What Is the Story About?
Geralt finally found Cirilla and has now commenced his duty – to keep Cirilla safe. And for Geralt, the best way to keep her safe is by taking her to his home – Kaer Morhen. At the same time, Yennefer of Vengerberg has gone missing after the Battle of Sodden Hill, while her actions during said battle have huge ramifications on both her and the war. WHat happened to Yennefer? Will she reunite with Geralt and meet Cirilla as well?
Performances?
Similar to the first season, this season too focuses a good amount of time on our three protagonists – Geralt of Rivia, Princess Cirilla of Cintra and Yennefer of Vengerberg who are played by Henry Cavil, Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra respectively. They know their characters quite well and are good in this season as well. However, Freya Allan is the best actor among the three as her character has gone through a big physical and mental transformation in these last eight episodes.
However, old characters such as Fringilla, Cahir, Triss and Istredd as well as new characters like Vesemir and Francesca have been given a good amount of screen time with all of them having a major impact on the story. Mimi Ndiweni, Eamon Farren, Anna Shaffer, Royce Pierreson, Kim Bodnia and Mecia Simson (respectively) all deserve mentions for their roles in this season.
Jaskier, who is played by Joey Batey, has limited screen time, but he is quite good in season 2. Other main characters such as Tissaia and Vilgefortz also have less screen time compared to the previous season, but they are just as important for the story progression and world-building (surprisingly).
Analysis
Like the title of this review suggests, the second season of ‘The Witcher’ is a good follow up to its predecessor but it could have been even better with a little better scriptwriting. Don’t get us wrong, the second season is an improvement in a lot of ways to the first season but during a few parts of the new season, it feels like a repetition of the first season. Let us explain that statement.
The first season was filled with a few decent stories from various different timelines which was mish-mashed together to give us a season-long exposition into the main story, which the second season was supposed to provide. And season two delivers it… somewhat. Season one focuses one introducing our three main characters – Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer of Vengerberg and Princess Cirilla (Ciri) of Cintra. We get an origin story for Yennefer, a traumatic journey to find hope in the case of Ciri and a brief look into the life of Geralt the Witcher. The second season gives us an origin story for Ciri, a (somewhat) traumatic journey to find hope – this time for Yennefer and we get a look into the routine of Geralt the Witcher. Notice a pattern there?
There is also the fact that this entire season also feels like an exposition, but unlike the previously mentioned mish-mash – we are getting the exposition in real time, instead of the non-linear story telling form the first season. Still, there are a few things that are similar to the first season which are not all that bad. There are a lot more action sequences featuring Geralt compared to the first season. While most of them are basically Geralt vs. a random CGI monster (or people), the fight sequences are quite cool. Also, a lot of callbacks and references to the game series and books are made in this season (similar to the first season).
There is a lot more that is happening in this season than the first season – and it happens to be good. After teasing us with Geralt and Ciri finally uniting at the end of last season, we get to see both of these main characters interact on screen for a good amount of time. In fact, most of the time, if one of them is onscreen, chances are the other one is right next to them. Most of their story arc is spending time with each other, building trust, with Geralt taking care of Ciri and training her while they slowly get used to each other’s presence. Meanwhile Yennefer gets a pretty decent character arc herself. After unleashing chaos at the end of season one, she ends up getting kidnapped. To make matters worse, she finds out that she can no longer use magic. This time, she is lost, similar to how Ciri was in the first season. However, the arc isn’t as satisfying as both of Ciri’s arcs (from both first and second seasons).
The music and cinematography was pretty much the same from the first season – which is great. But the show didn’t really offer much except for a few of the characters starting to interact more with each other. Characters like Triss, Fringilla, Cahir, Istredd, Vilgefortz and even Dara get more to do and have become an integral part of the main story – making the series very “Game of Thrones-like” with the amount of main characters. A few new characters like Vesemir, Francesca, Dijkstra, Rience and Phillippa have become interesting additions to the show as well.
‘The Witcher’ reminds us a lot of the film ‘Mad Max’, especially the second season. Meaning, while the show revolves around the titular characters, they are not really the only protagonist – nor are they focused as the main “plot driver”. Similar to Furiosa from ‘Mad Max’, this fantasy series has two other leads, ‘Ciri’ and ‘Yennefer’. While this is not a bad thing, Geralt feels like an extra in his own show (in both seasons). Still, the character has more to do in this season – but we hope that, in one of the coming seasons, our titular character will have a character arc of his own (which might seem unnecessary and almost impossible to do because of the character’s extensive history).
Overall, the second season of ‘The Witcher’ is quite good. It builds on the first season, giving us a better look into the world of The Witcher. While we did mention a lot of negatives above, in the main review portion, this season is indeed an improvement to its predecessor. Still, the show has the potential to become even better. So, if you guys like fantasy movies (or TV shows) that feature extraordinary creatures as well as magic from the middle ages, then ‘The Witcher’ is perfect for you.
Other Artists?
Nearly most of the side characters shown in the second season are important. The actors who returned to play the characters of Queen Calanthe, Pavetta, Mousesack and Duny provide us with a surprise and do a brilliant job. But what was more impressive was Duny’s surprising turn as the White Flame AKA Emperor Emhyr var Emreis – which is an awesome plot twist.
Chris Fulton as the fire mage Rience, Adjoa Andoh as the priestess of the Goddess Melitele, Nenneke, Graham McTavish as the Redanian spymaster Dijkstra all do a good job of portraying important characters.
Music and Other Departments?
One department where this show has to spend a lot of money is the special effects department. This should be closely followed by the arts department as well as probably the stunts department. All three of these departments have done really well and have made watching this series worth the experience. The direction and cinematography was just as good as season one. The screenplay has a few problems, but the overall story is better than the previous season. The music, however, is a different story.
Don’t get us wrong, The OST for ‘The Witcher’ is quite epic. During the opening credits, this song drops in the background, which gets us hyped for the remainder of the show. However, this same song is used for a lot of the major fight scenes on the show. And for a season that has seen more action than the previous one, this sound track can quickly become repetitive and boring especially if the same song is played over and over again (without any legitimate build up).
Highlights?
Ciri’s Character Arc
The Multiple Plot Twists & Reveals
The Linear Story Telling
Action Sequences
Some Interesting Side-Plots
Drawbacks?
Better “Action/Hype” Music
Some Irritating Side-Plots
No Real Explanation To how Yennefer Got Back Her Magic
Did I Enjoy It?
Yes. Definitely
Will You Recommend It?
Yep. But watch season one first (obviously)
The Witcher Season2 Review by Binged Bureau
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