I did not read the books, and I did not play any of the games (although I heard at least one of the games is of great quality in storytelling) so I went into this show more or less a blank slate.

And boy it is bad.... The writing is just dreadful. I think the writers assumed prior knowledge to the world and characters, and lean on that assumption too heavily.
From the very beginning it is poorly written. Timelines are messy and unclear, exposition is done terribly, worldbuilding looked like an afterthought and taken from a first draft, the pacing is all over the place and inconsistent over time as well inconsistent for each subplot. Episode structure is even irratic. They presented us a continuous story, but several episodes focused more on little episodic adventures that did not impact the main storyline all that much. And for a show with only 8 episodes, that is deadly and lead to other stories being rushed or simply put on hold for the next season (I assume.)

Toward the middle of the show, it started to get a bit better and I thought it could be promising after a bit rocky start, but in the end they could not deliver and it turned into an utter and complete trainwreck (oh that last episode, I almost fell out of my chair several times from disbelieve.) Rushed plot resolutions, while other characters stories crawled to a complete standstill with close to no progression or character development, in somecases even for the whole season.

What the show does have going for it: Photography, sets and costume design are beautiful!

I really did not want to dislike this, but it looked like they actively tried to make me stop watching.

As a big fan of both the games and the novels, I was quite disappointed in this attempt at adapting the world of the Witcher.

This is a world that is vast and filled with ancient history, which makes it a huge endeavor to make people care for it on a TV show. In that specific regard, I regard the show as a huge failure. We're thrown into the world knowing very little, which leaves us with characters emoting about places and events we have no emotional connection to.

It doesn't help that the chronology is a total bloody mess. Why the creators decided it was a good idea to [spoiler]tell three different stories stretched across 50+ years without clearly informing the viewer[/spoiler], I'll never know. I could follow because I read the novels, but as an introduction for someone unfamiliar with the world, it's an awful decision.

Compare this to two massive fantasy adaptations that succeeded at making us care:

- *Game of Thrones* started small, showing us the people of Winterfell, then introducing the visiting Baratheons and Lannisters. It made us care about the world of Westeros by first showing us compelling characters, then slowly expanding the stakes to encompass the entire world.

- *Lord of the Rings* had the most epic world-building in arguably the whole genre's history, but again it started small. It made us care about a quaint Hobbit village long before it was time to venture into the greater world.

*The Witcher* does nothing of this. As a result, when we're shown the [spoiler]massive battle for Cithra in the first episode[/spoiler], it's hard to care even if you're familiar with the setting. It's all just noise and pointless gore.

This tragic misfire carries on throughout the rest of the show. Before we get to experience how awesome Yennefer is, [spoiler]we get to experience her as a misfit whose only apparent redeeming quality is her hunger for power[/spoiler]. Geralt himself is interesting from the get-go, but he's all too serious to be sympathetic, at least until [spoiler]Jaskier shows up[/spoiler].

And so, we're left with characters emoting and chewing scenery. It's pretty scenery, sure: the VFX is nice, and the fight scenes are pretty great. But none of this feels lived-in and compelling the way *Lord of the Rings* was from its very first minutes. The dialogues tend to be arch and clichéd, and the whole affair lacks the subtle realism of *Game of Thrones*.

And so, as much as I love the characters of the Witcher, I'll continue to look to the novels and the games as the more definitive versions. This is a brave attempt, but as much as it aspires to be top-shelf fantasy TV, it's second-rate at best.

There's one moment where the TV series shone bright: [spoiler]the striga fight[/spoiler]. This had all the markings of what made the Witcher stories great, and it was genuinely terrifying and exhilarating. This makes me think that the first season would have been much, much better if it didn't try to build the entire world across a century of conflict, and instead focused on the adventures of Geralt of Rivia as he hunts monsters. Ciri and Yennefer could have been introduced a bit later, and their backgrounds explored in season 2, when we would all be on board for the ride.

