The Witcher - The Netflix Series

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Sly Boots
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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Sly Boots » Fri Dec 20, 2019 9:24 am

"One of the best shows I've seen this year."

https://www.pcgamer.com/uk/netflix-witcher-review/

:D

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Wrathbone » Fri Dec 20, 2019 12:11 pm

Watched episode 1, very much enjoyed it. Cavill is 100% Geralt, though I can't decide if his accent is inspired or sometimes ridiculous.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Maturin » Fri Dec 20, 2019 10:09 pm

Just seen the first episode too; really good stuff. The episode had 2 plot strands, so we only had half the time with Geralt.

Tbh, I was never a massive fan of Geralt in the games; often got a bit tired of playing as him and having to put up with his comments. It was always the world itself that I found the most appealing aspect. But I much preferred observing the character in the show, as part of a greater narrative.

Cavill's a bit one-tone as an actor, but that's actually a pretty good fit for Geralt. :lol:

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Sly Boots » Mon Dec 23, 2019 10:52 pm

Watched the second episode, thought it was better than the first, things moved a little less quickly so the various scenes had a bit more time to breathe imo.

And damn that was a catchy song at the end, I'm going to be humming 'toss a coin to your witcher' for quite some time :lol:

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Raid » Tue Dec 24, 2019 7:33 am

I didn't think the second episode was as good as the first, but it was such a strong opening that I wouldn't expect it to be. Making me care about characters in the first hour of a TV show is quite a rarity these days I find, but this managed it masterfully (and it wasn't just name recognition, I didn't catch the Princess' name until episode two). The choreography in Geralt's first fight was sublime too, and absolutely *brutal*.

Literally every person I know that's watched this so far has said it was excellent.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Wrathbone » Tue Dec 24, 2019 8:14 am

Episode 3 improves things further. I’m resisting the urge to binge it because of the small number of episodes and the high quality, which deserves some patience. I’m thrilled that it’s turned out to be this good.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Snowy » Tue Dec 24, 2019 1:31 pm

Done, and feel cheated. Skimmed the episode listing and figured it for 10 episodes not realising there were a bunch of trailers, so when the series ended after the eighth episode I felt a little robbed.

Cavill absolutely nails Geralt throughout, and there are some cracking scenes and scenery. I think they may lose people with the twisting timeline, but I for one loved it and can't wait for more.
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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Raid » Fri Dec 27, 2019 9:10 pm

I'm up to Episode 4 now. I'm not sure if this really counts as a spoiler, but I wouldn't want to ruin a highlight:
Spoiler
Geralt's "Fuck." in that episode was an unexpected moment of hilarity, delivered perfectly.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Strudel » Fri Dec 27, 2019 10:55 pm

Overall, I enjoyed the show quite a lot and I thought Cavill was a really good Geralt in the end. Just three points that bugged me a bit:

(I don't think any of these are spoilers but just to be safe...)
Spoiler
1) Places. Would it have been too much to show a god damn map at some point to provide some context as to where and how big these places are? I've played The Witcher 3, so I have some idea of most of them, but I think that a map at Aretuza when they're discussing which mage to send to which kingdom would have provided some greatly beneficial context regarding where that is (and more importantly, where Cintra, Sodden, Brokilon, Skellige etc. are given they're fairly important to the political intrigue).

2) The different strands of the story take place over wildly different time frames and they don't seem to be trying to hide that at all, but equally they don't make it at all clear. It wouldn't have taken much to clarify that for the more casual viewer.

3) Other than our few key characters, no one else really gets much introduction or clarity of who they are - it felt almost like this was season 2 or 3 of a show which has already introduced everyone. Names and places were thrown about all the time with very little context and I found that at times distracting as I tried to remember names and who people were talking about.
They didn't stop me liking the show at all, but I can't help feel it would have been more enjoyable without those additional challenges of concentration.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Sly Boots » Sat Dec 28, 2019 12:12 am

I think those are fair, and certainly the second one I've thought about myself. As a fan of the source material though I'm loving it (just watched ep4), but I think it will be quite noob-unfriendly.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Animalmother » Sat Dec 28, 2019 12:14 pm

Have only played a bit of the 2nd game and and hour of the 3rd. Haven't read any of the books but have a vague idea of the story.

Have watched 3 episodes and I still haven't a clue what's going on, nothing is explained and it could be three different shows jumbled together. I'm still enjoying it but a wee bit of effort could have been spent on making it coherent to noobs. Having the beastery pop up and explain briefly what a gigyflux, wankypoddle or whatever the fuck he's hunting would have helped, or some exposition from the bard. It would make it a different show I'm sure but something better could have been done.

Moan over, it's still a good show.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Wrathbone » Mon Dec 30, 2019 9:35 am

Finished the series - it’s very high quality throughout but I agree with the comments about it being confusing at times. I think I got the gist of the timelines eventually and it didn’t detract from my enjoyment of it. Very much looking forward to when we get some more, whenever that will be!

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Mantis » Mon Dec 30, 2019 1:24 pm

I've seen two episodes so far and I haven't played a single Witcher game or read any of the books. I have no idea what the significance of anything is but I am still enjoying it.

I don't really like it when fantasy has to explain what everything is so the confusing references to things is fine with me. It adds a bit more of a mystery and sense of wonder when they talk about hunting creatures that I have no idea what they look like.

The core plot for the first two episodes has been fleshed out enough that I can still follow the overall story easily enough.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Raid » Mon Dec 30, 2019 8:33 pm

I can't say I'm disappointed that things aren't better explained either; it's nice to have a bit of mystery. The law that plays a key part in episode four was a little confusing on first mention, but it does get explained towards the end of that episode. My only issue is that I'm finding it hard to make out names in dialogue, so if I do want to look something up, I have to go and find the term in an episode description first.

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Re: The Witcher - The Netflix Series

Post by Maturin » Mon Dec 30, 2019 8:41 pm

What they've done really well is they've managed to make it feel like this is a living, breathing world with huge history behind it - and we've been plonked right into it.

Also, I love how focused and to the point each episode is, even if it can be overwhelming at times. A lot of TV shows could learn a thing or two from the Witcher I think.

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