Netflix’s adaptation of Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy series The Witcher started in a thrilling, if not a bit unpolished way, introducing Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), a mutant who hunts monsters and gets entangled with Princess Ciri (Freya Allan), a powerful heir to the throne of Cintra. On their way, they cross paths with Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a sorceress with an agenda of her own.
The first season had its fair share of hiccups; uneven pacing, confusingly nonlinear narrative, but still the foundation of the show was solid with exhilarating action set pieces, charismatic performances and an intriguing lore. The second season was undoubtedly better, which improved the mistakes of the first season and gave us more insight to all the characters, especially between Geralt and Ciri who had to go through hell to find each other.
But the third season, which is split into two volumes consisting of four episodes each, has failed to deliver on all the good work that was done in previous seasons. Instead of giving a satisfying continuation of the saga, we are left with a sloppy attempt to wrap up the character arcs and plot inconsistencies. It’s a frustrating and disappointing experience for the fans who had very high expectations.
To recap what season 3 was about, Geralt is too busy keeping Ciri safe from monsters who are hunting her. Francesca, an elven sorceress, wants Ciri as she believes Ciri will save the elves from annihilation, according to a prophecy. While King Vizimir of Redania wants to marry Ciri so that he can secure an alliance with Cintra as she is after all a princess. Oh, also Emperor Emhyr var Emreis of Nilfgaard (Ciri’s father) is looking for her to keep her beside him.
The biggest problem with season 3 was its willingness to jam so many plot points in so few episodes. While the action scenes were as amazing as ever, the incoherent narrative and illogical storyline didn’t do the show any favors, making everything feel contradictory to what was established in the past seasons.
If we talk about the main villain Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu), his plans were not only predictable, but very poorly executed. His illogical action and vague motivations, along with his seemingly unlimited influence and resources played a part in his failure to achieve his goals. Finally, the way his final confrontation with Geralt played out was underwhelming. Unsatisfactory at best.
Now, let’s come to the characters. Instead of seeing growth, we saw them regressing beyond any recognition. Geralt was indecisively infuriating, and Yennefer more reckless and selfish than before. While Ciri did her best at every turn to disobey any orders that were in the best of her interest, Jaskier (Joey Batey) provided some much needed comic relief but didn’t add to the story much.
Another big problem with season 3 was its lack of balance between humor, drama and horror that made it so frustrating.. Attempting to portray a very dark and serious tone, it borderline felt too campy and silly instead. The spirit and essence of the books were all but absent, as we didn’t get to see any gritty realism and witty satire.The romance between Geralt and Yennefer continued to be rather bland, as there was a lack of chemistry between the two leads.
One of those things that did stand out was the action choreography, and the monster designs. In every fight scene, Cavill was impeccable as Geralt, with Ciri also taking up the fighting mantle and shone whenever given the chance. The season featured some creepy monsters, and the fight scenes were always tense, as Geralt always came up excruciatingly close to get beaten.
With this being Henry Cavill’s last outing as the titular character, there’s not much the fans of the series have to look forward to in season 4.
The exit of Cavill loomed heavy on the show, as his portrayal of Geralt received universal praise thanks to how faithful it was to the books, and how he brought his charm and talent to the character. With Liam Helmsworth already set to play Geralt from season 4, this looks like a very disappointing way for Cavill to bow out of a series that had the potential to be much more, than just a watered down version of Game of Thrones.
Ultimately, The Witcher season 3 is guilty of squandering its potential into disappointment. Fans and critics alike were expecting to see the show move forward in a satisfactory way, by taking inspiration from its source materials. Instead it tried so hard to become the next Game of Thrones, it forgot one simple thing. This would have worked best if it followed the tone of the books, or even of the video games, of the adventures of Geralt the monster hunter. And from there, it could have built the other characters, and introduced more intriguing aspects of the lore, but unfortunately that’s something we never got to see.