Critique of The Witcher: S2, Episode 7 - Baba Yaga Awakens

[@Theta40]

Everyone knows that when you fast travel to an area, your horse teleports with you. You can ride in a small one-person boat to a remote island, jump off, whistle for your horse and Roach will appear.

[@xLetalis]

why didn't I think of that!

[@atax1a382]

Facts

[@alexisea8874]

True

[@Altrantis]

This is known.

[@rutger2112]

This is common knowledge

[@Mr_Ink0gnit0]

I sincerly am not angry that we got this version of Witcher anymore. It's only thanks to that, that we got Letalis' videos that are far more entertaining and enjoyable than anything Netflix will ever produces regarding The Witcher franchise.

[@Okkotsu86275]

As a major Eskel fan, I agree and support this post 💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯💯% The Witchers is just terrible, which for me. Is more sad then upsetting

[@icarovieira5016]

Right bro

[@yourturn5059]

Agreed!

[@f-14enthusiast63]

I actually liked the show lol

[@cattyom3]

Agreed

[@chiarabutteri4293]

I think that if Henry Cavill were to write the script all on his own he would come out with much better results than... well...this mess.

[@nightlyrowentree6047]

I'll drink to that

[@625098evan]

they already have a script. its the book. they just needed to edit it for TV. they've decided to write their own story. and heavily edit the characters. it is all quite sad.

[@chiarabutteri4293]

@@625098evan The book isn't the script, it's the source material. And the problem is that they didn't stick with the source material and made a mess. Frankly idk if they will be ever able to fix it.

[@nela3986]

I have no doubt

[@Okkotsu86275]

I can believe that

[@MarkusBartus]

This was the episode where it completely lost me. What they have done with Yennefers character was really unbelievable. In the books you have this beautiful, confident, mature, witty, sarcastic strong and powerful independent woman but also with deep flaws within her. This is essentially a perfect character for modern day audience but done right. And what they done? Make her emotionally unstable, weak and powerless throughout the whole series with edgy swearing. Her only desire in the first season was having a child and be mother. That was her arch, that is her arch in the books and in the first season. She looses child to gain power and she regrets it. But now she goes total opposite of her book counterpart and she is willing to sacrifice Geralts child, a man she deeply loves, to gain again her magic power. DID SHE DIDNT LEARN ANYTHING FROM THE FIRST SEASON?

[@needlenude]

The way they did Yen in this series is the biggest disappointment of the show. I just don't get it. They already have an amazing character that's been fleshed out in both the books and the Witcher 3. Why dilute that into... this? I can enjoy the rest of the season despite its shortcomings but I'm really disappointed about Yennefer.

[@coreymckee4844]

No. Its worse, they just really do not care.

[@Okkotsu86275]

Keep preaching man, Yennefer's character is all over the place and the potty mouth she has is really throwing me off. I guess the creators think it's funny and humorous, but instead it comes off super cringy and corny

[@babbaganush9659]

I 100% agree with this. The sad thing is that they did so much right with her in the first season only to completely assassinate her character this season.

[@agilemind6241]

@@babbaganush9659 They have to do something with her. unfortunately she's entirely absent for 90% of the books. Honestly, I think Milva gets more time in the book series than Yennefer.

[@revox9991]

The most random thing for me was - They started arguing near Cintra, but in the next scene, they were riding at Kaer Morhen and Yennefer was shouting "Geralt, listen to me!" like they began arguing 20 seconds ago.. Even though the whole travel should take at least few weeks

[@xLetalis]

we'll get to that in next episode ;]

[@meatbagkiller7174]

Lol Geralt riding days with his girlfriend yelling at him to stop. And he just ignores her. Took chad to the next level

[@curtisjackson5793]

yeah it seemed that that ride took like half a day or smth lol

[@vxtlmuwu]

The "Fuck Spell" as you called it, is probably the most hilarious thing about this episode. I laughed for like 15 minutes straight, just because I was imagining Ciri dropping the f-bomb every time she uses her blink ability in TW3.

[@meatbagkiller7174]

Don't like Netflix making every dialogue include a fuck line but that one really got me laughing. Just curious about how it is dubbed in other languages. Like imagine Ciri screaming Kurwa or Blyat

[@timvonr2802]

While the book yen would scold her for not being ladylike and showing her weakness with the words like „f***“

[@LeutnantJoker]

@@timvonr2802 exactly. This goes so extremely against who yennefer is. Yennefer can get very angry and definitely use lines like "this is for staring at my tits" or such, but she doesn't run around like some immature teen saying fuck in every second sentence. She tries to never lose it in front of people because she never feels like giving them the satisfaction. Heck even when she's fuming at Geralt she uses even more polite language... E.g. in the dragon story where Geralt greets her away from the others after not having seen her in years.. or the way she writes her "dear friend" letters...

[@rajx7120]

They could have avoided the word "fuck" and just have her scream. "Fuck" was hilarious!! And also that black cloud of telepathy near Cintra was so wierd. They could have done that better. Like start with making Ciri suspicious of Yennefer's head movements, and then getting overtaken by magical emotional feeling and then doing some unintended spell to read her mind. Same things could have been done much better, instead of this careless manner.

[@ratinthesky]

Feel so bad for Henry, all he wants is to be super faithful to the source. Love that he fought for that scene, he truly is the best for the role and you can tell the amount of respect he has for it

[@XxXasparXxX]

I like how there were exactly 2 perfectly placed horses at that hut with the burned bodies even though they were dead for a while. Yennefer in books teaches Ciri magic and Yennefer in show teaches Ciri to swear.

[@xLetalis]

good points!

[@adamhoglund9871]

Not only are there 2 horses right there, but they're color coded perfectly for yen and ciri

[@Thelionpaladin]

I genuinely laughed when Ciri got possessed. A lot of the show had really gone badly by then, but the absolutely bizarre possession subplot that was meant to be this huge cliffhanger really felt like the show jumping the shark in front of my eyes

[@babbaganush9659]

I thought that was one of the better parts of this very bad episode, which is probably the worst of both seasons combined, followed by the finale.

