire fucking point of the Geralt character that the world came to love when the games came out is he is a tired old man who is too old for this shit. If you take away the characterization that he is a grumpy old man, you take away the core of his character. Yeah, he was younger in the books, but no one cared about those until the second and third game's writing staff showed what the world was capable of.
Disagree 100%. The show is based off the books, which are actually quite a fun read. Since Cavil is a big fan of the games and they obviously have a big gamer audience, they did adapt quite a bit of the tone of the games, but the games are a sequel to the epic in the books, so Geralt is much older in the games.

Hey it's not for everyone, but I've found the show to be as enjoyable as any other Witcher content, including the small amount of the books I've played, along with the second and third games.
 
#26 ·
Also, it stripped out all the interesting bits of moral ambiguity the games introduced and just expected you to forget it because Geralt did the monologue about evil.

The games had actual interesting subversions of fantasy cliches. Like the whole dynamic of the elves and the Scoia'tael having sympathetic motivations from being mistreated, but also kind of being fucking terrorists. 2 and 3 (and parts of 1, though it went off the rails in the second half) were so compelling because the plots revolved around themes of moral ambiguity.

They decided to forego all the interesting stuff like elven terrorists for another GoT clone where people say fuck. I like violent fantasy shows where people say fuck and there is nudity as much as the next guy, but there are plenty of them out there.

Of course, if I missed the good stuff and there is one episode that is actually high quality, recommend it to me. I tried watching every episode, couldn't make it through one. Maybe will give it another chance later.
 
#33 ·
I'm on the Bloody Baron stuff now actually, I just got done following the mystical floating fetus. Like I said it does feel dated but I'm enjoying the story and the world quite a bit. I'm just really glad they fixed the looting. :lol:
 
#35 ·
Fuck. I am for sure going to have to play W3 again. I thoroughly enjoyed it 3 years ago, and it's been long enough that I hope not to remember too much of it. I'm just not sure I want to give 3 months to it again. :lol:

Seriously though, now is the time before Spring hits and all the glorious distractions that come with it.
 
#36 ·
I've played all the way through The Witcher 3 three times and lately I've been thinking of playing through it a fourth. That's just how good of a game it is (probably my favorite game of all time, really). I don't know what Chris is talking about it "feeling dated." Sure, there are games coming out now that are graphically superior, but I still think it really holds up (and I don't find the controls to be clunky at all, though Witcher 1's controls were abysmal and Witcher 2's controls were flawed but usable). When it first came out, it was one of the best-looking games at the time, but if it came out now in 2020, it would still look good but wouldn't be cutting edge like it was at the time. On the other hand, I've only played through The Witcher and The Witcher 2 once each (though Witcher 2 is WAY WAY WAY WAY better than Witcher 1).
 
#37 ·
I've played all the way through The Witcher 3 three times and lately I've been thinking of playing through it a fourth. That's just how good of a game it is (probably my favorite game of all time, really). I don't know what Chris is talking about it "feeling dated."
A/B this game against Horizon Zero Dawn. The combat, the inventory system, the clunky movement - the game feels a generation old. HZD does everything this game does better. HZD feels smooth and responsive. This game does not. I feel like I spend half my play session diving through menus.

I don't want to derail into another 90 pages of arguments with W3 fans. It's a decent game to be sure but if you think this combat is good then you have some weird gaming preferences. :lol:

Naren said:
if it came out now in 2020, it would still look good but wouldn't be cutting edge like it was at the time.
Yes, that's what being dated means. :lol:
 
#45 ·
Started this on a whim last night with the girl, who wanted an excuse to cuddle on the couch. We watched the first two mostly because we didn't manage top stop it before the 15 second timer to get onto the next episode had run down.

We're both extremely confused and are not entirely sure what's going on. The king and queen in the first are fighting elves? And what's with the Sorcerer having the dude spy on the hunchbacked witch-in-training, and the witch having the witch-in-training spy on the dude, even though she's evidently in the same castle as him and he's like an acolyte or something...? And what the fuck is a Witcher, anyway? Some non-human humanoid who goes around killing monsters for money, but definitely not as a public service, only if he's offered payment? :lol:

We may give it another episode or two, TBD, probably depending on what else she wants to watch is released.
 
#53 ·
Kind of, although the back story is less that humans stole their land and more that elves and dwarves are fed up with the whole "routine pogroms" thing.

The whole "the elves are pretty much Native Americans who had their land stolen" motivation is bigger in other fantasy series, like Dragon Age, theres a little of that in The Witcher but it's more that they are discriminated against and slaughtered.

They aren't as sympathetic as Indian caricature elves in other franchises like Dragon Age who pull the cliched "THIS LAND WAS MINE BEFORE THE WHITE MAN, ERRR, FANTASY HUMAN CAME ALONG".

That's standard fantasy rules since forever. The elves are analogous to the Native Americans (and other Natives who were colonized), and dwarves are the fantasy equivalent of jews who are unfairly persecuted for mining things and gathering wealth. The Witcher still has elements of both of those formulas, but it doesn't play it up as much as some other series.

Which is part of the reason the games, particularly the third, were so well received. I mean, I suppose the intentions are good, but people do get tired of the same formulaic stand ins.
 
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