The Witcherhas become Netflix’s flagship show but has also been met with significant backlash. Season 1 was notorious for its complicated timeline. Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri’s narratives all occurred decades apart and finally converged at the end of the first season.
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Season 2 has been much more streamlined. Geralt teaches Ciri his ways of combat as he attempts to keep her safe from Nilfgaard. But even though the storylines come together more concisely, there are significant decisions that book readers and video game players alike find an issue with. According to some Reddit users, many plotlines of The Witcher's second season are inexcusable.
Kaer Morhen Was Disrespected
Kaer Morhen is one of the most important landmarks in the series, and one of the best missions in The Witcher 3. The Witcher stronghold is where the brothers go to rest for the winter. When Geralt appears, he is warmly greeted by his friends. But in the Netflix series, the stronghold is treated with disrespect. One night many of the Witchers invite women to celebrate in their secluded place of rest.
“Pretty sure Kaer Morhen is supposed to be miles away from any notable human settlement, in keeping with that theme of keeping its location secret. No idea how Papa Vesemir could be okay with bringing in lots of non-witchers in, wiping their memory or not,” concluded Redditor user shuipz9. The gratuitous display is used for shock value in the show and was not an accurate depiction of Kaer Morhen.
Yennefer Betrays Ciri
Yennefer and Ciri’s relationship in the books and video games is an element that is important to fans. Many felt as though this was besmirched in the show. After losing her ability to practice chaos at the battle of Sodden Hill, Yennefer decides to sacrifice Ciri to Voleth Meir. “In s1, Yennefer risked her life to protect some innocent baby, here, she considers sacrificing Ciri in order to get her powers back. Give me a break. The result is that by the end of s2 she has both Ciri and Geralt not trusting her which adds a completely unnecessary drama to their already complicated relationships,” commented user sadpotatoandtomato.
Yennefer is like a mother to Ciri in the source material. In the show, fans had issues with how easy it is for Yennefer to betray Ciri. Yennefer’s lust for power is more important than her maternal instinct which is not in line with the books.
Eskel’s Death
A fellow Witcher at Geralt’s school, Eskel was beloved by many fans. His archetype was similar to Geralt’s, but this was changed vastly in season 2 of The Witcher. “Eskel had a huge hand in training Ciri, arguably just as much or slightly more than Geralt. This seems like an odd choice to kill him off already,” pointed out u/wreck-sauce. Another fan agreed. “They could have just made up a witcher instead of killing one of Geralt's OG friends and brother in arms. It's just dumb,” posted barleypopboy.
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Eskelappears briefly with very few lines and the biggest contribution he provides is being cruel to Ciri. Many agree this is not representative of the character in the books. After Geralt discoversEskel has been infected by the leshen, he kills him quickly. Eskel is introduced just to be killed off.
Fringilla Is A Placeholder For Gaunter O’Dimm
One of the most brutal scenes involves Fringilla’s coup of Nilfgaard. Knowing that they dislike her leadership, she paralyzes them and takes them out one by one. This is an homage to Gaunter O’Dimm, but many fans did not appreciate the reference. “I found it pretty lazy that they just took the Gaunter O' Dimm tavern scene with him pushing a spoon into a guy's eye, and then handed it to Fringilla instead. Gaunter was terrifying because had the power to stop time, because he's a demon and because his callous murder of the random tavern patron is motivated by the slightest insult. None of these things apply to the Fringilla scene,” posted CMDRCroup.
Fringilla can accomplish this action in the show because she paralyzes the table full of Nilfaardians. As a demon, Gaunter could freeze time which allowed him to initiate the violence. These differences didn’t make sense for a lot of fans.
Vesemir Isn’t Accurate
Vesemir is another character that fans are defensive of.He is Geralt’s mentor and a relationship in The Witcher that fans need. Butmany did not think that Vesemir’s character was done justice. “He has less of that grandfather vibe from the books and old Slavic knight vibes from the games. He's just Kim Bodnia with a mustache,” complained Utinjiichi. They went on to say, “Bodnia is an amazing actor - it's the screenwriters' fault 100%.”
Bodnia is most relevant for his work on Killing Eve. There he demonstrated great acting ability asVillanelle's handler. In The Witcher, however, his characterization was lacking.
Jaskier Was Underutilized
Fan-favorite character Jaskier is one of the elements that provide levity to the show. As a bard, he is Geralt’s antithesis. He showed up in as many episodes as the first season, but something was still missing. “It felt like Jaskier and [Yennefer] didn't have much to do this season overall and that's a bit of a problem since they are a part of the main cast,” commented GaelTheVapeMaster.
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Jaskier is involved in politics at first as the Sandpiper. He helps elves escape persecution. But later he only appears as comic relief and is not needed for the story to continue. His last act was to transport rock to Geralt that he ultimately didn’t even need.
Yennefer’s Storyline Is Lacking
Many have raised issues with Yennefer’s inability to practice magic because she is the most powerful character in The Witcher.She doesn't have a lot to do in season 2, which causes a lot of plotholes. “Runs away with [Jaskier] and isn't followed. Her distraction? Blowing fire into the guy's face, which he couldn't put out until he had 4th-degree burns and became Two-Face (despite literally being able to control fire),” stated NoBreeches.
Yennefer’s magic was taken away so she would have a reason to hunt Ciri. But even while that was happening, her storylines didn’t make sense. She was extremely capable but through unrealistic circ*mstances.
Fringilla’s Botany
Fringilla poisoning the Nilfgaardian leadership was a brutal scene, but many did not find it believable. Even when taking magic into account, some fans called into question the mechanics of the scene. “It’s stupid as heck to say 'I’ve poisoned you with nightshade, how do you like that paralysis' when literally all of the people sat at the table freeze completely at the EXACT SAME TIME,” argued Reddit user GosuDosu. “They make it look like time froze for the reference but it makes no sense when she said she paralyzed them thru the mead.”
This element took the Redditor out of the scene. These were conflicting modes of magic and did not line up with what Fringilla was doing. There was a more streamlined approach that the writers did not take.
Too Much Swearing
The Witcher is a mature show for Netflix, but some fans don’t feel as though that is true to the narrative. The language used on the show caused some fans to get upset. “The fact that nearly all the characters say 'F***'...I rolled my eyes every time this happened, Such bad writing! Like did they get some teenagers to write for season 2?” asked Redditor Hexaan.
The mature themes of the season have been amped up. Discussions of sexual assault are prevalent as well as murder and mayhem. But this aspect was a bridge too far for some viewers.
The Show Is Too Different From The Books
With adaptations, not all fans will be happy. But some have become devastated at the trajectory of the show. “Everything I’ve know about the characters, and everything that makes them who they are is just being completely sh*t on and changed,” lamented Adam_1775. “ I thought the first season was great. There were changes, but nothing I felt was too bad. This season though, I just hate it so much.”
Many storylines have been changed for the use of the 2nd season. Yennefer’s relationship with Ciri in particular has caused fans to lose faith with the show.
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