[@bakersmileyface]

What I want to know is that if the Witch could possess Ciri regardless of where Ciri is, then why didn't she possess her sooner?

[@agilemind6241]

@@bakersmileyface The witch had to escape her hut before she could possess anyone.

[@contra1124]

I hated the whole plot of season 2 so much. Otherworldly demon causes the characters to make bad decisions so it can feed on their pain, escape and go home. Really? So instead of female gaunter o dimm voleth meir is more like a pissed off ET

[@Thelionpaladin]

@@contra1124 also apparently Falka’s rebellion, the first war etc wasn’t enough suffering but a baby dying and Ciri being sad was??

[@adamp6320]

Possessed Ciri and the "boss battle" straight out of Jurassic World is coming next, and it's so cringe. The writers had ONE job to adapt Blood of Elves and got it so wrong. Hopefully one day when I'm still alive we'll get a faithful, true adaption of the books with a decent budget and acting. Thanks for your reviews, they're always great.

[@Eth77930]

That is my big issue with Netflix show (and them botching it). Because it means probably no one will try to make another adaptation in the next 20 years. But who knows, maybe someone who actually read and liked the original will decide it deserves a better adaptation (and someone else will finance it). No one is redoing LoTR because 20 years later they are still great movies. Butchered Netflix show might mean someone will try to do better.

[@moonwatcher99]

@@Eth77930 This right here. I've seen so many people try and defend the show by saying "But LOTR had a bunch of changes as well!" Which they did, but not the types of changes that were made here. Peter Jackson and his team looked at every scene and tries to follow its intent. They also realized that the whole trilogy had to serve a common theme, and they tied it to the overall story of Frodo and the Ring. Even when the action shifted away, you were reminded what the goal was; what was most important. Here? No idea what their main point is, but they clearly didn't care about staying true to any semblance of the original story.

[@karl2405]

@@Eth77930 aren't they literally remaking LOTR right now ?

[@Adam_okaay]

@@karl2405 No. It is titled "The Lord of the Rings: The Ring of Power" but it's set in the second age during the rise of Sauron when the Rings of Power were created. It's based on part of the Silmarillion. Can't really give you more information because I haven't read the Silmarillion in like 18 years, and the only thing I really know about the show is that there will be Hobbits even though they didn't exist yet.

[@Evija3000]

@@Eth77930 Lol when this ends, some of the actors could come together and make a better adaptation.

[@thejohnhopkinscompany9599]

You know, Vilgefortz's redesigned clothing and hair may not make much sense with the lore and geography, but it does actually give him some of the grandeur he had in the books so that might be one of the only things I like here. They seriously mishandled his story, but at least he looks dapper.

[@ohboje.]

Henry is carrying the show single handedly

[@mikepette4422]

as he should but his back must be sore by now

[@werosification]

and the fact that the other actors aren't that bad makes it even worse. they can't just save the sloppy writing and production on their own (and henry shouldn't be doing that either, even though I'm grateful he is...)

[@safayetkhan9389]

He really is. Could you imagine what this show would be like without him.

[@samuraicupcake289]

Good thing he's Superman, or he'd never be able to keep carrying it.

[@parkmojo6168]

and jaskier too.... (in my opinion)

[@sonictheaccursed]

I feel terrible for Henry Cavill, both of his most iconic roles are poor adaptations from the source material.

[@tomyfer07]

Just wait until he becomes the next James Bond...

[@alongj8512]

Superman?

[@the0tanr]

You sweet summer child next James Bond will be a black woman

[@roastedteeth922]

Not gonna lie as someone who's trying to not criticise the show for everything that's been done in it, there's three things which I simply cannot ignore 1. What they did to Yennefer 2. The Roach dying scene which was almost turned into a literal joke (the name Roach(ie) itself shows the traumas Geralt has certainly run into with his mares dying) 3. The other witchers. I'm not even talking about Eskel dying, but just the general feel they give off, they simply don't seem like witchers at all, and they were literal knobheads to Ciri, while in the books they were merely people who weren't used to taking care of a girl, people who regretted many of their decisions later on

[@asmabalaska2428]

I agree they did yennnefer dirty 😭😭

[@asmabalaska2428]

@Sir Soma yeah and why was he so obssesed about the idea of making new witchers and why did he agree to turn ciri into a witcher knowing that it will most likely kill her.

[@agilemind6241]

Agree they did the witchers dirty, Coen was probably the best, seemed the most genuine in wanting to care for Ciri. Lambert they failed at riding the line between friendly teasing and just plain mean. And Eskel was a complete a-hole.

[@agilemind6241]

@@asmabalaska2428 Because it was Ciri's choice and Triss had chewed him out twice at that point about letting Ciri make her own decisions.

[@prorok3382]

True. I would also add Nilfgaardians in general being just these halfwitted angry fanatics in the show, which is just the polar opposite of the pragmatic cold atheists who they are in the books.

[@ilmentore7]

I'm rereading the Blood of Elves and it's stupidly funny how much they deviated from the books. Literally two different stories, so sad to be honest. That said, Yarpen and his band of Dwarwes in this episode are the absolute highlight and they've done a tremendous job. The way they charged the Nilfgaardians with Geralt, amazing!

[@febe111]

The fact that they deviated is not a problem by itself. The problem is, that they take parts of the story from books, parts from video games (which in their own universe are supposed to take place AFTER the events of the books) and add some of their own parts. It created a terrible mess and a really poor plot.

[@ilmentore7]

@@febe111 exactly!

[@Eth77930]

@@febe111 Yes, deviation is one thing (I got over that already), yet creating inferior story with plot-holes, inconsistent characters and improbable turns of events is a different thing.

[@cleaver3168]

I honestly already gave up on this show after the executive producer of season 2, Tomasz Baginski, actually said in an interview, and I quote: "the younger the audience, the logic is less important, we're going away from a traditional book type storytelling, the younger people grew up with TikTok and KZbin where they jump from video to video" Which basically means this show is trash because they think their audience is dumb. Smh. I feel sorry for Henry and all the other actors doing their best with what they're given

[@xLetalis]

:(

[@xLetalis]

We're almost done!