As much as it deviates from the novels, I'd recommend *The Witcher 3* as the ultimate interpretation of that world. surpsassing even the novels.

I thought this would be one of those shows that got better if I had patience, but it really didn't by the end of season 1. Maybe I'll have to watch season 2, but I get the feeling this show just isn't for me. Maybe I would've enjoyed it more if I read the books or played the games, but I'm way less interested in that now considering how the show went.

The timelines weren't too confusing once I realized what was happening, but it seemed unnecessary as there didn't seem to be any payoff or reason to tell the story that way. Other shows doing the same thing were much more satisfying when things fell into place, and it usually delivered plot points in a meaningful way. I understand certain characters not aging, but the bard, queen, etc. must all have some kind of secret magical background yet to be revealed since they didn't age either. It's hardly the biggest flaw of the show, though.

I laughed at some scenes that were supposed to be serious, like [spoiler]Borch falling to his "death" and his voice as a dragon[/spoiler], some fights, etc. I don't understand the [spoiler]romance between Geralt and Yennefer. I thought maybe their relationship would develop in the earlier timeline and I'd find out why he thought she's amazing, but nothing like that happened.[/spoiler]

There is pretty much no character development for anyone other than Yennefer, but even in her case some of it didn't seem believable or I must have missed something. Geralt was fine, especially with the "Hmm" and "Fuck" memes. The bard's relationship to Geralt was fun. The action sequences were alright. None of that is really enough to praise the show for though.

People comparing _The Witcher_ to _Game of Thrones_ must be comparing it to season 7. It's not bad enough to deserve comparisons with season 8, but it's certainly not as good as the first half of the show when it had an actual writer's content to work from.

I started _The Witcher_ right after binge watching _The Dragon Prince_, an animated series with an age rating of 7+. You'd think it wouldn't make sense to compare them, but _The Dragon Prince_ is better in pretty much every aspect except the number of tits. It has many similar elements like animosity between humans and elves, fantasy creatures like dragons, in-fighting among humans, "good" and "bad" magic, etc. The plot is interesting and has a direction with good use of foreshadowing, characters progress and develop through their experiences, have reasonable motives, and even the romance was more believable and powerful. The comedy was also much better, even though that's more subjective. I'm looking forward to season 4 of _The Dragon Prince_ way more than season 2 of _The Witcher_.

So I've have to say I've thoroughly enjoyed this, even though I kept getting interrupted. So I may have enjoyed it more if left alone.

I also enjoyed the ps4 game although I hear this was based on the books, which I'm not going to read but I will definitely go back to the game and complete it finally.

But I must say I had a very hard time reminding myself that I was watching Geralt of Rivia "The White Wolf" and his love interest Yennefer, and not Michael Moorcock's Elric of Melniboné "The White Wolf" and his love interest Cymoril.
In which the latter was written 1st.

A complete rip? Maybe/maybe not, Influenced/inspired by Moorcock's creation? Most definitely.

Well the story lines may be a little different in places but the similarities in character looks as well as in many other aspects are uncanny.

I do have to say clearly it is very possible that two people could create two very similar ideas with very symmetrical visions. Even I myself have come up with ideas before that then one day I've seen someone make into a movie or show that felt like it were ripped straight from my head. But who knows, we probably never will.

Judge for yourself by reading the books, googling it or just wait for the supposed Elric series that's supposed to be coming out.
"Fingers crossed it gets a high budget and doesn't get put to shame by this one".

Oh yeah and if you're gonna play around with the whole time jumping thing please do give us the date or a better clue or something.
For example 1 min Geralt could have his renowned scar and the next min he doesn't have his scar, simple.
Definitely binge watch otherwise you might feel you missed an episode or think you forgot something.

And yes yes Elric is my namesake, thanx for that one Dad.......

The first season was going really great. But by season two, they altered the story from the book so much and completely ruined this Polish piece of art.