The Witcher Is For Fantasy Dorks and That's How I Like It!

[@christopherowen2759]

"I've dated a lot of sword people." I am so glad I found this channel.

[@mercyparker8126]

a) as a person with a disability, i related very hard to yennefer's whole storyline, particularly the bit where geralt asks "what do you want?" and she howls "everything!" having a disability can feel like your body is cheating you out of something in your life, and this woman going on a quest to """fix"""" herself is something that really made sense to me b) the show's writers only have one joke and it is henry cavill's exasperatedly deadpan delivery of the word "fuck."

[@ellentheeducator]

I've talked before about how the point of Yen is that she's tired of choosing. She wants to have a body that doesn't betray her and not pay a price, she wants to not have to choose

[@curtmacquarrie]

What a joke though. They fucking nail it.

[@fangsabre]

For a show that's not a comedy all you really need is 1 joke

[@TimdeVisser86]

YES. I also feel that Yennefer suffers from dysthymia. I do as well, and her attempts to 'be important to someone' really felt relatable to me. She's looking for power and later a way to have a child because she thinks it will make her feel worthy, and I have seldom seen disabled characters depicted with such nuance. Pity they cast an abled actress, pity that the transformation is permanent. It think makin it into some kind of glamour offers a lot of possibilities to play with how people view her, how she feels pressured to hide herself, and so on. But still, Yennefer is a MOOD.

[@ellewoodford262]

that,"fuck" delivery is perfect. witchers dont show much emotion

[@itsesmeriel]

I enjoyed the Witcher more than the last 3 seasons of GOT.

[@jackyoh971]

Me too but GOT last 3 seasons set the bar low...

[@Liviano324]

That's not hard

[@1337w0n]

You're setting the bar *way* too low. I would enjoy a lead enema more than the ending of Game of Thrones.

[@ashadeofnight]

Come on season 6 was pretty good..

[@jackyoh971]

@@ashadeofnight no...

[@gheldmann]

It’s really sad and impressive at the same time that one season of the Witcher was more emotionally fulfilling and engaging than the last four seasons of Game of Thrones

[@henryh9330]

"Yass Queen, but like, Less Queen" 😂

[@zenithquasar9623]

Got slayed! :D

[@NalgoDeSatanas]

Is the most accurate description of a character ever XD

[@lucasgray1492]

So accurate

[@yltraviole]

It's been a while since I watched the respective episode, but I read Yennefer's decision to go through with the transformation as less about her wanting to be beautiful, and more as her wanting the privilege and power that comes with being beautiful. Now, generally speaking, that is a trope I have Opinions about, but I did find it an interesting motivation, and very in character for her.

[@wisdommanari6701]

Especially since she found affection and started to to master her abilities without the magic makeover

[@monikasuszek3434]

yltraviole of course she did that for power. She decided to follow political career in on of the courts. A simple commoner needs every advantage against nobility. This is a feudal world not a democracy.

[@yltraviole]

@@monikasuszek3434 Yes? I never said otherwise?

[@Rosy2468]

@@monikasuszek3434 youve got a weird attitude in your comment. I think you missed Yltraviole's point entirely.

[@tariqthomas9090]

Also, what’s up with characters like Dany and Yen getting their fertility taken from them to make them more badass and powerful? I’m not a woman so I can’t speak on that but it is a trope that really creeps me out.

[@1Lanavis1]

It seems to be a recurring theme for all humans getting super powerful and long-lived. IIRC, witchers are also made sterile in return for their powers

[@abrahamkresnik9726]

It was never that graphical in the novel, but yea for mages, its sacrificing their fertility for power.

[@abrahamkresnik9726]

@cathartictea Yes, he was since going through the Trial of The Grass as a child. His body is mutated, but becomes infertile.

[@Megalomaniakaal]

It's a theme that there is a cost to gaining power, and the more power gained the greater the cost.

[@TheEnoEtile]

I think for Dany it's going to be important at the end of the novels. But who knows.

[@pleasespellchimerical7202]

It's funny because I had absolutely no trouble with the timeline thing? By episode 2 I knew we were working with multiple storylines and that they didn't take place at the same time, then further in it's like, oh ok they're all gonna catch up! Sure. I had no idea why so many people had trouble when it hadn't even occurred to me and I think your idea of 'map-fantasy' (love that term) and the way authors introduce their readers to the world really might have a lot to do with that. So ty for this analysis! It def helped clarify some stuff for me that way. I also adored this show bc I don't think I've ever seen another show where women are so unapologetically loud about what they want. Like, oh my goodness? Just seeing women yell their desires to the world and NOT GET PUNISHED FOR IT by the narrative sent shivers up my spine in such a good way. Is this how men feel all the time?

[@Spamhard]

Yeah, I found the timeline pretty obviously jumping around after you see a character die in one of the first scenes and then they're there in the next. It was a brief moment for me of "wait didn't they-- oh I see".

[@marysiatomanek538]

For me the biggest problem was that majority of characters don't age. When character dies that is obvious, but grasping time in other situations? No way. I still have no clue how much time had passed between Renfris death and the rest of story, or how long Jaskier travelled with Geralt or what time passed between mountain scene and Ciri retrieval. And those are important things. With no indication of time passing that's hard. No fashion changes, no ageing characters, no dates. For somebody who have never read books that's not obvious. Also I think that time line is very important.

