Review: The Witcher

The Geralt of Rivia story originated from simple sheets of paper. The Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski, was the author of the literary saga that gave rise to the world of these mutants who were dedicated to hunting monsters. Then, CD Projekt Red decided to adapt this story to the video game format, to return to the stories left by the books. It should be noted that in this way the history of Geralt de Rivia took much more relevance.

Now, Netflix is the one that decides to tell the stories in the format of the series.

Let's start with a short introduction to the saga. This is the story of a world where monsters plague the continents, kings betray agreements with each other, and sorcerers control everything from the shadows. In this dark universe, the job of sorcerers, human beings who were mutated to push their physical abilities to the limit, is to eliminate monsters. In particular, we are presented with the story of one of them, Geralt of Rivia, one that his pilgrimage to eliminate these monstrosities led him to join Reyes and completely fall into the most chaotic prophecy of all time, just because it was his destination.

Now, this new format of the saga is not a continuation but a way to present its beginning. It is about everything that happens in the first books, but taking certain liberties and giving it a new, somewhat more "linear" format. The story has several time arcs and, instead of following one fixed line and deriving from the others, it is a constant review of the different timelines, which causes us to end up confused and lost in the stories of the characters. The only way to see this series well, and the most recommended in my opinion, is to have a basis on its entire history.

That's where a problem stems from. The series is intended for anyone who is a veteran of books or video games. Not only because the names of the localities and some characters are mentioned once, but there are several temporary connections that are made through people or events that, if you did not have them well known, you forget.

In addition, it is added to this, that some events of great importance are mentioned but not explained, which subtracts positive points.

All this that I mentioned previously, and added to that the plot at times does not seem to advance, make the series itself not up to the hype that had been handling weeks before its premiere. Of course, it improves as the chapters pass, thus achieving that in the last two, of the eight that the series has, it begins to make sense and be engaging for any viewer.

Now that you've talked about how bad this Netflix adaptation is, let's move on to the good.

As I said, it is an adaptation. This means that one of the most fundamental factors is how well the characters are adapted.

The gold medal at this point goes to Henry Cavill, our main wizard. He managed to represent the austere and soulless personality characteristic of Geralt in the saga, but he is not satisfied with just that. I even make it look like a mask to hide what Geralt really is, a human and not a mutant without feelings. In addition, Henry Cavill's affection for the character is noticeable, since as he himself has expressed being a gamer, it makes it more related to the behavior that the witcher reflects in video games. This encourages him to know his gestures, his movements and how to develop in a world that he hates.

The rest of the actors are well or at least do not go unnoticed, there are very few that are poorly achieved or so changed that they do not resemble the original at all. This last mention, basically falls on the sorcerer's chamber, but, being an adaptation that takes their liberties, it does not bother much.

Then there is the setting part, it is perfect. The places are ideal for those who want to show us, something gloomy at times and something fantasy for others. The camera work and effects are very well accomplished, resulting in great action and war scenes. Another point to highlight in this sad story of monsters, is that some humanize them and you can feel sorry for them, at least in my perspective.

And not only the places are well recreated, but the context of all the characters. It falls into the nomadic life of sorcerers, in the political maneuvers of sorcerers, in the personal problems of kings and even, in a yet unspoken prophecy. Each aspect has its development that, although many are lacking in depth, are very well managed. And, clearly, the saga focuses and will focus on the protagonist trio. Each of them has their own stories that develop over time and separately are layers of being more striking.

In short, it is a series that goes a long way but begins to drop all its cargo in the final parts of the season. If in the following seasons they renew the narrative way of presenting the conflicts and the development of the characters, we may be dealing with something much larger than today's popular series.