ATTENTION, THIS TEXT WILL BE SPOILERS FROM BOOKS EXCEEDING VOLUME 3! YOU READ ON YOUR OWN RESPONSIBILITY.
Oh boy ... Where to start ... There are so many sentences and conclusions that I would like to start with, I don't know what from. I will start like this - I have defended the 1st season from the very beginning. He was not perfect, he was a bit lacking in being good, but contrary to some viewers' complaints, he was not so bad. It was fairly homogeneous, told a specific story, not the worst beginning. I saw from the actors that they care, I appreciated the creators that despite the problems, they managed to partially reflect the content of the books and I hoped that this season would be better. Something like you see a child trying, not doing everything wrong, has potential, but for some reason it doesn't work out. So you are a little lenient with him. You try to defend yourself against excessive criticism in the hope that it only gets better after that - he listens to the criticism, works on the worse elements and tries even harder. And in some respects it was, but in others it was also worse than the first - in other words, the S2 is both better and worse at the same time. Only this time I have no reason to protect him or explain his weaknesses. Is popular? Is. Made a lot of money? He earned. Has a group of devoted fans or people who liked it and would love to see a better sequel? Has. So it was enough to do it just right this time. This series is bad compared to "Game of Thrones" (recently I refreshed all seasons ago, probably in January I'll post my impressions). It is worse in every respect - production, dialogues, editing, script ... I can mention that. And if I compared it to Sapkowski's books, it would be even worse. Which surprises me, because the content of his books fits perfectly with the things that Netflix often promotes. It was enough to write and implement it well. As I wrote in one of the news posts - I would take some of my high school friends to write a script with them, which would later be corrected and perhaps slightly expanded by a professional screenwriter and it would have been better. The second season is not only a parody of the book, but also of an ordinary series. Were it not for the fact that "Witcher" is a popular brand, nobody would pay attention to it, because there is nothing for it. I will also emphasize at the beginning that regardless of what you read below - putting aside emotions, the series is neither bad nor good, but average. Maybe a little better than average due to the special effects. My complaints are that its potential has been wasted - as games have shown, you can make something much better out of it.
Starting with what turned out to be the best, i.e. the actors (or more specifically - the primary and secondary ones, because the rest is just the background). The main advantage is Henry Cavill and here I was not wrong a bit - you can complain that the guy is too big for the role of Geralt or his wig (which has been improved from season 1), but in my opinion these are details. Geralt in the books was not a little skinny, so you can turn a blind eye to it. The wig now looks good enough to be ignored. You can see that he genuinely cares about portraying this character well, that he loves books and games. He reportedly got even more involved during the filming of this season and it shows. From the first episode to the last. Unfortunately, through the fault of screenwriters and showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, all their involvement went to hell. And I'm not talking about the Americanization of history, because although it is irritating, it is acceptable. At least for me. Unfortunately, this is the price of (many, but not all) high-budget American adaptations. It was like that before "The Witcher" and so will be after him, as long as the USA remains the most powerful country in the world. I suspect there were similar complaints about foreign adaptations before the US became hegemon (assuming this was seen as a problem or people were aware of it). I know, it annoys, because Sapkowski's story is firmly set in my part of Europe (Nilfgaard Germany, northern countries - the Baltic countries and neighboring Poland), but I am ready to sacrifice it for a high-budget series. It is even more incomprehensible to me that HBO has shown that you can make good fantasy with a much more extensive and better written storyline.