[@UjjawalBothra]

I'm already done with this series the way the showrunners are treating the source material. What's even the point of getting invested?

[@elizabethalderman8749]

You’ve been so patient-thank you for putting up with all the shenanigans Netflix keeps putting out.

[@andrewplck]

Thank God.

[@kyleisbart197]

The only thing making this show enjoyable for me is that I know for each episode we’ll get a new video from you! As always man another great video 👍🏼

[@wiedzmin2908]

So is that cursed series hopefully

[@MrFranciscojr89]

The way things are going, I’m dreading what they’ll do with Milva, Zoltan, and my boy Regis.

[@SenseofNoneYT]

I'm also anxious about that and I think I'd rather they not include it at all if they plan to change the characters and the story-line involving them. That company was the perfect clash to Geralt's character. Milva might be the one hardest to portray considering the direction of the show so far. Zoltan and Regis are more like fresh new elements you can just drop on the story.

[@georged.5595]

Would hate to see what they do with Regis' speech patterns. In the books (and games) he is so sophisticated, I had to look up a few words sometimes, here he is going to be written by the same people who believe Yenefer only knowing the word "fuck" is good, mature dialogue.

[@georged.5595]

@@TBackpack6987 100% agreed. They already have diverged so much from the books that it might as well be its own story, no need to mess up Regis as well.

[@cosmic2750]

I'm honestly so worried about Regis. Regis was my favorite character from both the books and the games.

[@ashal9504]

The only thing we learned from Phillipa's reveal is how tragically the costume designer failed yet again to dress a mage.

[@alexa.6316]

Djistra treats her as his pet owl ! That is sooooo wrong. Their relationship should be based on respect and a bit of fear - on Djistra side :)

[@thomasrosendahl2783]

Phillipa is one of the strongest mages/sorceresses, second only to Avallach and Zireals elder blood abilities. Dijkstra should be shitting himself with fear lol.

[@LeutnantJoker]

Franscesca crying over how much the humans hate elves... geez... as if she wasn't the most arrogant of the elves in the books... did they get ANY character right in this? Sigh.

[@ischi6200]

Only Geralt but I bet thats all Henry Cavill's doing

[@LeutnantJoker]

@@ischi6200 it is. If it was just him and yarpen... That would be watchable. But the rest... Ugh. Vesemir was okish i guess but none of the other witchers are. Certainly no reason for me to get Netflix again. If I get it again for a month itll be for cobra kai

[@toxinswillrush8125]

@@LeutnantJoker Dijkstra is actually very good actor think he fits the part maybe a bit too skinny but that's fine

[@LeutnantJoker]

@@toxinswillrush8125 Dijkstra is fine for his body type... his face... I think he should look more oafish... but.. I mean he's fine enough I guess. the changes they made to Triss are nothing but hilarious to me... they attacked everybody as being racist when we complained about her look and now they turned her into the least convincing ginger I've ever seen to appease the fans they previously insulted. It's pathetic.

[@Evija3000]

@@LeutnantJoker I think the idea is that her hair turned red after the battle, maybe from the healing magic or something as she was shown to be very injured, not that she's suddenly a ginger. Still funny though.

[@FIRSTAIDKIT__]

finally someone noticed these huge geography problems. fo real if lord of the rings managed to tell me how to get to mordor and i still remember everything how to get there by foot (after 20 years), how is it possible that witcher is so damn messy. i know the witcher map because of the book and game. khaer morhen is basically at the end of the map and the person i watched the series with, didnt know. he assumed it is like 10 minutes away from cintra because of the series

[@xLetalis]

Funny thing is that they made their own original map too (the one i'm showing)

[@FIRSTAIDKIT__]

​@@xLetalis lol okay that's ridiculous :-D

[@Eth77930]

@@xLetalis I specifically recalled that map when you talked about the geography. I mean why bother? You do not follow it. Without it you could at least say the geography is different than in the books. Sloppy work and lack of care everywhere.

[@ironail4982]

World building and scale has gone to shit in fantasy series. Game of Thrones suffered hard from this at the end too

[@Eth77930]

@@ironail4982 But GoT showrunners at least followed the source, more or less, while they had it. It went to hell when they ran out of it. Lauren and the scriptwriters just ignore the source altogether from the start

[@shadowofhawk55]

So I reread the Dear Friend letter. Holy frelling dren batman!!!! It fully clicked how badly they butchered Yen. Yen in the books is a witty intellectual woman who can veil insults like the best of them. This Yennefer is a cursing teenager with less meat between her skull than an NFL hall of famer.

[@xLetalis]

No wonder I complained about it in the previous episode!

[@shadowofhawk55]

@@xLetalis Yeah, makes sense. In regards to my level of nerdiness as it connects to the Witcher, I am not as well connected to it as other franchises (only read Blood of Elves and barely started the Triss stuff in Wild Hunt) but I am an aspiring writer and especially compared to the standards I hold myself to the way they portray a lot of characters on this show is infuriating. Then you have the books that are being adapted and it makes things so much worse.

[@Theviewerdude]

That last bit about the NFL player was beautiful lol

[@shadowofhawk55]

Thanks, I like being creative with my insulrs

[@noshio7391]

It’s cause Yennefer isn’t really Yennefer in this show. It’s Lauren Hissrech’s self insert character

[@matpl8769]

Geralt: I need a horse... to ride by side of a walking Dandelion.

[@alessandrocelauro1307]

Of course her face is destroyed by Ciri's blood, because everything is linked to it, isn't it? And that ending is pure gold, I love it

[@uteausmunchen7235]

I thought her face was destroyed because in the phial was actually not (only) Ciri's bood, but the essence for the Trial of the Grasses?

