The Witcher season 2 – Burn Butcher Burn

It was back in 2019 when Netflix introduced the world to a fantasy land of magic full of kings, queens, and elves, through a show called “The Witcher”. It is was based on a series of best-selling books of the same name written by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, which were then brought to life by the American producer Lauren Schmidt Hissrich. As the name suggests, the series explores the tale of Geralt of Rivia who is a “Witcher”- a human enhanced through magic and solely made for the purpose to hunt monsters. A witcher also possesses supernatural powers caused by the alteration.

Although the first season received mixed reviews from the critics, it still managed to gain a huge fan base and these fans were holding their breaths ever since the last episode of season 1 aired two years ago. Now the wait is over as the highly anticipated show is back on Netflix to end the year 2021 with a bang.

Aside from Geralt (Henry Cavill), Princess Cirilla (Freya Allan) of the fictitious kingdom of Cintra and a powerful witch Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) are the main characters of the show. Season two picks up the pieces of the Battle of Sodden’s aftermath where Yennefer used her chaos to cause a mass fire and defeat the enemy’s army. On the other hand, Geralt finally finds Ciri who is his “child surprise” as they are linked to each other by destiny. They both make their way to the battleground of Sodden Hill where they find Tissaia de Vries (MyAnna Buring) who delivers the news of Yennefer’s disappearance and presumed death. Heartbroken, Geralt leaves and takes Ciri to the place he calls home; Kaer Morhen – An isolated place surrounded by mountains where witchers get their training. The audience then finally gets the chance to meet Geralt’s mentor, Vesemir (Kim Bodnia).

“The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf,” an animated prequel for the show, details the character of Vesemir and the history of Kaer Morhen in depth. It is therefore recommended to watch the animated movie before watching the second season of the show. Staying in Kaer Morhen, it gives the fans an inside look at the safe place through the eyes of curious Ciri and introduces new witchers to the show. Unlike the previous season, new episodes don’t have any confusing timelines despite having overlapping stories.

Each episode is engaging in its specific plot allowing the audience to fully immerse into the adventure. The main strength of the show is the character arc. Geralt is now a father figure for Ciri, who spent most of her time in season one as a damsel in distress running from people who want to use her. She starts getting training from other witchers all the while trying to find the answers about the origin of her powers. While all this growth changes the tone of the show, it also drifts away from its source. Fans around the world have voiced their disappointment for changing many things from the books and games alike.

The second season, though being great on its own, lacks the connection to the original source materials maybe because it tries to present the series’ structure as Christopher Nolan’s Dunkirk. Some avid fans of the book franchise have also pointed out the unnecessary additions of many storylines for its protagonists as it felt disloyal to the characters and changed the nature of their roles from season one. One such major character arc this time was for Yennefer. After losing the one thing that gave her life meaning, she is lost and fighting her inner demons. Her actions at times seemed misfit to her character shown in the previous season and seemed bland as compared to Ciri which was prominent throughout the show even to those who have not read the books.

Although there are a bunch more horrifying monsters in this series, they are easily killed off by Geralt aka the white wolf, unlike the first season where fighting sequences were the highlights of the show. The lack of Witcher signature fighting scenes makes this season less adventurous despite having more budget for CGI. In addition to that, comedic elements were missing in the show which is strange because aside from monsters and politics, jokes and joyfulness are some of the core elements of the books.

That being said, some of the changes in the story and in certain characters brought by the creator of the show were much needed and it provided new grounds on which the story developed. The intimidating and grunting Geralt has a significant shift this time with more lines and even expressing emotions sometimes. This helped develop his relationship with Ciri with authenticity and that is truly the heart and soul of this show. There is no doubt that Henry Cavill has given an unforgettable face to the character of Geralt and did justice to it.

Just like the first season, there are multiple stories at play with lingering secrets, each character’s journey is different from the other with their hidden motives. As the storytelling is not overly complicated and confusing, it is easy to follow the show with attention and the missing pieces of the puzzle all fit together in the end.

The season finale answered some of the most burning questions but it ended on an unexpected jaw-dropping cliff-hanger. As frustrating as it may seem, the third season of the series is already confirmed and while that is being made, fans can rejoice as Netflix has already announced a prequel miniseries, “The Witcher: Blood Origin,” which is set 1400 years prior to the events of the first season. And it is safe to assume that this prequel will provide an in-depth knowledge and history about the show required to watch before the release of the third season.