Lol already a 1. Fucking hater.
That Blaviken fight scene was fantastic and brutal.
I feel like they could've made an introductory episode for the people who are new to the Witcher world cause I think this will be too much and confusing to the newcomers. But apart from that, it's truly an epic start of the series! Great casting, cinematography and soundtrack. If the rest of the episodes are like this, we're in for a treat.
starting of the show, the CGI of the monster was badly made.....
Newcomer here so I was very confused with what was happening, but the fight scenes towards the end of the episode were fantastic.
Pretty great first episode. Managed to condense a lot of lore into a tight package without feeling overly expositional. Some of the budget constraints are visible, but the fight choreography, Cavills portrayal of Geralt and the streamlined story telling more than make up for minor financial shortcomings. Can’t wait to deep dive this series over the weekend.
Good start. There were a whole lot of names, places, and the like that were mentioned which will take some time getting familiar with, but that was the only "issue" I can think of that I had with this premiere. Everything else was good and very entertaining. Hopefully, I won't be overcome with confusion at certain things from here on out from not having read the source material and not knowing barely anything from/about it at all. I predict if that won't be an overwhelming predicament, this show will be enjoyable enough for me, despite not knowing what is probably basic information for a lot of people. And even if it does become a strong issue for me, I have no doubt I'll still enjoy it, for whatever that's worth.
Bit of love, humour, magic and some bloody action now that's the way to start a fantasy.
This was pretty good. I was hoping he'd kill that wizard before he left. Fuck all those people. I wouldn't have minded if he killed everyone in that shit town. The wizard trying to hold the castle and the King consort have been the only decent folk so far.
Love the fact they did the "Butcher of Blaviken" storyline in this one!
One of the best video game adaptions. Of course boring critics don't appreciate it. Henry Cavill is perfectly cast as Geralt. Even if so far he's a little too much like Geralt from the game with not much personality.
From the start this show captures the world of the game right away. Even if it’s a bit too jumpy at times.
The soundtrack is so unique :( I can feel my ears happy hearing it.
Well it's good episode , doesn't bore you
Wow, quite a cool show. But also very difficult to follow, at least for me... :)
It started slow (I don't mind - it's important for worldbuilding, etc. and makes it even cooler later) but it had quite some action at the end! <3
I especially like the magic part (wizards and mutants) and the fighting choreography at the end (Gerald against Renfri and her followers) was so good!
And the soundtrack/music is of course great as well <3
It's also interesting how it features powerful women (Renfri, Queen Calante, and Princess Cirilla of Cintra) at such a (dark) time :)
Cirilla is already very interesting (e.g., how she played with those street boys and her powerful mutation).
And Gerald of Rivia is obviously great <3 And his lines sometimes :D
Notes:
Man: "You mutant son of a bitch."
Marilka: "I don't know what to do in Blaviken for the rest of my life, except go to the boring old market."
Geralt: "And kill rats."
Marilka: "And dogs."
Geralt: "You don't want my monster. You want me to kill yours."
Stregobor: "Very clever. Indeed."
Geralt: "What kind?"
Stregobor: "The worst kind. The human kind. Its name is Renfri."
Geralt: "Wizards are all the same. You talk nonsense while making wise and meaningful faces. Speak normally."
Renfri: "If I tell you, Witcher, that I can neither forgive Stregobor nor renounce my revenge, is that it? I admit I'm a monster?"
Geralt: "Yes. Or... you can leave Blaviken... and finally live. You choose, Princess."
Ciri: "And why are you not there? Wherever they are."
Lazlo: "My duty is to protect you."
Ciri: "You're resentful of that burden."
Lazlo: "It's the greatest honour of my life."Mousesack: "Many, many years ago, sorcerers were known to lock little girls in towers. I'm beginning to understand why."
Ciri: "You know cautionary tales don't work on me."
Mousesack: "The girls were said to be cursed. They were said to announce the end of the human race."
Ciri: "Ooh."
Mousesack: "So they were systematically killed. The end."
Ciri: "No!"
Boy: "What are you doing?"
Woman: "It's me, my son."
Boy: "What is this?"
Woman: "It's okay."
Geralt: "If we cross swords..."
Renfri: "I won't be able to stop."
Marilka: "Get out of Blaviken, Geralt. Don't ever come back."
Review
That was an interesting start. The time flew by and each storyline felt easy to follow. I don't know—we'll see how it goes. Otherwise, it's a promising beginning.