[@moopara7991]

So the sequence at ~8:00 sums up the series pretty well for me. What happened: Ciri's mad, and with an ominous voice cracks the earth, the crack travels some kilometers to make a small crack on Cintra's wall. Guard A spots with his eagle eye vision that Legolas would've been jealous of, two figures standing somewhere in the fields outside the city in the direction of the crack. Instantly knows he needs to capture those two and they send the QRT to get them. Quick Repsonse Team is actually really quick and rides out and arrives to Yen & Ciri before they have time to blink or move. Then the combat happens, not going to talk about the fact Geralt attacks the guard, while a surprise to the audience also surprises Yen even though he rides from the direction she is currently looking at. Absolutely no one in Cintra cares about the unit of knights that responded to something magical outside the city disappeared. Blah blah, demon posses Ciri whose party are already in the woods around Kaer Morhen in the fifteen minutes it takes to ride there from Cintra. What should've happened: Guard A feels an earthquake turns to Guard B and says "Fuck an earthquake!". Maybe he did notice the two figure on the other end of the crack, then maybe he would have said "Fuck! We're being attacked by witches!!!" and get every one and not send five / six mounted knights, at least care about the fact they disappeared. The next day Cahir and Fringilla would be alarmed that a magical crack appeared in the field and wall and there was a pile of corpses not far from where *CAHIR HIMSELF* saw this mythical monolith fall and shatter the ground. And I can't write about this anymore... basically my point is that it's all visuals without any logic beneath, these few minutes just showcase what's bad in the show. The show is a facade, it's not a liveable world, you understand that if you don't see it on screen this world doesn't continue to exist. I can't get my suspension of disbelief going because they're doing everything in their power to convince me it's not real. That's mostly my point, the show's world is simply unimmersive. And side note, can they please stop having my boy Cahir portrayed as someone who gets an erection whenever he sees puppies and kittens tortured?

[@karl2405]

100% The EXACT same thought in my head

[@Jackanaitor250]

I absolutely love how these reviews went from relatively sincere criticism to just ‘the fuck spell’ quality content my man, keep it up!

[@xLetalis]

[@Otis-Spunks]

Some of the most memorable dialog exchanges in the books is when Triss is incapacitated and Ciri and Geralt join Yarpen's party on the road until Triss recovers. The brutally honest wisdom Yarpen passes on to Ciri was so funny.

[@Eth77930]

Yes! There are so many great conversations in the books, and they did not include a single one! Some they cannot due to story deviations, but they are writing completely new dialogues even for events from the books. I think the only time a book was quoted was S1E1 when Geralt talks with Stregobor about greater and lesser evil. Such a shame, shows how incompetent the script-writers are.

[@xLetalis]

yeah well... it's more important for Ciri to learn how to swear from Yen now.

[@Mixail747]

Looks like this is the episode when our man has stopped even trying to stay positive and slid into sarcasm.

[@xLetalis]

you may be onto something too

[@alexweh]

The series makes use of the good ol' fast travel. Mastered to perfection

[@celticbabs3105]

Well the gamers wanted it to feel more like the games. There you go!

[@Zwolly]

The more Henry shows his love for the story, the more I love the guy. Let him have veto power over the rest of the seasons. I'm convinced only he can save it.

[@coolchristiangirl190]

I’m glad you pointed out the eye contacts😂 EVERY time they did a close up of Ciri, Yenn, or Geralt the eye contacts would take me out of it.😂

[@uschihartl4386]

It really was awfully convenient for ciri and yennefer that they found those magic teleporting horses who were ready to travel to cintra instead of being hungry and thirsty after Mr. Firefucker killed their owners. Or maybe he was there mere hours before they got there, just before he teleported to kaer morhen?

[@xLetalis]

[@martinzemek5798]

I actually hate the part with Yarpen and his crew because it represents how much Netflix changed the story of the source material. No Geralt, Ciri and Triss traveling with the military convoy, no Scoia'tael, no lesson for Ciri about Aelirenn the White Rose of Shaerrawedd, neutrality and price of war. What I always loved the most about Blood of Elves was the cruel twist at the end of that part with the military convoy when Scoia'tael attack and always jolly Yarpen is depressed as fuck after that because he can't belive what humans made him (and actually nonhumans in general) do just to test his loyalty and how much did it cost him. That's such a powerful emotional scene and Netflix just threw it in the trash like almost everything good from the books and we just got this weird "Come on, boys! The king can wait. We're goin' on an adventure!". Yarpen from the books would never abandon his post this easily btw and it doesn't make sense even in the context of the show because he would then probably be considered a deserter and wanted nonhuman.

[@matpl8769]

What is even worse - taking dwarves doesn't make any sense. Geralt was going to either fight powerless Yennefer or daemon. He couldn't predict Nilfgaardian soldiers. And it looks like he would easily kill them all. What Geralt needed was speed and I thought this was a reason he borrowed a horse. But after that, instead going as fast as he can, he was travelling with a speed of wagon full of dwarves and walking Dandelion. It looks like creators of this episode brought dwarves so they would have a fun scene of fighting, without any reason in plot itself.

[@agilemind6241]

@@matpl8769 I think it is also setting up the --fellowship-- hanza for next season. I mean Yarpen quotes Frodo from the Hobbit with that "We're goin' on an adventure!"

[@xLetalis]

At this point I kinda learned to live with the lack of book accuracy in this season, except for the first episode hardly anything is accurate, and pretty much every change is for the worse :( I touched upon it briefly in the end of the last season that pretty much everything Ciri is involved with in this season is a shallower version of what it was in the books.

[@ranli9607]

You can clearly tell the Polish folks at CD projekt Red who deeply loved and understood the content Sapkowski wrote, and the American TV industry that just wants to quickly digest it and make a quick buck. They don't CARE nearly enough to do the source material justice. Both the novel and game are 10/10, the TV show is about 5/10 IMO.

[@turtleneck369]

sad reality it is for fans of the witcher franchise

[@ComancheWarrior63]

3/10 at best

[@ShadeXH]

Everything about the Deathless Mother plot was so ridiculous and poorly written, you can really tell these were writers who worked on the later seasons of the Vampire Diaries. They loved half-baked villains.

[@sethnakht12]

aaaah it all makes sense now, lol ty!

[@AnnaLeWild]

"Something More is missing." That pun was priceless.