As for Ciri and her relationship with Geralt, I was also right. In my opinion, people were complaining unnecessarily about Freya Allan. It is not "my Ciri", but I believe that at least she played the role correctly entrusted to her. She is less stiff than in season 1, has gained experience as an actress, generally it is obvious that she is finding herself better and better in her role. Also her relationship with Geralt is fine and ... Now I will say a controversial thing for which many fans of "The Witcher" can kill me with laughter. I believe that her relationship with Geralt was presented worse by Sapkowski at the stage of the stories (and in the case of "Blood of the Elves" it was much better written). At least I didn't feel it even a bit after reading the stories with Ciria. Maybe I'll change my mind when I read them again one day, having a comparison with the show, which made it a bit easier for me to imagine it. I was also fine with her makeup and the fact that she was mature for her S1 version. The biggest changes (or quickest) to human appearance happen when you're young, so it was independent of everything else. Make-up is acceptable to me, but I understand the comments and memes that compare Ciri to prostitutes from Eastern Europe who earn from PornHub. And since I said about father and daughter, now is the time for grandfather and mother. Again, Yennefer had to be "supplemented" with additional threads. In a sense, if what Sapkowski wrote about it were literally screened (taking into account the scriptwriters' changes to the stories), it might not work for the series. It doesn't bother me, I consider it a necessity for the good of the story. But you just have to do it right. As I wrote in the introduction, I forgave a few things for the previous season, including Ciri's plot. I don't understand the complaints about Yennefer - what we saw in S1 was in line with her story and character. The actress also fits her description. I don't see much difference between a sorceress from a game, series, or book. In S2, Netflix had to prove himself more and spend more time, but Andrzej Sapkowski gave much more source material and opportunities to add interesting and intriguing threads for the viewer. What we got was fucking boredom mixed with bad acting of insignificant characters and a tragic script from the writers. Some of these things happened in or mentioned in the books, I'm not denying it. However, Netflix made it neglectful, delicately licking the potential of the author's text. Like a desperate prisoner who hadn't felt a candy bar in his mouth for 20 years, until one of the guards gave him a piece of paper with a small piece of chocolate to lick out.
I still believe, despite the criticism of many people, that Yennefer was portrayed quite well (or at least satisfactorily) on the show. At that stage in history, he was an arrogant, eminently selfish character who only changes his approach to life and people over time. Initially, she was good for cynical reasons (such as, for example, toxic people don various masks to hide their bad qualities), had positive flashes, but when she calmed down, selfishness regained control over her. The series did it well in season 1, and in season 2 ... Well, I can only say that the actress did her best (as you can see sometimes), but she didn't give a shit more often. She got a shitty script and dialogue so there wasn't much she could do. And this problem affects almost all characters. Its plot was even worse than Ciri from the 1st season (which was terrible to watch the 1st time, and when I watched it for the 2nd time with my girlfriend, I rewound it because Asia fell asleep with boredom). Her whole way to meet Geralt in the temple of Melitele could be summarized in 30 minutes, as well as many unnecessary threads that led to nothing (meaningful). In season 1, you could see that she is a proud, strong woman and an ordinary female dog, as in the book (you may not like this vision, but these are the facts). In season 2, she is her opposite - she often has an expression like a sad dog, she cannot comprehend herself (and I would like to remind you that when she ended up in incomparably more cruel captivity, she retained her female dignity). Ok, then it gets better, we also feel that the bond between her and Ciri is building (which turned out really well and nice, despite the deviations from the book), but it does not change the fact that for most episodes of S2 she did not fit Yennefer in any way.
Vessemir and the other Witchers ... Oh God, that's probably my biggest disappointment. Especially since Netflix got a really good actor to go with it, trying to get the most out of the shit he got. Unfortunately - you can't twist a whip from shit. I don't see anything in it from the characters I met through the books or the third part of the game. Similarly in the case of the other brothers of the Wolf school - I do not feel a bond between them, nor do I feel any characteristic features. They are basically dumplings that I would liken to the insignificant NPCs in old computer games - they speak up when they have to, and then go away and stand or perform some simple actions. And don't get me wrong, I don't mind the fact that Netflix didn't do it as well as CDPR or Sapkowski. What bothers me is that they are fine and without any character or distinctive features, thus merging into a single mass. Coen was a polite boy, he often played with Ciri (which was included in the series, but not enough, combined with the fact that he behaves like Lambert's ass, makes him stand out). Lambert likes to swear, drink vodka, fight, he is a 100% arrogant asshole, which you can not see at all, because the others are basically the same. Semi-ironic, "I'm glad" that although they got a slightly bigger role than their brothers, though there could be anyone else in their place.
