Image Courtesy of Netflix
Netflix’s adult-fantasy series The Witcher premiered on Friday, December 20. Based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s bestselling books it creates a world of monsters, monster hunters, elves, and mages.
The Witcher has made headlines since last year when Henry Cavill was cast as the series protagonist Geralt of Rivia. Even though known for playing Superman in the DC Cinematic Universe, Cavill has since played a series of roles where he has gone on to showcase his acting talents.
From what one could deduce by watching the trailers, is that the series solely depended on the other-worldly large shoulders of Cavill. That in its entirety is not the case.
The show brings together a group of extremely talented actors whose acting prowess supersedes that of Cavill himself. Actor Anya Chalotra’s Yennifer is the yin to Cavill’s monster-hunter Geralt's yang. She slips into the role with ease and delivers seamlessly. The same could be said for The Game of Thrones actor Jodhi May, her Queen Calanthe stands strong in a court where male traditions have held women as gifts to be exchanged for building kingdoms and forging alliances.
Promotions for the series has largely banked on Cavill’s star power which in itself is a good marketing strategy. But we can’t seem to shake off the fact that while it is exciting to see the actor donning this new role, it is the others especially the women in the series who provide depth and emotions.
Geralt of Rivia is a man (or mutant) of few words who conveys little of his emotions and appears to be cold and calculated. Not one to mince his words, his sword mostly does the talking. A monster-hunter who kills for money, his own views of humans aren’t that gracious. To him, man is a bigger monster than those that he hunts.
The Witcher’s world is marred by war, strife, and bloodshed. A world where power is the key to ascension, Ciri the sole princess of Cintra plays a pivotal role in all this madness. Much like Helen of Troy’s beauty that led to a decade of war, the young girl’s primal power is what draws the Nilfgaardian Empire to conquer her kingdom and others, laying waste to everything in its path.
Freya Allen’s Ciri starts out as a young and naïve girl who grew up with royal priviledges but as war licks at her heels, she is forced to go on the run and all the while searching for (spoilers ahead!) Geralt of Rivia. All because by the action of fate Geralt had evoked the Law of Surprise unbeknownst of the fact that Princess Pavetta Ciri's mother was pregnant at the time.
The Witcher is about finding a purpose, a higher calling that you are supposed to answer. In the case of Geralt, it was finding and protecting Ciri, for Yennifer to amass power only to regret her life-altering decision, for Tissaia to teach a broken girl the will to live and change herself. For the young princess, it was finding the one who could protect from the horrors that lurk both within herself and the outside world.
While the first season goes back and forth in time and connects the dots perfectly, we are yet to see how the showrunners play it out with the series in the coming seasons. All in all a good series that has already garnered a devoted fan-base and will hopefully fill in the void that GOT left behind.
Here's to binge-watching The Witcher during the holiday season.
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