[@ИльяЯруллин-к9ш]

the horses in the second season are especially funny: they appear out of nowhere and teleport, that says a lot about the writers, no attention to details at all

[@agilemind6241]

Oh it's so dumb, especially since the girls having horses messes with the travel time even more. They should have just had Ciri & Yen be walking on foot while Geralt and Dandelion rode there.

[@needlenude]

They're just staying truthful to the Witcher 3:Wild hunt - Geralt just whistles and there she is! Obviously he's taught Ciri to do the same xD

[@ИльяЯруллин-к9ш]

@@needlenude lol😀

[@alihorda]

they just glitch.. lore accurate

[@samuelwebb2404]

@@alihorda Haha, yeah, Roach certainly does plenty of glitchy teleportation in the Witcher 3, at least the show is unintentionally resonating with that.

[@patrykadamkiewicz340]

Ciri in Blood of Elves: after the storm she makes two brilliant relationships, got some peace, she feels safe, teached, even happy, everything is set brilliantly for the collapse in Time of Contempt Ciri in S2: bait, harrased, attacked, almost mutated and killed, possesed

[@tonytan5945]

Yennefer here swears even more than the average Witcher dwarf. I’m starting to think that she’s part-dwarf as well.

[@Korijenkins1414]

It's funny how they screamed "it's a book adaptation" in season 1 to silence game fans who felt the characters were off, then deviated from the books massively in season 2. It seems likely that the people making this show are just not talented and believed cheap entertainment would suffice.

[@prorok3382]

Me: Going into this video expecting to finally have someone explain to me the complex reasoning between Fringilla's onslaught of the Nilfgaardian generals. XLetalis: Yeah, she was quite worked up. Fair enough mate (Keep up the good work btw. Watching these critiques is actually more entertaning than watching the episodes themselves.)

[@xLetalis]

yeah...

[@CharlesZane_]

At this point, it isn't possible for Ciri and Yen to develop any mother/daughter bond. Not after all that Yen did. It would never be believable. So I'm sure next season will have them acting inseparable without any explanation as to why...

[@majomajo1835]

Wow, Francesca and Filavandrel are very cool with the guy who spied for the people which potentially killed their child. Very noble of them oO

[@xLetalis]

yeah we'll get to that in next episode

[@majomajo1835]

@@xLetalis And maybe Emhyr's lack of free will while giving the order to kill the child.

[@roastedteeth922]

"Old man Sapkowski was onto something when he wrote these things" is one of the funniest ways you can point out netflix ruining so many things when making a show Probably the second best season 2 review line after the Dol Dusha one

[@SImrobert2001]

What is the Dol Dusha one?

[@flexltu]

@@SImrobert2001 i think it was something along the lines "the show could use a bit more dusha", dusha being soul or spirit in Slavic languages. I might be misquoting it, but I really liked it too ,)

[@Milkiestman]

How about this theory: Yennifer is a Doppler. After yennifer spent all her energy on that fire spell she was left unconscious and ‘mentally deficient’. A Doppler came along and copied her in this ‘neuro atypical’ state. That is why the Doppler Yennifer can’t do magic, wanted Ciri to be tortured for eternity, and says fuck all the time like she has Tourette’s. You guys just need to wait till season 5 where all the characters you love have to team up and fight all the Doppler characters that they’re introducing!

[@xLetalis]

I believe it.

[@Aedrion-]

All the characters they love? So... just Geralt?

[@mrbastardinho4759]

@@Aedrion-No, not him, we only love Yarpen!

[@Sorrowblast]

I too did have blood tears in my eyes when I watched this episode.

[@oneiricbutterfly6532]

Thank you, Letalis, for tolerating this series to bring us these reviews. Gods, the hole they're digging is getting deep and it seems like they're not stopping anytime soon

[@DreamofAnything]

"Fringilla turns into gaunter o dimm"- That cracked me up hard🤣

[@Springpojke]

Geralt and company made it to Cintra because as every fantasy genre lover knows, Dwarves are excellent sprinters.

[@wildhunt6350]

8:36 the map with the pictures of the actors is sooooo good choose omg you re a genius ! Also the END mhm LMFAO 10/10

[@summy59271]

Jeremy Crawford as Yarpen is so good! He loves the witcher and you can definitely tell from the love he gives on social media

[@markpjf85]

Totally agree he should have more control in story wise he knows the story so well

[@warlordofbritannia]

It's almost like Henry Cavil is being typecast as the silver lining in these sorts of highly disappointing adaptations--first as Superman, now as Geralt...

[@markpjf85]

@@warlordofbritannia totally 💯

[@Azakadune]

I’m so disappointed they changed EVERYTHING about geralt and yarpen travelling together. The reason I liked this scene in the show is because it reminded me of the books. The way they handle magic in the show is such a joke, in the blood of elves we actually see ciri grow in power, in the show she just teleports on command. Honestly, yennefer and ciri was butchered in this show. The show is so poor.

[@xLetalis]

yeah well :(

[@thejohnhopkinscompany9599]

Someone buy these poor writers a thesaurus, they've clearly been denied one.

[@sebastianpijov8708]

Perhaps an ABC booklet is more appropriate for the writers.

[@karl2405]

@@b4usay746 oh man we should all buy witcher books and send them to their address

[@lg5211]

@@b4usay746 😂🤣 Sad but true...

[@majkanagyova5310]

Not gonna lie, that scene with Yarpen and the company in the woods is probably my favorite scene of the whole season. It just emanates so much of the atmosphere I always imagined anything to do with the witcher world would have. The woods, the music, Yarpen himself, the she-dwarf with a beard, Jaskier having a subtle flirty moment with her... it all just fits in the way I stopped believing the show was capable of capturing long ago. It was a really nice surprise to see it. Thanks so much for the reviews. I'm enjoying them far more than I enjoyed season 2.

[@linkkokiri2000]

Geralt travelling with Yarpen was my favorite chapter in the book! Loved what the twist at the end did for the world building. So, I was really sad to see it be reduced to a small Easter Egg :(

[@xLetalis]

yeah :(

[@samuelwebb2404]

Yes, it just speaks to the show's writers not seeming to have any feel for what was good in the books and why. They cut so much good stuff, and add things that are considerably less interesting (or even coherent, at times).