Coming back to Vessemir, I also don't mind his reaction to bringing prostitutes to Kaer Morhen. Yes, the scene was cringe, but let's just say if it had been done better, I would have even supported the idea. After all, sexual orgies, the use of prostitutes, generally one night stands are nothing new in the world of "The Witcher". Everyone fucks there - vampires, Elves (who gave themselves to people because male Elves behaved like cuckolds from Western countries), sorceresses, witchers are considered good lovers. It would be acceptable, even for that fatherly smile of the Old Wolf - "Well, I don't want to fuck anymore, I took advantage of the joys of life, but you, my sons, enjoy ...". However, this is a small beer compared to what was later. In one of the episodes, Rience fell into KM (the scene was extremely funny - how did a minor wizard do it? like a newly trained Monster Hunter. Despite this and other silly scenes, you can see Geralt, our mentor. As far as you know the books and you will notice the few glimpses that my colleague Michał once put well when he commented on Netflix series - a few pearls in a pig pen, where it is full of thick mud. I can say the same about Kaer Morhen - it looks nice, the training area looks ok, you can see that they were inspired by games. Or The Witchers - their fights look nice, at first you can be deluded that everything is ok, but the longer we sit in the Wolves' stronghold, the more we suffer and complain while watching. The characters, relationships between them and well-written conversations are the strengths of Sapkowski's books, who here has been disgustingly flattened to the level of trash.
Eskel ... It's a fucking circus and a brothel rolled into one. However, I can partially justify it - the creators had to change this actor due to the death of his predecessor (who died during the shooting), but we are talking about such a gigantic scale of failure that it looks as if we were putting a slice on a rotting wound. Equally, I can partially justify the level of the show with a pandemic (in the sense, some bugs), but everything has its limits. This Eskel has some hardly visible scar, completely unlike his counterpart from the books, he dies in the same episode we meet him (thus wasting potential, it was impossible to change him to a Random? that was their plan in the beginning.) Anyway, fuck it. I will live Eskel to be a young asshole, proud, surly, arrogant and aggressive like Lambert (only drugged). I will not survive the fact that as a character he is obnoxious, like any poorly written or played character who has too much airtime, whether in a movie or a series. He has absolutely nothing to protect him, he was terrible.
As for Dijkstra, this is one of my favorites. A cynical and cunning motherfucker who can make proper use of weapons such as rumors, information or secrets. He always has a sharp retort ready, he always has a few tricks up his sleeve, he always has a few additional plans or scenarios in case the best one fails. You also have to try very hard to surprise him. You may not like him, but underestimating or disrespecting his persona is a mistake many people have found. When it was announced that Graham McTavish would play the role, I jumped for joy - the perfect actor for this character (aside from the fact that he's too skinny, but like Sonic's opponent in Jim Carrey's version, you can turn a blind eye to it). After the first episode, I was a bit disappointed. He was too comedic, and when I saw him drinking alcohol like a seasoned bum, I was ... surprised. Nevertheless, it suited me with this character, after all, a brain that works 24 hours a day, 365 days a year, has to react somehow. Later it was ok, but only ok. I suspect that it was due to the fact that he got too little airtime and he was not allowed to show his best side. It is also important that the writers are embarrassingly weak, but an actor with his skills and reputation knows how to get the best out of a shitty script. Hopefully we'll see him more in the seasons later.