I can see how I could like it if I was a 14 yrs old girl going after SuperMan's butt.
Can't see why would anyone watch it otherwise.
So-so pilot. Fans of the franchise will like it, newcomers will find it confusing.
i didn't like the first episode , and i find it unfair and silly to compare it with game of thrones
see how game of thrones started their story by showing us the antagonist and how dangerous the white walkers were. that's good because the stronger the antagonist ,the stronger the story and what's at stake.
on the other hand the withcher started with characteristic moments of the protagonist and what he's capable of
i'll see how the story unfolds
I've only played the games so I can't have any book understanding but the games are great because of the source material. I will say he feels and sounds like Geralt and I smiled.
Important note: If I sound joking, ironic, or condescending, I apologise in advance if my words hit you. I have a sharp tongue and usually joke about things, including myself. For example, I came up with the nude girl example in the last paragraph, because some part of me like the book's version with one girl better, so I was joking about myself more than any of you readers :sweat_smile: Thanks for reading!
I've recently re-read the short stories for the forth (or so) time and played two out of the three main games, so I cannot not compare the different interpretations of The Witcher. But I won't spoil anything beyond the first episode and it's all tagged.
First of all: It was obvious there was and is and never will be a way to cater to all fans. It is impossible if there are only two fans in the whole wide world which have only read the books. Or if there a many of them, all with different first contacts with Geralt and his story, and different backgrounds. A German fan has a different approach to many of the stories compared to for example an American one, because he had heard the fairy tales, which Sapkowski wove into his stories, reinterpreted. Just an example.
So obviously that was something Netflix had in mind and it seemed they cared about it. I would have preferred a different decision (sticking closer to the books), but I see why they did what they did and I think it's the right decision.
So what did they do? They chose to use different timelines to introduce Geralt and Ciri with their defining moments: "The Lesser Evil" for Geralt, which marks him as the Butcher of Blaviken, and Cintra's fall for Cirilla (Ciri), which introduces us to her possibilities and sets her on her path. It also hints at the connection between the two stories, but that's for another time.
They also decided to sway in the minor and sometimes bigger details, sticking to the red line of each story and weaving a new telling around it. It reminds me a little of Neil Gaiman's "Norse Mythology", where he admits that his retelling is deviating from the source in some points, because he is re-telling the stories, not copying them. And that's a good thing. Yes, we might not see some moments of dialogues in Netflix's version, but imagine them as someone telling you Geralt's story as you sit around a camp fire. You don't care about the details, if Stregobor did know Geralt beforehand or not, or if Geralt met the Alderman or his daughter. You want to hear the story of the Butcher of Blaviken, how he had to face this dilemma. It doesn't matter if Renfri and the witcher f*cked (Do I need to censor this word here?) in a room or a forest. You want a good time and you'll have it.
And we had it. It was a great first episode, telling two very interesting stories, defining characters, setting up the story. Compared to so many other first episodes of shows, this was a great one. And comparing it to other great first episodes, it doesn't loose either.
Yes, some people may be hurt that they experienced a story that wasn't exactly what they expected. Maybe they are not sold on the cast, maybe they hate that there were more than one nude illusion girl in Stregobor's tower or that Geralt didn't cut someone in two. And that's okay. The Witcher fans are a passionate bunch coming from many different directions. Let's give this retelling of our favorite story a chance. It deserves one.
Was that King Tommen falling out of the window ?
What a powerful episode. Loved every minute of it. I am new to the Witcher universe, but this episode definitely has me intrigued on not only the games, but the books as well. I cannot wait to see where this series goes. Great job by Netflix!
Really good start for The Witcher. The sword-fights were brilliant in this premiere episode and the soundtrack reminds me a lot of the video game. Like it so far.
With Netflix I always expect great things and they always deliver. With this episode, they exceeded my expectations. Phenomenal start to the series!!
Revisiting this episode now after having finished the season and also read 'The Last Wish'.
Easy to miss the first time with so much lore on show but they out and out tell you the episode is taking place in two timelines right here. Renfri exasperates to Geralt that Queen Calanthe had just won her first battle at Hochebuz. Then earlier in the same episode Ciri and Calinthe mentioned the battle taking place when she was Ciri's age. It was right there!
I am so incredibly excited for this, and I’ve not even been such a crazy die-hard fan than some I know.
