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.