#renfri intro.

[bluedillylee]

I really liked these two characters. It was interesting that in the Hexer they involve Geralt with Renfri’s backstory with him rescuing her from her stepmother’s men and escorting her to the gnome bandits. Assuming they follow canon that makes him killing her later hurt even more 🥲

The monster fight scenes are so goofy but still fun and Morenn was cool. Geralt and her were sweet together. I’m guessing that their relationship was an intro to Geralt’s continued struggle with figuring out what emotions he’s capable of sharing with people.

[ID simple sketches of Renfri and Morenn from the Hexer end ID]

[firewvlker]

Did you see RENFRI from THE WITCHER walking around Limbo? The CISFEMALE looks like ADELAIDE KANE, and is TWENTY-FOUR years old. I’ve heard she can be CLEVER & ADAPTABLE but also VENGEFUL & RUTHLESS. When I think of them I think of THE CURSE OF THE BLACK SUN, POISON APPLES, AND THE LESSER EVIL. They’ve been here WITH their memories as a DANCER & BARTENDER at LIMBO’S BIMBOS for SIX YEARS. I heard they’re still trying to figure out how they ended up in Limbo.

mkay so if you haven’t read the last wish it gives renfri’s full story, not just her run-in with geralt. she’s depicted as a more brutal version of snow white.

renfri was born a princess during an eclipse aka a prophesied black sun by a crazy dude, bringing about a curse ‘infecting’ 60 women wearing gold crowns that would bring about the end of humankind due to being possessed by demons. they were all pretty much killed, lab rats, or locked in towers.

however, renfri’s father loved her greatly and ignored said curse. her life was just fine until her father remarried and the new queen used a magic mirror (sound familiar) which claimed renfri would kill her and many others.

the queen had stregobor spy on her and he claimed to see her harm and torture others (he was the only one to see such things, so if it was actually true or not we dunno but as we know he’s a total pos sooo), he also ran tests on her and confirmed she was a mutant, and “cursed.”

now the new queen had children out of wedlock with renfri’s father, so her kids had no claim as everything would go to renfri, so you should know what’s coming next.

stregobor says he just wants to isolate her and keep experimenting on her but mommy dearest wants her dead. she hired a dude to take her to the woods and bring back her heart and liver. instead, the dude robbed and raped her and renfri killed him by shoving her brooch through his ear to his brain while he was.. preoccupied. 

after that, no more princess.

she ran, stole, swindled, and sold herself in order to survive.

over the next few years, she became quite infamously known as shrike, bc she impaled ppl.

had a band of seven gnomes that helped her rob merchants, step-mom tried to kill her with a poison apple once but she survived every assassination attempt by her, and became a very skilled fighter to the point no one wanted to fight her.

was a king’s fav mistress for a bit until she got herself a new band of boys and went after stregobor.

then you have the events of blaviken and geralt’s involvement.

girl knew she would never be free of stregobor, even if she left town he’d just keep hunting her and she’d have to keep running. he had to die or she did, to finally be free. when geralt chose, she knew she couldn’t beat a witcher as good as she was. she knew the only way out at that point was death lbr bc geralt gave her multiple chances to walk away.

she’s resistant to magic and has prophetic visions.

used to have long beautiful and silky hair until she got lice and had to completely shave it. it’s never grown back the same, it grows uneven. which is kinda a style now so eh.

still isn’t sure if she is actually a cursed monster or if life and outside forces made her so.

[fcbula]

( golden pin, cold steel, dimly lit tavern ) –– && it looks like RENFRI has finally arrived in woodshore ( though she originates from THE WITCHER ). although known as a CURSED CHILD back home, here they are a nineteen year old THIEF, known to be PERSISTENT, but VINDICTIVE. they were coaxed here with the promise of REVENGE. they remember DYING IN BLAVIKEN.

From what point in your character's canon are they taken from? 

After she was killed in Blaviken. She remembers fighting Geralt, she remembers him holding her, and she remembers the world slowly fading away as she slowly bled out.

Gender/pronouns

Renfri is female and prefers the pronouns she/her.

Anything else you’d like to add!