[@Bin.Ballen]

That’s cause Henry is literally a gamer who has a serious love for game and exercise I see myself in him so much he’s literally a inspiration I don’t know what I like more working out or games

[@625098evan]

when xLetalis says "I don't know", that is his relentless optimism and positivity trying to say that this show sucks. thank goodness I have elected to not watch it.

[@Eth77930]

Exactly! Every time he describes some total bs or nonsense, I am face-palming, and xLetalis is just like "or I don't know". He is still very generous with his reviews and critique, even though he dissects the show pretty well.

[@johng7003]

There are so many things that want to discuss here so here's some of then: 1)Yeah Yarpen and his company were some of the rare good moments and characters of the show indeed. The actor is really good at playing him and at least being kinda very accurate to be honest to how Yarpen actually behaves. Djikstra is also very interesting here. 2)But still I really dislike the whole change of characters personalities here in this season and their motives. Thanks to all this mess we get a scene where Geralt literally is ready to cut Yen's head off and then tells to Jaskier that if Yennefer does anything to Ciri, he WILL kill her. It's not Henry's fault for this for sure. The actual Geralt, would hold the whole killing option to the very back of his head or just completely disregard or not think it at all and would actually try to find ways to save both of them. 3)Also again, i really don't like the very stereotypically dumb rich and royal people here. Vizimir doesn't seem cunning,strategic or wise at all here. He expects Djikstra to do all the work and he seems he seems to be that he could be the one to be taking orders from Djikstra,not the other way around.Yes they are kings and queens and of course they could be behave arrogantly or lazy given their position but they are still human characters with different personalities and interesting arcs and motives. Honestly unlike many royals in fantasy universes most of these people on the Witcher seem to take their position actually seriously in the books and games at least. Thanks for coming to my long rant talk.

[@xLetalis]

yeah I especially agree on the 3rd point, probably should've mentioned something about it.

[@karlmodry716]

Same went with king Foltest. In the book he was a charming and rather inteligent king, tall and handsome...the series though...

[@lg5211]

@@karlmodry716 Puh... I must agree there. Not exactly a Chad 😅

[@redwallace4575]

Fun fact: Antony Byrne, the actor playing General Nefarious, Grievous, Winker or whatever :) was the voice of King Foltest in The Witcher 2.

[@xLetalis]

he always ends up dying :(

[@BaranoJosei]

'This I like!'

[@csengekovacs9013]

That bridge scene almost made me pee myself. The only place where they could've placed that broken bridge was next to (at most) a knee-deep river, where they could've just walked through the shallow water.

[@xLetalis]

that's why I thought she terraformed the place!

[@josephvisnovsky1462]

The horseis always on the side where the player is. This is RPG physics whenever you whistle🤣

[@xLetalis]

[@MrConeman]

Whoever is writing Yen's dialog must have been told they were writing Angouleme's dialog.

[@DGiac_]

I literaly forgot about Vilgefortz, as a whole character, from this AND the last season

[@kostyabenson4308]

The fact that “General Grievous” isn’t playing Foltest is a crime, considering that’s it’s his VA in the games

[@neon825]

Some other complains I have for this episode, is how convenient it was that Ciri and Yen found 2 great horses just outside the house. That house looked like it was in ruin and owners were long dead (Rience somehow found them and killed them, right?). But somehow there are 2 good horses ready to go, waiting for them just outside. Why not make it more realistic? Why not let them find one poor horse somewhere and they had to travel together on it so there are opportunities to strengthen their bond etc. The other is the final scene. When Ciri screams and destroys Cintras walls. It looks like she and Yennefer are 1 km or even farther away from Cintra. Yet, in what seems like a few seconds, there is: an alarm, someone sees them from that distance, a team of knights mounts their horses, gates open and the knights travel the distance between Cintra and Yen and Ciri in what looks like few seconds. Ciri and Yen didn't even manage to get to their own horses in all this time!! Why not have a team of knights already outside the walls, somewhere near, to make it more realistic. It really through me off how weird that scene was

[@xLetalis]

yeah fair enough :( it's more things to add to the "it's all too convenient" criticism from last episode I suppose

[@ReZhorw]

I don't understand why they simply didn't follow the events of the books and like added more action. Cus there's already plenty of tension. Imagine Geralt fighting the Aeschna on a boat. I would've also liked to have seen more of the rulers of the North discussing the scoia'tael. And why have they changed the elves from a guerilla into nomad just trying to survive? And Yen. Why oh why couldn't they have made her cool like she's in BoE. Imagine a magic duel between her and Rience. The writers have got it all twisted IMO. Game of Thrones was great because they actually followed the great source material up until season 4. I just don't understand why they wouldn't seize this golden opportunity.

[@themage1016]

fact is early GOT seasons are good cuz of its character interactions, the politics and world building while also adapting as much from the books as they can, idk why they think this would be able to match it, we all know this pretty much got adapted cuz ppl thought they could be the next big thing but what gave them the idea tht it would succeed without following the basic road map that made GOT boom is quite laughable.

[@karl2405]

@@themage1016 You're right. Also GOT followed source material. As soon as they deviated it went to hell. Wotcher deviated and went to hell from S1E1

[@themage1016]

@@karl2405 the funny thing is that The Witcher books are alrdy complete while Asoiaf books aint finished

[@aarone1981]

George, Winds of Winter may take over a decade, but this is my final book. He claimed to be devastated that he didn't finish b4 Season 6, biggest lie he has ever told...

[@aarone1981]

@@karl2405 For sure, but the deviations were often superior. It's remarkable that D & D also wrote Season 8! They were ostensibly brilliant for a long time... but they (and George) failed in the end...

