World of The Witcher show decoded

Watching The Witcher is surely a treat for the eyes if you are a fan of dark fantasy worlds. But it does come with plenty of horrific looking monsters so it might not be best for faint hearted souls.

Following eight episodes we see how the seemingly separate journeys of three main characters, Geralt of Rivia aka “the witcher” (Henry Cavill), Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Ciri the princess of Cintra (Freya Allan), connect with each other bonded by the fabric of destiny.

Watching the righteous superman transform into a monster-hunter is a nice change. Henry Cavill’s acting as a lone, morally conflicted, beautifully chiselled hunter is a treat to look at throughout the season. His fighting scenes painstakingly performed to perfection. Despite only few quality comedic moments in the show, he still manages to deliver sarcastic jokes that land even in his character’s deep and always serious voice. And most scenes that he shares with Jaskier (Joey Batey) are full of such comedic relief.

But not even captivating acting or exciting fight scenes or scenes with beautiful naked women could save the messy disaster that was the timeline of The Witcher. For a viewer who’s not familiar with the characters or the storyline previously from the books or video games it is pretty difficult to make sense of what’s going on the screen let alone be taken in by the story and start to empathise with the characters.

<spoilers ahead>

In episode one, the timeline from Geralt’s conversation with Renfri and Stregobor to the invasion of Cintra are events nearly thirty years apart, with one liner by Renfri showing the shift “Queen Calanthe of Cintra?" she mentions to Geralt, "She just won her first battle at Hochebuz." Followed by the scenes of Ciri telling her grandmother, "you won your first battle in Hochebuz when you were my age.” And wanting to be part of Queen Calanthe and Eist’s discussion of the threat posed by Nilfgaard's army on the march.

Now that’s a bit tricky to catch on first viewing. And if you are anything like an average distracted viewer you are bound to find its complex timeline increasingly confusing. It is actually told in different timelines blended together in each episode as each character’s story begins from a different point in time.

Newcomer Anya Chalotra is captivating on screen, stealing and keeping all attention to her in every shot she appears in. From her commanding voice, her despair over child loss and her desire of finding genuine love connection to her desperation in getting her “choice” back, her portrayal of this dynamic sorceress leaves one feeling all her emotions along with her as her journey unfolds.

Although not much of action comes Ciri’s way in form of fighting her enemies. She is more seen exploring the world outside the protective walls of her fortified castle, and Freya Allan’s portrayal of a confused and frightened girl with mysterious magical abilities, running for her life, facing evils of the world she has never been prepared to deal with is very realistic. Her inability to trust strangers yet fall for traps when subjected to familiar faces show how being thrown out into war-stricken world has shaken up her instincts on trust and self-confidence.

Complete with its extravagant sets, beautiful costumes, catchy sound effects, artsy nude and sex scenes and a compelling mystery at its heart, it is a show you are bound to get hooked on once you get through watching the first episode.

Be sure to not miss the now iconic tub scene of the show. It is quite a treat.

Hopefully the second season will make the timeline easier to follow and also add some balance in the nude scenes. Another show with majorly female nudity in this day and age should really check themselves for perpetuating male gaze. Let’s not have that flaw added to your list, dear The Witcher.