Her fake life was nothing like her real one. She had a rich businessman for a father who was married to some young gold digger. Renfri hated her and she hated Renfri in return. Most important difference was the fact that in the fake world, there was no such thing as magic which meant she couldn’t have been one of Lilith’s women and she wasn’t hunted or cast out for it. 

It’s been a while since a read the original story so Renfri will be heavily based on the TV show which -if I remember correctly- stayed pretty true to Sapkowski’s work. 

[itsrainingfeathers]

As my dear mutuals and followers probably noticed, I finally watched s1 of Netflix!Witcher.

What I liked about it:

- Jaskier. Just. Jaskier. I wasn't sure about him at first (bc as I've previously stated, book!Dandy is my one true love) but he's so great. And relatable.

- Roach and the other horses (and the donkeys, too. Can't forget the donkeys.)

- Geralt being a horse girl

- The songs!! Especially Toss A Coin and Her Sweet Kiss, but the others were fun too.

- Henry Cavill's acting in that scene where the striga tears Geralt's throat open. The wide wide eyes and stuff. (I wasn't too excited about this Geralt at first but now I quite like him.)

- Book!Geralt is said to have an unpleasant voice, and while the voice Mr. Cavill is doing in the show isn't entirely unpleasant, it sounds off enough in my ears to be considered a plus

- Yennefer's dress in ep8 was gorgeous!!!

- and so was Tissaia de Vries

- and Pavetta

- and Sabrina

- and Coral (glad they stayed loyal to the books and took all her limbs)

- and not only Yennefer's dress, but the rest of the costuming, too

- the shots of Geralt and Renfri + Geralt and Yennefer kissing/with their faces close to each other and the light behind them were so pretty

- AND THAT SLOW-MOTION SHOT IN EP6 WITH GERALT AND YENNEFER KISSING AS GERALT BLASTS THOSE GUYS AND DUDES AWAY WITH AARD THAT KISS WAS SO POINTLESS AND UNNECESSARY AND I STRONGLY DISLIKE THEIR RELATIONSHIP BUT THAT SHOT WAS AMAZING

- that music change when Geralt and Yen decided to do the horizontal mambo in that collapsing house in episode...5 I think??

- All the fun banter, jokes and humor in general. If I'm going to watch a guy have his intestines torn out I'll want something to laugh at, too (or someone. For example, Jaskier).

- The balance between said fun banter, jokes and humor, and all the dark, sad and cruel scenes and themes. It reminded me so much of the books and I'm so glad they got it right with the show.

- the general atmosphere and visual look of the series

- Ciri's cloak!

- Ciri's screaming parting the earth and stuff. That was cool af

- the feathers in the Nilfgaardians' helmets

- that couple that bough magical Viagra from Yennefer (not the couple themselves, per se, but said magical Viagra. A fun scene. Yes I have the sense of humour of a 15-year-old boy what about it)

- Geralt dragging and carrying Jaskier around in ep5 (though that did take away some of the drama and seriousness of the situation)

- The soundtrack!!!! Especially the main theme (Geralt of Rivia). I Am In Love

- The intro of ep9 was so fucking cool

- all the extraordinarily badass swordfighting scenes (with dramatic swishing hair)

- at least one (1) witcher pirouette!!

- that "black eyes from potions"-thing!!!

- Geralt breaking the floor with Aard in the striga episode (can't remember the number rn)

What I didn't like about it:

- They really did something to Ciri's character huh. Where's the wild and stubborn Lion Cub of Cintra? Who is this bland ass sack of flour?? A doppler??? Is she like that when she's older???? (I mean yeah she did steal a horse and do some banshee screaming and stuff and was obv very brave in a hellish situation but still. I really hope she'll have more spirit in s2)

- Renfri wasn't that great either. She didn't have that sharp edge she has in the book (idk if this makes any sense but whatever). Not enough hatred towards Stregobor I think.

- And she wasn't called Shrike a single time. Why.

- And what was that conversation between Stregobor and Geralt in ep1?? It was weak. Weak! (Yeah yeah if they had every single detail from the books in the series each episode would be a two-hour-long movie but I'm still salty about it)

- Jas could've been at the very least a bit more horrified about the elves breaking his lute

- Give Jaskier A Hat. He Needs A Hat. I Know He Gets One In S2 But Still.

- With all the time jumps, I'd have been so lost had I not read some of the books.