Gaunter O'Dim is one of my favorite characters from the game. It is true that it did not appear in the book, but the creators of the game did such a good job that if I did not know the books, I would have thought it was their author's invention. What does its female version look like? Hmm ... It's hard to say. There was definitely not enough of it. It is said that she was portrayed by an actress with enormous achievements, but it is not completely visible. The serial version of this character is a miserable copy of the demon from the game. The scriptwriters did what they did with the rest of the characters and themes - they took some of the cool things, but they presented them neglectfully, not even approaching the book or game level. Gaunter O'Dim in the games seemed to be an all-powerful motherfucker who made an impression with his appearance. Here I felt as if I saw a goblin who accidentally got a powerful artifact, but only partially uses its capabilities. Another wasted potential.
Speaking of wasted potential, I can say the same about Jaskier. Again, I praised him a lot in Season 1, for which I was criticized by opponents of the show. He behaved as Sapkowski or games presented him - he only emphasized other aspects. His relationship with Geralt was like in books. And here? Hmm ... Well, he had some nice scenes, but he is far from the charm he presented earlier. It's nice that it visually looks more like its counterpart from games, but that's about it. It's just as bad for Triss Merigold. It's nice that her hair color has been changed and her relationship with the White Wolf has been tightened, but otherwise it's disappointing. Nothing comes of this, there is no romantic (or sexual) relationship between them, nor with Ciri (although in her case I'm not talking about sex, of course). True, he meets a young Cintrian woman under similar circumstances, and then takes her side in Kaer Morhen, criticizing The Witchers for their stupid (typically masculine) approach to raising a little girl, but ... It is so poor compared to the books. There, I felt genuine concern on her part towards Ciri and anger towards the Witchers, and here it all looked artificial, like most of the things taken from Sapkowski's work. A short break from complaining (take it easy, I'll come back to it soon) - I liked the duo Codringher & Fenn. Both they and their office look largely as I had imagined. Some have complained that one of the detectives has been changed to gender, but I think this is bullshit. It doesn't matter what the storyline is, but it fits the content very well. Their thread (or at least I think so, although I can be wrong, because I do not remember this stage of the story) was probably one of the few that was consistent with the book and led to something. They did not appear for long, but they also did not get much room for themselves in the book.
I can commend Nenneke and Jarre moderately. I will not pretend that the black priestess made me a little cringe at the beginning, but this was because I had a completely different idea of her - both visually and, above all, in terms of voice or approach to life. I quickly put these remarks in my pocket - anyone can imagine a character without a drawing at will + he is not a very important character from the perspective of the plot (from the perspective of the characters and their relationships, and yes). Apart from the color of the skin, she portrayed the priestess quite well, I can see similarities to her book counterpart. She didn't do it perfectly, but I would blame Netflix, not the actress herself. As for Jarre, I don't remember how Ciri reacted to him, I asked my friend, who knows Lore better than I do, and according to his answers, Ciri's reactions are more or less like in the books. The actor was well chosen, he behaves like in a book - he is clumsy and generally unattractive, write paint Jarre.
Ok, so back to complaining. Let me start with Rience - he is visually perfect, his magic looks good ... And I can only say so much positive about him. Oh, and the scene where Yennefer mutilated him was also great. Plus, it had some nice scenes, but overall it was boring. And his teleportation to Kaer Morhen, and I was crying with laughter. Vilgefortz still fits me in the look of the final boss, he's handsome as in the books, I think he carries out his plan, like in a book. However, this can only be my overinterpretation, resulting from the fact that I know books and see foreshadowing where it is not. Plus, he's fucking boring, like most of the characters. I just hope I don't get disappointed in Season 3 when he shows a tiny bit of his power, fucking Geralt like a professional boxer of a common hooligan. Cahir ... Oh boy, another wasted potential. The commander of the Nilfgaard troops made no sense. As in the books I enjoyed watching his way, here I was waiting for him to finish talking. It's the same with Fringilla Vigo, they both kind of did something for these 8 episodes, but most of their action can be thrown into the dumpster - especially constantly masturbating with Emperor Emhyr in mind. Or their collaboration with the Elves, which was just plain poor compared to how Sapkowski portrayed it. And speaking of him, I liked his entry. It is true that he did not make such an impression on me as his book or game version (whether in Polish or English language version - by the way, he speaks in the voice of Charles Dance in the game), but it seems to me that it is "due" to this, we didn't see much of him. However, I may regret it in season 3, as long as Netflix also castrates the adaptation of the next volume. I'll be really angry if they spoil one of my favorite characters. The rest doesn't deserve my attention, it's just a waste of time, because most of it would be only criticism.
