Summary: Geralt agrees to go on a dragon hunt to help a man, Borch, become a lord when he sees Yennefer is a part of it. Several groups are in competition and they travel together with clear conflicts. Borch deduces that Geralt is in love with Yennefer. Geralt speaks with her and realizes that she is still looking to cure her womb. Along the way, Borch falls off of a cliff and dies. Geralt makes it to the top and finds that the dragon is dead and has been protecting its egg. Borch returns and reveals himself to be a gold dragon wishing to protect the other dragon's egg. Geralt and Yennefer side with Borch and fight off the other men. Yennefer learns that Geralt's last wish tied her to him and seemingly is making her love him. Enraged, she leaves and Borch reveals that Yennefer's womb will never be restored and Geralt will love Yennefer though he does not want to. Angry, Geralt blames Jaskier for everything and ends up being all alone. Elsewhere, Ciri learns that Mousesack is a doppler and tries to escape but she is captured and tied up. The doppler turns on Cahir when it finds out Ciri's true identity. Dara frees Ciri but refuses to help her anymore.
The Good: Committing to this show's lighthearted high fantasy storytelling was a good decision for the main plot. Previous episodes of the show have felt confused with their identity because of the extreme tonal shifts that happened within the episode. This one felt the most consistent in tone, and it was improved by that fact. I enjoyed the main plot and I thought that it helped make this world feel more fleshed out and developed. I enjoyed seeing Geralt and Yennefer together again, and their interactions are interesting to watch, particularly because of what we learn about the characters by giving them someone to open up to (see: Best Moment). I also liked the Borch twist, it surprised me, and also opened up the world to more possibilities of magic and fantastical creatures. Once again, this show is strong on paper. Geralt and Yennefer's story sounds like it should be fantastic, but in execution it doesn't quite get there (see: The Bad). But I really like the idea of them constantly running into each other and reigniting their love specifically because of the wish Geralt made in the previous episode. It's clear that he loves Yennefer, but it's unclear if Yennefer's feelings are real, or if Geralt simply wished for them to be real. This is a fascinating set-up for a relationship, and it should lead to some compelling places. I liked how the episode ended with what felt like a very real tragedy as Yennefer and Geralt split up once more, and in his rage, Geralt has seemingly severed his bond with Jaskier as well. Borch laying out some harsh truths for both Yennefer and Geralt was a great moment that will hopefully push forwards the growth of these characters in the remaining episodes of the season. The Bad: This show's biggest flaw is a lack of heart. I do not care about what is happening on screen enough to be pulled in to the drama, and there are a number of reasons why this is. For one, the pacing is terrible. Geralt and Yennefer just met last episode, and now they have already been propelled to a "tragic" break-up scene. But the scene doesn't feel tragic because we still hardly know about them and their relationship. Apparently they had met each other countless times since it has been years since the last episode, which was a jarring revelation. We haven't seen their relationship develop organically at all, so it feels strange to see that they have such a deep connection in this episode. Another problem is the continued cheesiness of the show. I appreciated the lighthearted tone to make the main plot more gripping, but it just made it that much more jarring when the show decided to tell a more serious story with Yennefer and Geralt's argument. I feel like I'm watching multiple different shows every time I watch an episode of "The Witcher", and that sense of confusion is dampening my enjoyment of a story that is based on some superb ideas. Some of this cheesiness really took me out of the experience. The woefully bad dialogue for the dwarves took me out of the episode every time they spoke, and then of course there is that awful kiss scene that feels so forced that it had me rolling my eyes when I watched it, completely taking me out of that climactic action scene. All of these problems make this show feel stunningly empty and devoid of meaningful emotion. I just can't get into it because of that, even though I really want to get invested. Add on the familiar problems of poor dialogue, acting, and a lack of subtlety, and more and more problems seem to be getting in the way of this show. Ciri's story was remarkably flat. I had no investment in what was happening to her because she has hardly done anything in these first few episodes. I found myself looking at my watch during her scenes, waiting to get back to Geralt and Yennefer. Ciri's story has progressed so little that I no longer have any interest in seeing her. She has a split in this episode with Dara, but I could not care less about that. Their relationship has never been defined, and I have no clue why Ciri seems to know him well enough to call him family. We literally haven't ever seen them properly interact! I was also perplexed by the doppler tying her to a tree, making it so easy for her to escape. Villains suddenly becoming incompetent is one of my least favourite tropes to see. Furthermore, I'm confused by how the dopplers work. It is heavily suggested that they retain the memories of the people they copy (they were able to see into Cahir's mind), and yet the dopplers don't know that Mousesack has arthritis and hates the cold. And somehow they also didn't know anything about Ciri, even though Mousesack's memories would give them all the answers that they need. This inconsistency reeks of awful, thoughtless writing. Cahir is such a boring villain so far. I can't care less about him. I'm also not invested in Fringilla as a villain either. We're supposed to be excited for when Geralt's timeline catches up to Ciri's, but there is nothing interesting going on around Ciri that makes me particularly excited for this. At this point, I would rather watch Geralt going on his light-hearted adventures with Jaskier if all we have to look forward to it a poorly-written, trope-heavy mess of a main storyline. The Unknown: Who is King Neidamir? Where does he rule? What powers does Borch have, being a gold dragon? Will we see dragons again in this show? Will we learn more about the dwarves and reavers? I would be interested in exploring these communities. Was Yennefer the one who killed Eyck? What is the prophecy that Cahir is following? Again, what is the White Flame? What was Geralt's wish exactly? How did he save Yennefer's life by also keeping her tied to him? Best Moment: Geralt and Yennefer talking to each other about their dreams was a lovely scene. Having these characters simply exist allows us to learn some really fascinating information about them. I'm not fully convinced by their love, but I am enjoying their conversations with one another. Character of the Episode: Geralt. Conclusion: This is more of the same from "The Witcher". There are good ideas here, but the show is riddled with problems and feels remarkably flat as a result. Score: 49
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Aaron DhillonJust a university student who loves to watch TV. And analyze it way too much. Archives
March 2024
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