- I imagined Geralt to be just a bit more...grimy. And to have a much less fancy armor and stuff. But I guess a witcher must have top-notch gear if he plans to stay alive, and it's nice to be somewhat clean. I personally think the armor looked the best in that episode with The Edge of The World (ep2??)

- The bulky shoulder pad things (I'm sure they have a proper name but can't remember it rn) on said armor. Personally I think it looks much better without them, like in that gif in the beginning of this post. (Ofc he needs to have his shoulders and arms protected but anyway)

- the entire design of Geralt's armor wasn't my favorite either, but it seems a lot better than the ridiculous tiddy armor in the s2 trailer

- Also: don't get me wrong, the leather pants look nice, but they don't seem to offer too much protection from, say, monster claws or teeth like in ep9. Maybe some armor plates would help? There's big veins in the legs, after all. (Yes yes he needs to be able to move freely and has to be quick but I said what I said)

- Why were some of Henry Cavill's wigs curly/wavy and others straight? Does Geralt own a hair straightener? Does Jaskier own a hair straightener that Geralt borrows occasionally? I have questions. (Update: it is mentioned in Baptism of Fire that Dandelion occasionally, not straightens, but curls his hair. Do with that information what you wish)

- That Mr. Cavill had to dehydrate for the shirtless scenes. No actor should have to risk their health like that just for the sake of some unrealistic eye candy.

- The Brokilon storyline was so boring. So, so boring. And I didn't like how they had Ciri and Geralt first meet at the farm instead of Brokilon (and that hug sort of came out of the blue when they hadn't actually met before. It was a cute scene tho).

Though that is quite a lot of criticism, I really enjoyed the show! I'm actually glad that I didn't get to watch it sooner bc waiting for s2 is already difficult enough. Can't imagine having to do this for 2 years lmao.

[laufire]

the witcher for the fandom ask meme.

the first character i ever fell in love with: I remember liking Renfri and Calanthe in the pilot. Whoever came first idk.

a character that i used to love/like, but now do not: n/a.

a ship that i used to love/like, but now do not: I mean, I was initially curious about Yenralt, but Geralt (or at least Cavill's version) was... so stale. I only watched s1 and even then it suffered for it. What I've heard from s2 is even worse, the whole fate angle is teeeerrrible shipping wise.

my ultimate favorite character™: I root for Yennefer from afar ig. Mainly I've thought about grabbing the books and trying my look there, a lot of what I hear about them sounds more interesting, especially worldbuilding-wise.

prettiest character: Yennefer, and also Tissaia triggers my MILF-appreciation tendencies lol.

my most hated character: Jaskier, if only because I find his fandom unbearable lol.

my OTP: Tissaia/Yennefer appeals to a very specific subset of my femslash likes lol.

my NOTP: Geralt/Jaskier. For the fandom, I don't like either character so if they got together I wouldn't be thinking anyone got the short end of the stick tbh xD

favorite episode: I barely remember. Yennefer's intro, ig.

saddest death: Renfri's was kinda tragic.

favorite season: n/a.

least favorite season: n/a.

character that everyone else in the fandom loves, but i hate: take a guess LOL

my ‘you’re piece of trash, but you’re still a fave’ fave: idk. Fringilla was an antagonist but I would never call her trash. Vilgefortz, maybe? I was a bit curious about him in s1 but reading certain spoilers was like. Hum. Okay xD

my ‘beautiful cinnamon roll who deserves better than this’ fave: Triss.

my ‘this ship is wrong, nasty, and makes me want to cleanse my soul, but i still love it’ ship: Yennefer/Tissaia a bit, ngl ^^U

my ‘they’re kind of cute, and i lowkey ship them, but i’m not too invested’ ship: any other combo between the lady mages ig?

[mordoriscalling]

The Colour-Magic Theory (3/?)

Intro  Part 1  Part 2 

A/N: oof, this one has some angst

***

From every beginning, each life’s fate is driven by choices. The noise in the inn is steadily dying down. It’s late into the night and many patrons have left or are about to leave for their homes to rest. Jaskier wore them out with his performance, or so he likes to think. The bard sits with his witcher companion at the table, both sipping on their ales quietly. Jaskier is tired after entertaining the rowdy audience while Geralt is still regaining his strength after yesterday’s contract. The air between them is strained, and Jaskier decides to finally say it.