The paragraph about the plot will be short - I have already partially criticized it, so I will forget this aspect. Due to the fact that I speak freely about all the things that we will see only in the distant future, it makes no sense to write about it. I will focus on one episode that I can consider to be really good. The first episode was the best in my opinion, the 2nd, 7th and 8th were quite good, and the rest were embarrassing - more or less. They talked too much in them, little came from these conversations, I suspect that if I did not know the book, I would not know where it is going. "A Grain of Truth" is one of my favorite stories - we have a great reference to fairy tales, lots of joyful and bittersweet elements, a strong moral and one of my favorite Geralt fights. In addition, we have what I think is best for Sapkowski - playing with concepts and well-known patterns, as Togashi does (the author of the manga "Hunter x Hunter", although he plays with patterns and concepts characteristic of battle-shounens) and showing that life it is not as simple as we think and each medal has two sides. If you don't know the books, I encourage you to read this story.
Netflix adapted them surprisingly well and despite the deletion or modification of a few elements from the original, it was the only episode where I clearly felt Sapkowski's style. Starting with the scene in which a vampire murders people, ending with a sad ending. As for Nivellen and the actor who played him, I have no objections. Kristofer Hivju, as I expected, did very well. Why am I not surprised, Tormund from "Game of Thrones" is in my opinion one of the best actors for this role (if we consider those known and within Netflix's reach). He is funny and talented, and he is great at both comedy and more serious scenes. I liked how his house was shown and his relationship with Geralt, Verenna and Ciri. Yes, Netflix cut a few things that would rather improve it, but what we got was satisfactory to me. Don't get me wrong, it bothered me a bit that I hadn't seen Nivellen's earlier lovers, and the lessening of the moral of the ending, but when I compared this episode to the others, it's not that bad. When I watched Geralt's fight with Bruxa, I immediately felt a familiar feeling from the Dettlaff vampire invasion of the capital of Toussaint, or remembered what I felt while reading this fight. Her special skills, speed, strength, Geralt's difficulty in fighting her. The match was as intense as it was in the book, until I can't wait to see Regis in action. I hope that Netflix will be based on its version from "Blood & Wine", because Sapkowski disappointed me a bit in this regard. My attention to critics - if you are amused by the Netflix adaptation, this one episode is worth watching, if only to have a comparison with the others. You can ignore the rest because it's only worse.
And there is something to ignore. At the end of the text I posted a link to Reddit, where one user listed all the differences between "Blood of the Elves" and season 2. I do not agree with everything, I think that some points are wrong, but 90-95% of them are true. I will list some of the rubbish that caught my eye. I have already mentioned some of them, and probably forgot a few - why not be surprised, there are too many of them for me to be able to comprehend them myself. I will start with the unnecessary development of less important characters, so the new, more important ones have no time and place for themselves. I mean Istredd, Dar, Stregobor, Fringilla, Cahir. Okay, the two at the end needed a little attention, but not that much. Their characters aren't that relevant at this stage of the story, unlike the Kings of the North, Dijkstra, Tissai who stares at Vilgefortz as the school's silent mouse at the best Chad in high school. Or Voleth Meir, which was probably only invented because they lacked an opponent at the end. As a result, neither the characters we already know have developed too much, nor the unknown ones got too much airtime. I do not mention the lack of world-building - culture, geography, and the social structure of this world. We got some scraps there, but in fact we don't know the difference between Nilfgaard and the northern countries, not to mention the diversity of their inhabitants. Such gluing with the help of saliva. Sometimes it works, as we can see, for example, after Rockstar games, but you have to put some effort into it, refine it (yes, I know, it sounds funny in the context of the recent scandal, but I'm talking about something completely different), and not do it, look carefully - ok, holds up. Hopeless, because hopeless, but she doesn't fuck in her hands. Although it's barely standing, you have to be gentle with it, but it works somehow.
