**This is a spoiler-free review so feel free to read on!**

The world of a dark fantasy can be somewhat confusing, but with Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt of Rivia, all bets are off.  We are quickly immersed into a world filled with terrifying nightmares, dark magic, and war, as we are reminded quite often about the importance of destiny while bursting into some welcomed song.

The Witcher began streaming episodes on Netflix as of December 20th 2019 and currently features eight episodes for season one.  Each episode is about an hour, so leave plenty of time to watch this.  It stars Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, and Anya Chalotra.  If you are worried about the cliffhanger ending at the end of season one, fear not!

The Witcher has already been confirmed and renewed for season two by Netflix.

Based on the popular video games and book series, The Witcher follows Geralt of Rivia on his monster hunting quest, as he tries to find his own purpose in the world while battling the forces of evil on a daily basis.  His destiny is linked to Princess Ciri, who ends up on the run during the war, and to Yennefer of Vengerberg, a powerful mage with her own inner demons.

Does The Witcher measure up to all the hype?  Let’s find out…

The Pros:

Wonderful characters and performances.

If you were worried about Henry Cavill, don’t be.  He’s absolutely fantastic!  Once you get over his tone of voice, you will thoroughly enjoy his performance.  Some of my favorite moments include the dynamic between him and the bard, giving us a lot of unexpected comedy and fun banter.

My favorite character is definitely Yennefer of Vengerberg, however.  Her story is so intriguing and interesting.  I got some Melisandre vibes from Game of Thrones, but that is not a bad thing at all.  I’m always more interested in the darker anti-hero rather than a character who is so obviously good.

Gore, action, and passion.

The Witcher is definitely not for the faint of heart.  The battle scenes are intense and there are some disturbing images and moments that I am still cringing over.  Of course these moments are also balanced out with a lot of sex scenes, but that’s to be expected.  I don’t think that anything was overdone or over-the-top, however.

The Cons:

A lot of characters and time jumps.

So, when you play a video game, you get a guide to reference and I often felt like I needed one of my very own to keep track of everyone.  There is a lot jam-packed into eight episodes and you really need to pay attention.

I also thought the time jumps were slightly confusing.  I didn’t get any text clues as to where we were in time and I had to figure it out on my own.  Again, I don’t really think this was a huge issue, but I did feel like I needed to take notes to figure out some things…

So am I in or out?

I’m in 100 percent!  Wow, this may be one of the best shows I have watched all year.  I’ll be honest, I went into this show expecting to be confused and overwhelmed.  I am familiar with the video games and books, but I wouldn’t say that I am that well versed in either.

From my understanding, the show fits in somewhere between these plots while giving us enough of a unique story, but you can watch this show without knowing anything about either one.  Trust me.

If you are a fan of shows or movies like Game of Thrones, Lord of the Rings, and Merlin, you will feel right at home, but I will say that you don’t need to be a fantasy fan to enjoy this series.  The story weaving is so intricate and well done and this show is beyond addicting.  Even though the episodes are long, I finished it in two days and as soon as I got to the end, I wanted more!

I highly recommend this show and I hope you enjoy it!

I hope you enjoyed the review and feel free to post your own thoughts and theories on The Witcher in the comments section below.  Thanks so much for reading and happy viewing!

Best,

Amy Koto, TV Fanatic Girl

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**Do you love television shows like Buffy the Vampire Slayer, Angel, Once Upon a Time, Lost, Charmed, The Vampire Diaries, and Supernatural?  Do you enjoy dark fantasy, fairy-tale retellings, paranormal romance, horror, and mystery?  Then you may like my book series, Dreaming of Wonderland…available on Amazon!  Thank you for taking the time to check it out and I appreciate any feedback as well.  I really hope you enjoy!

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