Are they going to play Gwent? I hope they will. I bet they will, it’d be just another way for The Fanservice.
I mean my gods so much fan service. Just seeing Roach made me so incredibly happy. Geralt and his wit ... “Venison...” (I was sure the deer would die, but like this? Haha. Not its day for sure.)
Someone here is incredibly precise with arrows.
And holy shite that duelling scene in Blaviken. I may want to rewatch that.
A bit slow in episode 1, this series actually picks up immediately after. The cinematography leaves a bit to be desired, invoking more of an early syfy sitcom than a big-budget Netflix series. However, the acting and writing is top-tier. It can be tough to look past this early-on, but the latter half of the first episode and the rest of the series flows smoothly.
Boring at first but the swordfights are insane good :)
It has started well, for now, we continue to see. Although, the initial bug a little seedy
WTF. We in 2020, is this all they could have come up with. We live in an age where Animation is what defiance a movie/series. Just look at Pacific Rim that how good animations look like. This doesn't even come close i mean, even the magic was Meh. i don't know why people like it so much. It not even that great.
This show was recommended to me by numerous people so I finally decided to give it a go. This first episode was hammy and uninspired but not so bad that I wouldn't give it a chance - Netflix shows often take a couple of episodes to grow on me.... and "spoiler alert", episode 2 was much better.
A lot of exposition and lore to download for an opening episode but I can see where its heart is.
Some messy cuts in there and a lot of groundwork laid... The production value was clear though and the music (and knowing when not to have any) made their impact. Cavill is fantastic (as expected) and the supporting cast were all strong too. A1 sword play in that Blaviken fight too.
Let's see how it plays out!
8/10.
Teeming with potential which makes me almost want to give it a 10, but the writing and pacing (and even the costume design) is so, so messy.
Swordplay is fuckin' great.
The fight scene in Blaviken it was what I expected to see after reading the book!
The Witcher got very bad reviews so I hesitated whether to watch it at all, but the episode turned out to be better than I expected. I read the short stories by Sapkowski but it was quite a long time ago so I don't remember the details and I didn't pay attention to the changes they made in the show, and watching it was quite enjoyable. The only problem I could find so far is that the scenes with the battle and the attack on Cintra and the death scenes of the characters there were not really moving, and they should have been.
Let's see if this lives up to the hype. The trailers have me excited.
All my hopes for this show to be any good are gone. Really disappointed tbh
Not bad for a first episode, right? :grin: Intriguing story, good cast so far (not a fan of Henry Cavill, but he fits the role very nicely), and brilliant action scenes. My only disappointment is that Geralt is only using one sword, and his medalion was way cooler in the games.
It might be a bit confusing at first for people who hasn't read the books or played the games, but that's not unusual in this kind of TV show.
Wow just wow. Very awesome adaptation of the witcher series. Henry Cavill nailed the part of Geralt. I think some of the sorcceress could use better actresses though but overall decent. They should have put time stamps on the different timelines they decided to show so ppl would not be confused. Took me a while to get it together and it is only because i am familiar with the witcher series. For those that are new, basically Yennefer story starts in the past; Geralt is the present and center; Ciri’s story happens in the future. Both the past and future stories though slowly collapses into Geralt’s timeline.
I hope they'd spend more budget on Triss...
Witcher 3 looked like too much of a commitment to go into. So here I am... and so far I'm not sold on the world or the characters.
Two timelines is interesting idea I surprised they didn't turned it into a twist cough Westworld cough but the rest just doesn't fit together. When powerful, seemingly, character is despised so much is hard to buy into "if I answer with violence I wouldn't be much better" philosophy. Plus moral rules are unclear was that implied that if scene at the bar played out differently he would had no problems to kill them (in self-defence)? Than why not retaliate in general and see humans as creatures below him?. On the other hand, the way royal family talked and carried themselves it almost felt like I'm watching fairytale doesn't fit much with poison scene or gore.
Shout by NasBlockedParent2019-12-21T01:27:16Z
For the first half I was like yeah it's an OK premiere, could be better but yeah it has potential
Then cut to Geralt's fight at the end!! Ooooh myyyyy God!!.... If all his fights would be as epic as that, then we're ahead of an epic journey with this show... The way he moves and swings his sword is as much BADASS as you could possibly get
It's a good first episode but I can't form an opinion that quick, so I'll keep watching and hopefully we get more of magic, monsters and potions