The series is also inconsistent in every way, but we'll focus on magic and travel. When I reviewed the S1 and sometimes defended it against unfair criticism, it was hard for me to defend the magic. Back then I assumed that they would correct this mistake in season 2, especially after Tomasz Bagiński said that they would all be corrected. We still don't know how magic works. We had a brief and general explanation in the books, but at least there was one. A long time ago it was a power system, like in Japanese battle-shounen, but let's just say it was sufficiently explained to understand it. And it is not difficult - for example, when Yennefer was in captivity, it was possible to use this opportunity to explain magic. The actress could even memorize all the passages from the book when Yennefer translated it to Ciri. I am writing everyone on purpose, because there were a few quotations, at least in the Polish version. It would definitely be better, and maybe even more interesting than what we got. When it comes to travel, it felt like the last seasons of "Game of Thrones" or ... while playing the 3rd part of the game. There, too, I did not feel the distance between the individual locations. Oh wait, it was felt in the games as I was hiking without using fast travel signs. In the series, Geralt drives himself from Cintra to Kaer Morhen and other locations as if they were less than 100 kilometers apart.
Ciri's lack of development. Ok, in the series it was done differently - I don't mind the fact that she didn't get special herbs from Vessemir, which strengthened her muscles, sharpened her senses, and improved other statistics. Let's say it can be explained by her power and her genes (which I think would work if done right). However, I do not buy the fact that her training lasted a maximum of several days. How the fuck do they imagine her fighting Bonhart or the other warriors? For this, the witchers needed mutagens, special trials, changing their bodies, toughening them up, and a long and painful training. Here Ciri practiced a few days and passed the test, which in the book took her probably several weeks. She was beaten there, tired, she had a lot of bruises, and in the evening she fell asleep like a child, literally massacred. The training is over. Like Rey in "Star Wars" ... And since I'm talking about The Witchers and their house, in the book only a few (well, let's say max 15 - and I'm overly generous in this matter) knew access to it. I don't think I need to explain the reasons. Here it is much more common knowledge. The theme with Eskel, as I wrote, could be good and I do not delete it, as some Internet users do. Although the Witchers are stronger than ordinary people, they are not Supermen and each fight with a monster may end badly for them (which has been mentioned many times in books - e.g. in stories about how Yennefer dealt with wounded Geralt). Especially when we are talking about Leszy, a strong monster. Since he was wounded, shouldn't the Witcher's medallions react? We are not talking about rabies of a dog, a large wolf, or some poison from a basilisk or some other wyvern - Leszy is a magical creature. There are a dozen or so Witchers in the castle, why did none of them pay attention to the fact that their friend behaves a bit differently than usual?
I would like to commend the second season on the technical side, but unfortunately Netflix prevented me from doing that too. Yes, the series looks nicer - the photos are nicer, the special effects are better, fights and individual scenes can make an impression (both in terms of the idea and implementation), generally you can see at every step that Netflix gave a much larger budget. The problem, however, is that the set design is too plastic, the fight scenes are too short, we cannot look closely without a pause. Some of the sequences are so short that if you blink at the wrong time, you might be missing out too much. If it weren't for these things, I think I could really praise the show. The fight of the Witchers in the final, the fight with Leszy, the Myriapod massacring the aforementioned monster, the fight with Bruxa, the fight with the brothers - it all looked really nice, especially when we see the characters of monster hunters and magic. For comparison - the first season looked worse, but everything was more visible. We felt the weight of the monsters, we could see them closely, as did Geralt's blows. Everything happens too fast here and so what if it looks better when we have a lot less fun? Nevertheless, they did better than the script and dialogue lines.
