The Witcher S2 Review: An Improvement from the Last Season!

The wildly popular Netflix show The Witcher returned for S2 with Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Ciri (Freya Allan) making their way to his home, Kaer Morhen where he believes she will be safe. Elsewhere, the Northern Kingdoms and Nilfgaard regroup following their battle and Yennefer is presumed dead.

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I have mixed feelings about this show honestly… The Witcher has a very strong gothic influence as well as fantasy of course. One minute it’s Frankenstein and Van Helsing, the next it becomes something akin to Lord of the Rings, the shift can be a bit jarring at times. The basis for any fantasy series worth its salt are the elements of lore and worldbuilding.

S2 does a great job of expanding upon the world for those like myself who aren’t familiar with the game. (I’m aware fans of the game are not pleased by this rendition but since I’ve never played it, I can only judge what I see.) It also stands to reason that as one of Netflix’s five headliners, they spared no expense on the production value and cinematography this season.

Right away you’ll notice a major change in Ciri’s appearance when no time has passed between seasons but I guess that couldn’t be helped due to the length of hiatus. Allan shows great skill in her role and future promise as an actress.

I would like to emphasize, it’s my opinion that The Witcher is at its best when Geralt and Yennefer are split up. For one thing, I don’t really rate them as a couple (they’re quite annoying when they share the screen) but they also offer far more to the story as individuals. In fact, it’s almost as if two completely separate stories are being told and forced to coexist.

Putting them together makes me feel like I’m watching a disjointed romance. Not what we want from The Witcher. This season justified Nightmare of the Wolf as a companion film. With the appearance of Vesemir, Kaer Morhen and Geralt’s brothers, we’re introduced to his background and given more expansion into the order of The Witchers and their role in the overarching tale.

Season 2 is definitely an improvement on the last but the story still feels disjointed and I definitely wasn’t a fan of how the season closed. Regardless I’ll be back. Watch ‘The Witcher S2’ on Netflix here.

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