The second season lays the ground for future biblical confrontations poised to give the Geralt-Ciri-Yennefer plot a much-needed spice.
NETFLIX
Actors: Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra, Freya Alan, Joey Batey, Eamon Farren, MyAnna Buring, Mimi M Khayisa, Mahesh Jadu, Anna Shaffer, Royce Pierreson, Tom Canton, Mecia Simpson, Wilson Mbomio, Kim Bodnia, Jodhi Mhay, Bjorn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, Lars Mikkelson, Jeremy Crawford, Basil Eidelbenz, Paul Bullion, Yasen Atour, Kristofer Hivju
Genres: Fantasy, Action, Adventure
Premise: Geralt of Rivia, a solitary monster hunter, struggles to find his place in a world where people often prove more wicked than beasts. (IMDB)
Running Time: 60 minutes
Creator: Lauren Schrmidt
Watch it on: Netflix
Why You Should See It:
The second season of The Witcher has the future in mind, as it builds momentum for what could be great turning events in succeeding seasons. Major characters are given separate directions to grow, which means we may be looking at future reunions, in the same fashion as Game of Thrones.
All eight episodes of the sophomore season are now up on Netfllix, and that invites any devout fans to finish the show in one seating. That should be a solid eight hours of monster hunting and magic, although you should be warned that this may only end up with you wanting for what’s next. If that’s the case, then you probably have to slow it down, enough to catch up with the third season’s premiere, which takes place at least in a year.
The Witcher Season 2 picks up after the Battle of Sodden, where Yennefer of Vengerberg (Cholatra) exterminated an entire Nilfgaardian army with her magic and then went missing in action. Geralt of Rivia (Cavill) is trying to reach his old friend, Nivellen. He is taking the Citran princess, Ciri (Alan) with him. They seek an audience with the Aretuzan rector, Tissaia de Vries (Buring), who informed them Yennefer is nowhere to be found and is thus believed to be dead. Ciri, as the child of surprise, has gathered a sort-of-power, on her own; although, she’s no Yennefer, who has seemingly lost her magic. An encounter with the old rival, Fringilla (Khayisa) ensures their capture by the elven Filavandrel. Geralt continues to confront monsters here and there, although much of this season feels allocated more to momentum-building, which only builds up confidence that subsequent seasons will arise after this one.
The second season knows that its predecessor is successful because of certain themes, and it decides to pursue them again. It’s hard to say with finality that it works, although you can readily feel the right choices that the show makers utilized for this production. There’s a clearer path laid for the central plot, and substories are beautifully woven around the Geralt-Ciri-Yennefer narrative. That’s a leap from the more complicated storytelling of the maiden season, although it’s hard to blame those who’d miss the plenty of bloody sequences that are now significantly reduced.
Of course, confusion on how events will unravel for future seasons will be a common dilemma, but that’s okay. You can either sulk about how betrayed you feel for not knowing right away, what happens next, or feel optimistic for the epic moments poised to take place after this season’s titanic buildups.
The full eight-episode season of The Witcher is now up and available to stream on Netflix. Watch the official full trailer below:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TJFVV2L8GKs