“At the banquet... did you feel something?”

Geralt’s tenses. Jaskier noticed that there was tension about his friend the moment he re-joined Geralt on the Path three months ago, for the first time since the Law of Surprise fiasco. The bard can’t decide whether the witcher is upset due to what happened in Cintra or it’s because he is here. The curse of understanding each other’s silences is that they can hide very little from one another. Jaskier sees how the witcher doesn’t soften around him as much as he used to. Geralt is less patience and more bite than he was before.

Geralt wants to forget. Tries to, but doesn’t succeed. The resentment sits heavy in his gut as he can’t help but think he wouldn’t have even known of the cursed banquet hadn’t it been for Jaskier.

“I felt that I’d just pulled off the worst fuck-up of my life,” the witcher answers with a grunt. “That’s not what I mean,” Jaskier replies and leans in towards his companion. He goes on in a hushed tone, “Something happened there, Geralt.” Geralt rolls his eyes. “I got myself a fucking Child Surprise,” he answers harshly, “That’s all that happened.” The bard tsks. “Don’t play dumb,” he tells the witcher sternly, “it doesn’t suit you.” He pauses and tries to catch Geralt’s eye but the witcher stares down at the table stubbornly. Jaskier sighs. “You must’ve felt it too.”

Back then, the sensation was barely noticeable, like a quick brush of a hand against the skin. Jaskier and Geralt didn’t give it a second thought. Then, not thinking about it started being harder and harder.

Jaskier’s ears have become keen to hear any news about Cintra for some reason. Even unwillingly, he listens to what plants and animals have to say. Shrikes often tell him that there is “the girl in the woods”, swallows twitter “Zireael!”, while trees ask him about his very own bud-ling. All this strangeness leads the bard towards a suspicion – he’s gone mad from roaming the mortal world for so long. After all, he doesn’t have a child. His body can’t produce offspring with any human or non-human. Besides, he’s looked for the girl in the woods but never found her.

Tired of this madness, Jaskier spent most of the last three years in the fae side of the world. He found respite in the realm of Order, where nature was quiet. Only his mind wandered, but he lived with that. Jaskier pities his friend, though; he doubts Geralt’s had much rest from the unwelcome thoughts. The witcher bares his teeth. “You don’t fucking feel Destiny,” he snarls, “because it doesn’t exist!” The topic is a raw, bleeding wound that refuses to heal. Geralt doesn’t want to discuss it, refuses to think about it. He finishes his ale in a few gulps and slams the tankard against the table, then storms off. Jaskier, as always, goes after him. Later, his humming lulls Geralt to sleep.

*

He pulls the net out of the lake and growls in frustration. No vessel again.

The witcher is so tired. His recent contracts have worn him out more than usual – his magic failed him when he needed it and he suffered serious injuries as a result. His recent inability to negotiate with Chaos as well as he used to puts him on edge. He longs for some kind reprieve but even sleep doesn’t come to him. Renfri’s last words echo in his head every time he closes his eyes, and Geralt is exhausted of constantly wondering how many future should-haves he trespasses with his every move. He must put an end to this. A djin is a perfect solution to all his problems.

Then Jaskier shows up.

It’s a disaster of their own making. All three of them have their share in the outcome.

Before Geralt made the last wish, the sorceress wasn’t so important. The danger to Jaskier’s life, and Geralt’s guilt about having caused it, overrode everything else. Then, Geralt and Yennefer shared a bath and deep understanding and after that, there was magic and madness. The aftermath of the last wish is a wild pull between him and Yennefer. 

Geralt and Jaskier keep stumbling upon her on the road - Yennefer has got woven into their story with a thread made of thorns and it hurts all three of them. Sometimes Jaskier and Geralt still find peace together as they walk the Path, almost like in the old days, but it’s always ruined when the storm of sheer power, violet eyes and lilac-gooseberry perfume shows up. Every time, she takes and takes and takes until Geralt has nothing to give, then leaves. Every time, the witcher feels more hollow and mad about the sorceress than before. He thinks himself in love and it’s painful when he and Yennefer part ways.