[@abnushagnasty805]

So if Hissrich and the writers are going to diverge this far from the books, then it really doesn’t bode well for events from Time of Contempt. They skipped over so many important scenes with dialogue and character development (from the books) that it really no longer feels like the Witcher. At this point, it’s better just to treat it as another generic fantasy world because a lot of these events from season 2 contradict what happens in the books and actually butchers the story. Honestly though, I don’t even think I’d be able to enjoy it as a generic fantasy show because of how badly it is written. Can’t wait to see your review of the finale! 👍

[@driftingdruid]

you mean Lauren Fisstech?

[@lower_case_t]

The Witcher? Great books, and one of the best games ever released was based on them, also featuring amazing storytelling. Then there were these reviews by a guy named xLetalis, great stuff. Oh, and there was a Netflix series, too, but maybe we shouldn't mention that here.

[@davidsuntner8862]

I dont know hoe they want to do it, but having Rience basically being a magic Bonhart seems to lead to confusion when he is introduced. I always had the feeling that Rience was a rather bad mage that needed saving by Filgefortze often and was just used as a slightly better lackey than your normal peasant

[@xLetalis]

yeah having him beat Vesemir and Triss was confusing

[@AzzzKe]

Not to forget that he would have died really soon in the books, if it wasn't Philippa Eilhart who was preventing Geralt from killing Rience.

[@davidsuntner8862]

@@AzzzKe yeah, and he again needed a portal from Vilgefortz to escape too. Was he even able to conjure up portals by himself in the books?

[@Eth77930]

@@davidsuntner8862 No. He was a mediocre mage, pretty much a puppet remotely controlled by V. Any bigger magic was provided by V remotely or via some artifact from V.

[@davidsuntner8862]

@@Eth77930 Okay, thats what I thought. Nice name btw

[@luissosa320]

Geralt used a fast travel post to get to Yennefers location faster, there is no other explanation

[@aarone1981]

xLetails has the perfect voice, the knowledge, and the passion! I'm glad he agreed that Lydia and Rience were good characters, at least so far. A lot of show watchers will be surprised to discover who they serve... My favorite character, who they better make bad-ass by next season...

[@xLetalis]

thank you ;]

[@kingradovidv4524]

A good adaptation! A good adaptation! My kingdom for a good adaptation

[@xLetalis]

[@Spartiano_97]

Let’s go!! I know this review is already gonna be better than the episode

[@mikepette4422]

I still have so much hope for next year as I really want the writers and show runners to learn about all their mistakes ( and I think they might ) and take to heart fan commentary at least a little.

[@Eth77930]

@@mikepette4422 I have no hope. For one, I do not think they will ever acknowledge how bad job they did until now, and for two, they have butchered it so much there is no way going back. It is a completely new story, with vaguely familiar characters (acting in an unfamiliar way).

[@XYZasw]

Can someone just fire Hissrisch and make Cavill a showrunner of the series?

[@silfah3194]

As a show runner you know you fucked up real bad, when the critiques tearing down your show, are way more interesting and better produced than the product you put out . Great video and keep up the good work.

[@Eth77930]

I do not think the show runners care. They will just label us the nerds who cannot accept someone changed their beloved books/games. And look at it - the show has 8.2* on IMDB - obviously there are enough people that cannot recognize good story-writing from a bad one even if you hit them in the head with it.

[@wildfireDZ]

The general audience seems to like it. And that's sad for people who love the universe and care

[@Eth77930]

@@wildfireDZ Exactly. The books have the potential to be on par with GoT (obviously they are different - GoT being more epic on larger scale, while Witcher focuses more on several key characters) if handled properly. I can only imagine what rating it would have had if someone capable was running the show. Wishful thinking...

[@LuizFelipe-lk1hs]

Netflix writers are like "hmmmmm this original script is good, maybe too good, lets make it shittier"

[@racingenjoyer]

7:30 You missed something that is also important. Ciri and Yen were quite far away from the castle(?), but when the ground started to pull apart it's like they were frozen in time... It took some time to get the walls of castle to break and their soldiers also needed some time to travel to Ciri and Yen. Yet it seems like when ground started to break apart Ciri and Yen were just standing there for minimum a minute looking at this and waiting until Nilfgaardian soldiers arrive to them...

[@yellowtunes2756]

It can be easily explained with *fuck magic* . Obviously soldiers were swearing and teleporting with their horses when their city was getting split in half

[@xLetalis]

eh...

[@AzzzKe]

Addtional information about the age of Tissaia: I've just finished reading the 3rd chapter of "Time of contempt" yesterday where Yennefer took Gerald to the meeting of the mages. When all the chapter members appeared, Hen Gedymdeith - the oldest sorceror of all - walked in together with Tissaia and it was written, that she was only a little bit younger than him, so she must be really old.

[@xLetalis]

thank you

[@bevybaby1587]

@@xLetalis You can actually get even closer with a mixture of show canon and book canon. In the Book Tissaia is mentioned being one of the famous graduates of Aretuza, when Vilgefortz shows Geralt around and they come through the gallery of glory. Assuming that the Netflix date for Klara Larissa de Winter founding Aretuza (839) is correct, I would say shes born in between 820 and 830 (depends on when she got her conduit moment or came to Aretuza). Of cause assuming that she was in her early teens when she came there and not very much later in life. So... putting dear Skylarks birth year in 826, thus making her 13 when Aretuza was founded so she could attend the school, she would be around 441 in 1267 during the events of Time of Contempt. That would also make perfect sense with Yennefers comment on her age regarding Hen. Gerhard of Aella/Hen Gedymdeith was born, I think in the late 8th century. The Netflix Show mentions Stregobors, who is based on both Stregobor and Gerhard of Aelle from the books I think, to be born in 786. So he would be around 40 years older than Tissaia and I personally think thats still close enough for Yennefer to mention Tissaia to be 'only a bit younger' (sorry if thats a wrong quote... I just have the German Version around to use for Quotes.). Oh, and sorry for that outbreak of nerdyness. It seems once more I have to wonder why I know stuff like that...😅

[@glub638]

Can’t wait to hear your thoughts on this episode! (: really enjoying these reviews

[@shotzonyou]

Well... Now my day is ruined... It's not really ruined, I'm happy I'm not the only critic of The Witcher. Great Videos. :)

[@625098evan]

most viewers who are fans of the books and the games are not happy with this show.

