*****SPOILERS*****
Cirilla
(Ciri)
Fortune
doesn’t smile kindly on those around Ciri yet the amount of times she escapes
from danger or kidnapping goes beyond simple luck. Sure, everyone she loves
dies, but she herself survives. Plus she is a princess (granddaughter of Queen
Calanthe of Cintra) so she has experienced enough comfort to last a lifetime.
In a flashback, Calanthe and Geralt
watch as people come to claim the hand of her daughter Princess Pavette/Pavetta.
The knight Duny claims the law of surprise: he saved the life of Pavetta’s dad
and the payment was something the king had but didn’t know he had it (in this
case, the foetus Pavetta). As Duny looks like a hedgehog, Calanthe wants him
killed; Geralt intervenes and jokingly claims the law of surprise. At this
moment, Pavetta vomits and they discover she is pregnant. In the entire series,
it’s at this that Geralt speaks with most emotion: “Fuck.” I won’t lie when I
say this was the joint funniest part of the entire series.
This flashback finally explains why
Geralt and Ciri (Geralt’s surprise) have been trying to come to one another.
Ciri’s been travelling all series to find Geralt. In episode seven, see
Nilfgaard invade Cintra like they did in the first episode, only we see
beforehand. Geralt comes to claim law of surprise to take Ciri to safety but
Calanthe refuses. She concedes but Geralt has already escaped his cell. They
just missed each other. All of the trouble Ciri went through to find Geralt
could have been avoided but maybe her experience in the wilderness will enable
her to be a more compassionate and fairer ruler.
Geralt
and Yennifer
Their
relationship is disjointed and not healthy. Trust is a big concern for both
parties so at least they understand the reasons behind the other’s actions.
Geralt first meets Yennifer when he
comes to her to heal Jaskier following the djinn attack. After the djinn
leaves, Geralt and Yen get right the point: two kisses and then Yen unlaces his
breaches so they can shag. You’ve only just met each other but sure, whatever.
Jaskier just stood there and watched them go at it and he thought it was sweet
(which may be creepier than him just watching, to be honest).
Where they meet is fantastic:
Yennifer presiding over an orgy. Geralts places Jaskier amongst the fun, much
to the bard’s confusion. Seeing as he’s prolific with his dick, I don’t
understand why Jaskier would find it problematic. But his face was expressive
enough to focus on the viewing rather than the technicalities. Then the spell
is dismissed and the townsfolk wake up not knowing what’s happened (their faces
and outrage are brilliant). I had assumed it was another illusion but never
mind!
When Geralt and Jaskier go hunting a
dragon on the invitation of Borch, Jaskier tries desperately to impress Borch’s
two guards but his creative efforts are in vain. This leaves Jaskier confused
(he usually gets his way with women) which is a priceless expression. Yennifer
joins the expedition, making Geralt awkward and Jaskier giddy with jokes. A
railing breaks off do that Borch and his guards dangle, threatening to pull
Geralt and company off the mountain, too. Borch lets go to save the others
(he’s older and he’s lived his life) but then his guards also let go. Hard core
dedication, right there. I was so confused to figuring out why, though,
although in the end when events made sense.
Conclusion
Overall
I’m really glad my brother convinced me to watch The Witcher as soon as it came
out. Indeed, I was almost going to do a review for each episode. In the end I
chose not to because that would be like doing a review per chapter in a book.
I don’t do anything on the fly so even
watching a programme I didn’t know existed straight away makes me apprehensive.
But it was worth it! The plot, characters, acting, special efforts, costumes,
locations: everything was impressive.
Sure, there were a few parts I
didn’t like. The whole Law of Surprise thing annoyed me so much but it was a
good way to bring all the bits and pieces of the storyline together. In the
first episode, Nilfgaard comes to conquer Cintra specifically to find Princess
Cirilla and the suspense for the reason behind this lasted until the end of the
series. This was beyond annoying because the suspense wasn’t carried well.
The dryads were a disappointment. In
Greek myth they, being spirits of trees, inhabit the trees themselves; in The
Witcher, dryads looked like elves that lived in the woods. There’s creative
licence but when you take away the very thing that makes it what it is.
Yet in the grand scheme of things,
these problems were minor. The dryads weren’t all that important. My annoyance
at the Law of Surprise says more about me than it does about the quality of the
show. Most importantly, if any of the things I enjoyed happened to be the only
good thing in the programme, I would still be satisfied. That shows mighty
talent and I am full of anticipation for The Witcher Series Two.
The Witcher (Netflix Series One) 1/3
The Witcher (Netflix Series One) 2/3
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