The witcher is not a good company when it happens. In fact, he’s downright awful. Yet, Jaskier stays – the bard always chooses to remain by the witcher’s side. He bears Geralt’s snappish comments and grim silences with much grace, only saying that Yennefer is no good for him. Geralt deserves someone who would cherish him, in Jaskier’s opinion. Geralt’s suffering hurts him too, so deeply that it becomes his own pain.

 When Jaskier offers to lull Geralt to sleep, Geralt still accepts sometimes. In those precious moments, the bard runs his hands through the witcher’s hair, and Geralt’s body relaxes under the touch. It makes Jaskier feel such warmth in his chest that his blood runs cold when he finally understands. 

His humming ceases and his fingers stop their movement as shock paralyses him. Geralt opens his eyes and looks at him questioningly. Jaskier gazes into the witcher’s eyes, cornflower blue connecting with bright gold, and a part of the bard’s heart wilts. The gold of Geralt’s eyes has never appeared so beautiful to him, so full of warmth and strength. Geralt is breathtaking, but Jaskier will never have his love. 

He doesn’t hum to Geralt again.  

The distance between them grows. The rift slowly becomes an abyss as the years pass and the weight and consequences of Geralt’s choices wear him down more and more. He tries to be reasonable and blame himself, as he should, and fails. Jaskier’s suggestion to get away for a while is his desperate attempt to bridge that gap but the effort is futile. On the day when it all comes to a head, the sky is grey, and within a few moments, three hearts get broken. Destinations and destinies shift in the echo of their pain.

Jaskier is a blessing no longer. The witcher’s words leave the bard with only one choice to make, but Jaskier is sure he’ll come to terms with it in time. Geralt, on the other hand, later realizes that he himself won’t.

TBC

Part 4

[genshinimpactkin]

Mod Intro - Scaramouche

Hello all! I’m very excited to be a part of the team.

Name: Sage/Renfri/Fennec (Scaramouche works too!)

Age: 19

Pronouns: any! truly, any

Personality: Gemini (sun sign), INTJ (mbti), 3w4 (enneagram)

If you’d like my main or discord to talk, just ask!

Genshin Impact Kins: Scaramouche, Zhongli, Diluc, Albedo, and Mona! All good with doubles. That’s about it for a brief intro! I can’t wait to start taking requests.

[kingofcurses]

harry watches the witcher

episode 1 thoughts:

the monsters look cool af

this bitch really drowning huh

intro is kinda cool?

assassin’s creed vibes from the hood

how is he a mutant

oof who is this woman she’s a badass and nice shutting down of her dumbass husband

she’s very uwu

“more and more i find monsters wherever i go”

YO ITS TEE FROM THE DUMPING GROUND

she sold him her dog when it died oof

you ever been to hell?

wheres jaskier

oooooooooh magicccccccccccccc dooooooooooor

this is not what illusions are meant for

do witchers murder? think thats against the witcher code tbh

also FUCK THE MUSIC IS GOOD

wait is this ciri?

she’s babie also literal fav

geralt is a himbo, also cavill looks weirdly non-human, also geralt reminds me of an npc.

internal m u t a t i o n s

god this is so confusing cos people have confusing names

geralt really feels plastic idk why

“evil is evil stragabor, lesser, greater, middling. it’s all the same. if i have to choose between one evil and another, i prefer not to choose at all.

“pretty ballards hide bastard truths”

“As in life, it is impossible to be fully prepared for battle. Keep your sword close and keep moving.”

ciri looks so uncomfortable

bruh the woman from earlier is renfry? or whatever her name is, but she has sick design

jesus fucking christ stregabor you fucking horrible dickhead

hope she kills him

“so i keep getting told”

please tell me she kills him

thats a lot of bad guyss

this looks like such a futile battle

people keep gettting killed very quickly

ciri continues to be my fav, also she looks like she needs a hug

wow people getting cleaved

top tip: dont shout we’re losing

well shit he just got headshot, also such a shit way to die

thats really sad

wait she made it back????? how????

how tf did they get into the city

ooooh magic

geralt is so fed up at this rate

“thats sad”

dont kiss, please

please dont kiss

like seriously i cannot bear this

FUCKING DAMN IT

bouncy wall

these guys really believe in destiny huh

more people getting cleaved

woah lion thing

im going to cry

find geralt

fair enough i guess

wait they’re all drinking poison wtf

thats really sad :(

why didnt they save everyone else?????