[@flaritza8069]

8:00 An another ridiculous thing that they went from Cintra to Kaer Morhen in less than one day

[@ericasharp1872]

It may have took longer than that inbetween scenes.

[@tommytomtom3139]

That ending edit was absolute perfection! LOOL 🤣🤣

[@xLetalis]

[@s8r4]

6:22 is such a good reference, glad you put that one in.

[@ivanroman8914]

I heard that Yarpen and the dwarfs are the favorite characters of Peter Dinklage too. jokes aside, I think Yarpen is the only character that fits this "swear in every line" thing that Netflix made. Dijkstra is a really good character and Netflix nailed the cast to me

[@DrBrianaJackson]

I was particularly mystified by Ciri screaming "fuck" -- like, is this supposed to show she became "one of the boys" after spending so much time with Witchers, or that she's more mature now? It was very out of character, especially after that moment in one of the earlier episodes when she wants to be girly with flowers in her new hairstyle. Is that really the best way the script writers could convey frustration?

[@xLetalis]

Probably Yennefer's influence :)

[@DrBrianaJackson]

@@xLetalis ha!! 🤣

[@judostar11]

Great video as always! I definitely agree with you that they need to flesh out Ciri and Yennefer's mother-daughter relationship going forward. One of the big reasons why I like Yennefer so much is because of that motherly bond she has with Ciri since it shows a more caring side of Yennefer. Without that, she's pretty much just a really rude and arrogant character that doesn't really care much about anyone but herself (similar to how she was pre-Djinn Geralt wish). In general, I think they need to explore Ciri's relationship dynamics with Geralt and Triss as well. They've barely scratched the surface with them too. Ciri and Triss are supposed to have a big sister-little sister dynamic while Geralt and Ciri are supposed to have a father-daughter dynamic which I don't really see that much in the show yet. Albeit, the dynamics with Geralt is starting to show a bit more when Geralt is threatening Yen for potentially hurting Ciri and him referring to her as "his".

[@XenonFae]

I honestly find it somewhat physically painful being reminded of all the stupid things that happened in this season. I rolled by eyes probably more than 20 times while watching this. How did so many critics watch this nonsense and think it was good when upon even the simplest inspection the events of the show prove illogical and poorly written?! It’s baffling! Great Job with the Video!!!

[@asmabalaska2428]

No we're almost done with the season the only thing i liked about this show existing is your reviews of it

[@Timminator100]

The two things that annoyed me the most were 1: Teleporting across a river that can obviously easily be crossed by foot, you can see it in the background. And 2, the Niflgaardian riders riding out to catch Ciri and Yen while they appearantly wait for 15 min for them to have reached them by horse? What?

[@jcksparrowfan]

LMAO, "Eskel was a meanie" and "Vesemir attempted infanticide". Yes, poor Ciri :(

[@ZertusDarkSun]

Philippa is one of my favorite characters and I have the sinking suspicion they're not gonna do her justice. Not just for the reasons you've mentioned in this and previous videos, but in the last episode of S2 she finally appears in human form and seems to be Dijkstra's subordinate? I hope that's not the case. They should be equals. She should have her own schemes going on in the background. And she's the most powerful sorceress on the Continent. Oh well, I guess time will tell.

[@megaluria9654]

Couple of things that just made me upset in this one: 1. Why the hell did they just not cross the river? The water level in the place of the weir was not more then half a meter - Yes, after the spell I also thought she somehow terraformed the river, because it looked so shallow and easy to cross. 2 . The bridge - as Ciri started to lift the ruins of the bridge we could see how it had looked before it broke - a pair of ropes and some planks with 1 meter gaps in between - are you kiddin me? Was it an acrobat training course or WTF? No one could use it, not alone horses. But I guess they just did not have a better idea how to do at least some a bit realistic looking bridge breakdown. 3. Why did Yen and Ciri wait for the soldiers to come? They were so far away from the city the guards could barely see them in that distance. As it was obvious someone was about to react, they had plenty of time to flee or teleport themselves. But magically the guards got there in a few seconds. 4. Ciri complaining about her inability to control chaos is really weak character writing as she already proved herself that under the guidance of someone experienced she can grasp it and it clearly needs some time devoted to studying. 5. Yes, the elves - presented as a bunch of stupid, boring and useless blokes. If I had no idea about this world, I wouldn't wonder why the North hates them. Does the show give us any reason to like them?

[@thestorytinker]

Was also wondering about that broken down bridge being able to support horses.

[@ricardo.bastos]

if henry cavill was on lauren's position, the show would be 100x better. great video btw, and can't wait for the next one

[@meatbagkiller7174]

He should just quit the show so that it gets cancelled and remade by a writer that truly loves the franchise. And not some woke writer that uses the witcher title to write her own story about poor Yennefer being oppressed by men

[@ricardo.bastos]

​@@meatbagkiller7174 that would actually be a great alternative. couldn't have said it better myself. she's just ruining the franchise at this point

[@nothinghere7694]

Love your reviews, they are very insightful for me.

[@Darduel]

Geralt catching up to Ciri and Yennifer that fast gave me some serious GoT season 8 writing vibes.. not to mention this is the second time this season people fast travel like this

[@vladimirdimitrov1103]

One thing I still do not understand at all is why they used one of the best themes in the show (Renfri's theme) in the conversation between Ciri and Geralt in the scene after he stopped Vesemir from turning her into a witcher. You can hear it in the background. It would have been x times better if they have established a new theme for Ciri and Geralt in the early episodes and played it every time they bond or have moments like that. But placing Renfri's theme there just feels lazy...

[@sofianaji6726]

At this point, the witcher 3 music playing in the background is more interesting than this entire season lol

[@Okkotsu86275]

We need to give Henry Cavill his flows man. This man is mostly the only reason this show is even watchable. I know his back iss killing him from carrying everything.

[@jonathan13co]

5:53 lmao I absolutely cracked at that 😂. You're the first one I've seen bringing it up .

[@xLetalis]

that's important stuff!