As for the Elves, I'm disappointed, but looking at how the other threads screwed up, there's no real tragedy. Which does not mean that it is good. The individual scenes were cool and made an impression on me - for example, moving through the sewers, because walking on the street could end badly for them. Or forcing one of them to defecate in the street, or calling them names. Perhaps I would have rated them better if it had not been one of the most boring threads this season. The book version made a much better impression on me - the empire's policy towards them was not boring, you could better feel that they are only a pawn in the game and Nilfgaard is using them. It was supposed to be the same on the show, but as always, it was presented in a bland way. Netflix loves to show often in a shallow way (although they do have flashes in some series) why racism is wrong - of course I agree with it, but ... Sapkowski did it much better (and at the same time more honestly, because he presented both sides of the coin and not just the Elves version). I'm surprised progressive Netflix missed this opportunity with the perfect material in hand. I can really praise them for only two scenes - 1 how the Scoia'tael captured Yennefer and Fringilla (for a brief moment I felt why people were so afraid of them, and Emhyr willingly used their services), 2 how Francesca Findabair took revenge for the murder of her baby. I don't remember if it was like that in the book, but "I liked" how her revenge was realized. I associated the idea with the murder of children, as in the animated film "The Prince of Egypt" from 1998. In terms of implementation, it was also good - you could feel her anger, the scene had a strong atmosphere and I was briefly shocked by the cruelty of the Elves ... because then I remembered how weak this season is.
When it comes to references to books, one of the internet users summed them up perfectly - they act as a fanservice. These are short moments in which I felt a substitute for the Sapkowski universe. Moments of deviating from Netflix's idiotic ideas or the fatal use of things that the author sometimes briefly mentioned and if we read them too quickly or briefly, we might forget about them. I don't know how to explain it - similarly writes Yoshiki Tanaka in "Legend of Galactic Heroes", where we get a lot of information in a short, concise and well-summarized form. That's it. "Nice" they were, but I expected more. Let it not be that I complain - I like the fact that they cooperate with CDPR. You can see the difference between the 1st and 2nd season - we have more things (I mean elements of the scenery, clothes, items) that we could see in the 3rd part of the game. Admittedly, this does not make the series any better (or that its "plasticity" is less visible), but at least we can look at the familiar elements.
As you can see, I am not a purist in the book and I understand that sometimes you have to make changes when adapting (which some of you will probably disagree with). Whether it's because of a limited budget (or other factors) or a showrunner's whim. Not only that, I completely disagree with some of my friends' arguments, who also like these books and games. I am not annoyed by changes in skin color and gender (unless we're talking about historical figures, but that doesn't apply to this title or changes in the case of the main characters or heroines). What annoys me, however, is that Netflix makes most of the threads shallow and does not offer anything sensible in place of the things it has changed. I will definitely not write a second review or a detailed comparison with the books. It annoys me that a lot of content could be thrown into the trash - it would not improve the quality of the series, but it would certainly be faster and more enjoyable to watch. I mean, first of all, stupid dialogues, a hopelessly written script and long ones. This season is such a vanity for someone who knows the source material that I don't want to watch it a second time. Maybe before the premiere of the third I will refresh it and then write something. I omit the text supplementing this review here, because such a supplement may appear, if I do not mention some things. I will not even touch Blood Origin, and I can watch the third season, although I will try not to punch them with viewership. If this is going to be a competition to "Game of Thrones" then um ... It's probably even worse than last season's shitty season, which isn't a very good recommendation from xD. Looking without emotion, I give 6/10, maybe a plus which I reluctantly add for special effects. Looking with emotions - 4/10.
https://www.reddit.com/r/witcher/comments/rjd3be/fuck_it_i_decided_to_compile_a_list_of_every/?.