please don’t fling yourself off the tower

oh shit he stabbed himself

oh fuck she flung herself off the tower

high speed horse chase

I CALL BULLSHIT HE DID NOT DEFLECT THAT CROSSBOW SHOT THAT WELL

BUT ALSO THE MAGIC + SWORD IS RIGHT UP MY STREET

WOW HEIGHT OF BISEXUALITY 2 HOT PEOPLE HAVING A SWORDFIGHT

guess thats the life of a witcher; an outcast

[b-witchered]

Oooo! 🤩 That little preview for TGIA has got my spine tingling! Botch’s scheming vs Jaskier’s protectiveness, Go!

!!! I’m glad! the chapter is slowly but surely chugging along in terms of completion

So far I’ve written like. 

Pre-dragon mountain (with the YenRen squad) where they have an important conversation

Borch’s dramatic entrance/episode intro

Slightly more YenRen squad where they split up

Tavern scene intro with Borch’s disposition and Jaskier’s realization that his type really do be “people who can snap him in half without any real effort”

(Currently writing: Yennefer and Geralt’s “we’re in the same place WACK” moment/the going-up-the-mountain bit)

Conversation between Jaskier and Borch

Finishing going up the mountain/fighting the dragon

The Geralt/Jaskier confrontation scene

Jaskier reuniting with Renfri/Renfri leaving to kick ass

Jaskier having an important conversation with an npc about his feelings

Renfri marching up the mountain to see Geralt

Geralt seeing Renfri and the realization that Efi is Renfri with some letters missing.

Potential scene I cannot talk about depending on how mean i want to be regarding where the chapter cuts off

so theoretically three or four more ‘scenes’ to write but i have no idea how they’re going to split up tbh, I have to watch the episode again in Really Close Detail which is exhausting (so many pages of writing for like 3 minutes of screen time holy fuck)

Geralt and Yennefer’s fight scene needs to go in there as well where THEY need to have a Serious Conversation so that should probably get its own scene tbh and just like. There is SO MUCH actual episode content i need to at least vaguely cover, though I’ll probably brush over a lot of it tbh bc this chapter is already going to be ridiculously long as is

[pixelgrotto]

A penny for my Witchery thoughts

The Witcher Netflix series was released at the tail end of last month, giving Geralt of Rivia the interesting distinction of a literary character who’s now a well-known TV protagonist but just happened to achieve international fame through video games first. (Aye, there was a Polish film and show in 2001 and 2002 which called Geralt a “Hexer” instead of a “Witcher,” but they’re not exactly good, though perhaps worth a peek on YouTube for chuckles.) 

Geralt’s adventures - both in the stories written by Andrzej Sapkowski and the games developed by CD Projekt Red - are close to my heart. I’ve spilled a fair amount of digital ink writing about the franchise, and my playthrough of the games and subsequent devouring of the books from 2014 to 2016 reignited my appreciation for fantasy and served as the impetus that got me reading more genre fiction and eventually delving into tabletop RPGs in 2017, leading to my current obsession with Dungeons & Dragons. I’m naturally protective of material that means a lot to me, so when the Netflix series was announced I viewed it with only subdued optimism. After all, with the possible exception of a certain HBO thing based on George R.R. Martin’s books (which now seems to be viewed worse in retrospect after the final season), fantasy doesn’t have a great track record on the small screen. I also wasn’t especially impressed when Henry Cavill was cast as Geralt, since I primarily know him from the recent Superman movies, which paint the guy in such a dour light and force him to constantly grimace like someone who’s just taken a dump only to discover that there’s no toilet paper in sight. 

But now the show’s out in the wild, and after scanning some mixed reactions (not to mention one truly baffling “review” by two Entertainment Weekly twats who only watched the first episode) I cautiously consumed it with my girlfriend over Christmas break...and can happily report that it’s good. But, it’s also a show that expects its viewers to skip through some mental hoops as we bear witness to three intersecting story lines, all of which are taking place in different eras. Then you’ve got your standard variety of fantasy names, terms and themes, several of which might be tricky to grasp if you’ve never read the books or played the games. For instance, I don’t think they ever bothered to fully explain the “Conjunction of the Spheres” (the time when planets aligned and monsters and humans came to the world, uprooting the indigenous elves and dwarves) or the “Law of Surprise” (when a person’s fate is intertwined with something unexpected - usually an unborn child). I can also see how the show’s numerous mentions of the word “destiny” could seem like wacky dialogue to viewers unaware of the fact that Sapkowski’s realm really does have a strong undercurrent of inescapable fate running through its veins. 

Unique structure and terminology aside, the first episode was more of a slow burn than I’d imagined. It starts with an awesome sequence of Geralt fighting a Kikimora, but then transitions into a fairly serious interpretation of “Lesser Evil” from the first short story collection, The Last Wish. The episode then cuts into the exodus of Ciri from the kingdom of Cintra, an event mostly described in flashback in the second short story anthology, Sword of Destiny. The scenes of death and destruction as Ciri flees her burning kingdom are fairly meandering, as are the interspersed interactions between Geralt and Renfri, a woman with seven loyal followers who was supposed to be a grittier version of Snow White in the books. There are some great fights near the end, but as I watched, I couldn’t help but think that I probably would’ve made the opener speedier and a bit pulpier, especially since the tone of these early Witcher tales was more “tongue in cheek fairy tale deconstruction” than plodding epic fantasy. 

The second episode also took its time, though the decision to detail the plight of Yennefer the sorceress before she uses magic to change her hunchback form into something that she sees as more conventionally attractive is a good one, since this was once again only flashback material in the novels. But the cream of the hour was certainly Jaskier the bard, who’s going by his moniker in the books rather than the “Dandelion” translation that the games used. He’s played by actor Joey Batey with a perfect blend of magnificent bastard bravado, surpassing his portrayal in the games with a larger than life theme song that’s now something of a cult phenomenon, and his characterization made me feel like the show knew what it was doing at the end of the day.

Episode three is where things truly came together for me, since we barrel straight into the Geralt versus Striga battle from Andrzej Sapkowski’s first Witcher short story. It’s a full-on horror interpretation (which I liked but my girl found too spooky), and also full-on fan service for someone like me who still watches the intro cinematic to The Witcher 1 on occasion. And in later episodes, as my head began getting used to the nuances of the three character timeline, the show seemed to find its footing with this delicate blend of fan service, pulp and seriousness. By the time episode 8 rolled around and the character arcs of Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer came full circle with the Battle of Sodden Hill - yet another event that Sapkowski mostly wrote in flashback - I found myself wishing that season two would arrive sooner than 2021, and my girlfriend felt similarly. I also realized why the showrunners decided on the unorthodox timeline - this is a series that’ll probably excel on rewatches, particularly if you already have an idea of what to look out for. 

Series producer Lauren S. Hissrich (who’s quite a joy to follow on Twitter) has mentioned in interviews that this is a show that expects a tad of patience and effort from viewers, but will give a lot in exchange. I’m inclined to agree, and while this depiction of Sapkowski’s lore has some initial roughness around the edges, it ultimately reminds me of how The Witcher 1 was janky even upon its 2007 release but exhibited a unique magic to anyone who stuck with it for more than a handful of hours. Many professional reviewers tend to avoid giving fantasy shows patience and effort (Game of Thrones is an anomaly), which may explain some of the negative reviews. But The Witcher seems to have found a strong-as-nails following from audiences, who made it one of Netflix’s top efforts of 2019, and even friggin’ Anne Rice liked it. (Geralt of Rivia now possesses the other interesting distinction of being a literary character/TV protagonist/video game hero who’s been mentioned in the same breath as Lestat the vampire.) 

Speaking of Geralt, I owe Henry Cavill applause. I didn’t think much of his casting, but he pulled through in the end, delivering a silver-haired hero that’s clearly influenced by the games - particularly in the voice and the occasional spell slinging - but still very much his own take, with nary a “where’s the toilet paper” grimace in sight. Audiences can now take their pick between an iconic video game interpretation of the White Wolf and a likely-soon-to-be-iconic TV version, which is a rare choice to have in fandom, especially for a franchise that was once little known outside of Poland. Toss a coin to your Witcher, indeed.