[@Spamhard]

@@marysiatomanek538 They definitely failed a bit when it comes to Jaskier, I know the dude is *meant* to look young for his age (what with jokes of his being half elf and shit), but the start of s1 he's meant to be about 19-20, and we're meant to believe he's 40 in the dragon episode. Haha. I think other than Yen mentioning his non-existent crows feet, you'd never know he was supposedly older. Coulda done with giving him a bit of facial hair or some change to his hair just to indicate it's over a decade later.

[@marysiatomanek538]

@@Spamhard Well... that's suprising to be honest. 20 years?! I would never guessed. I thought that it was more like 5 or so. So yeah, that is not readeable in the series.

[@Spamhard]

@@marysiatomanek538 haha right? you can see the actual dates on witchernetflix.com/

[@of_the_void_and_stars]

Yennefer's want to "fix" her body is an extremely realistic one for real people who are physical disabled and I can say that the decision that was made, at least in my eyes, was not meant to be unproblematic.

[@christmastiger]

I think it depends on the disability, it's one of the largest and most varied of groups everyone has different opinions. Many who are born with disabilities like being deaf or blind or a dwarf (basically a lot of things that don't entail pain or potential death) can find it offensive that people think they want to be "fixed" but I'm in the other group of people who became disabled at some point in life and a lot of pain and early death is involved so obviously it's not the same. In terms of her own character motivation of wanting to change to seek more power it makes sense, but I would not apply her desire as the blueprint for all disabled people by any means.

[@SoulDevoured]

@@christmastiger yeah I think that's the problem with these discussions. There are many many different types of disability and not everyone has the same struggles. A disabled person doesn't find it relatable and even offensive... It could be they're not the type of disabled person being represented.

[@InfektedSquirrel]

Isnt Yennifers suicide atempt after she was sold by her 'father' for less than a pig? I think that plays a big part.

[@Rosy2468]

yeah i didn't see it as solely about her physicality. I see how thats part of it, as her father screams that her body makes her worthless, but to me its about that rejection, its about being bought and sold

[@Companion92]

Yeah, I thought that too

[@fangsabre]

@@Rosy2468 also being sold to a strange woman and being taken away to god knows where for who knows what reason and then being thrown in a room by herself. She has literally no control over her life at this point. If you're already depressed all that is not exactly going to help

[@joshridinger3407]

yes people seem to argue that: 1. yennefer is disabled 2. yennefer tries to kill herself (because she's disabled) 3. problematic! when it's actually, 1. yennefer is a young teenager that has been physically and emotionally abused by everyone around her including her father for her whole life 1a. yes, largely because of her disability 2. she finally gets sold off to a callous mage who seems to hate her just as much as her father and has no idea where her life will go from there 3. she attempts suicide because of 1 and 2.

[@SonjaPond]

I personally don’t think Yen’s suicide attempt was meant to glamorize suicide. It maybe wasn’t handled perfectly, but it was an important moment when Yennefer told Tissaia that it was her only way to have control, and Tissaia said “no dude, that’s the epitome of giving up your control.” This is something that I’ve never seen addressed in this way on tv before.

[@justniquol8972]

1. Cute pic with the sword 2. I honestly feel like Witcher is going to fill the whole that Game of Thrones left for me 3. 5:40-5:55 I know you were joking but damn something is clicking for me 4. I loved Queen Calanthe and wished she had stayed 5. Jaskier needs to be bisexual 6. I was done with Outlander too especially with the trailer where Claire is saying American is a “new place to make a fresh start and to be free” I could feel my ancestors glaring from the grave and it completely erases the plight of Native Americans/Indigenous People. 7. I loved how The Witcher was non-linear it kept me guessing which was entertaining. 8. Hair looks cute either way.

[@seungminmakesmestay]

It would have been SOOO fun if Queen Calanthe hadn't been wearing a red dress (re: shirt) the whole time. And it was like by the time you saw her, you knew she was actually dead. (le sigh)

[@MrJMB122]

Reading the books he is super straight but he got remeber to this is like the Harry Potter crossed woth think great American classic novel put here for Poland. Is a book series and super Polish and super slavic. But he writes really Great female leads. And word of advice if you gonna pick up the series start with a short stories and read it in publishing order. I started with the short stories so by the time I got to blood of elves it had so much more meaning the character it relationships who everyone was the matter to me.

[@kyndramb7050]

Thats exactly when I stopped watching Outlander too.

[@suadela87]

I like describing the Witcher as, “Superman doing his best Batman impersonation.”

[@wisdommanari6701]

Working nights shift during Covid-19 shit just finished the Witcher last night. I really enjoyed the show. The difference timelines didn't really bother me. I do wish that they would have been given it more episodes however. I like how yennifer wasn't happy after becoming "beautiful". I disagree with her trying to kill herself because of her disability. I thought it was because she was sold for 4 uh 4 marks or whatever and she was more or less sold into slavery.

[@VariousAndSundryBee]

Princess! I watched you back in the ‘00s when you were first starting and I’m so happy to have found you again! ❤️

[@Primordial_Soup]

I feel extremely called out by the Baba Yaga bit as a bisexual, lol. Definitely subscribing!

[@markiab5817]

I feel attacked! Lol

[@jamtex2]

Could you explain what does Baba Yaga has to do with an orientation?

[@niteowl9491]

@@jamtex2 If you have to ask, you'll never know

[@jamtex2]

@@niteowl9491 That's rather unhelpful. Still, thank you for your input.

[@ailsalillywhite2018]

As a statistic that supports this stereotype, I need to understand why it's so accurate.

[@katekursive1370]

To be honest, Westerners make a huge mistake equating Slavic cultures to Western European White and miss a lot of nuance because of it. We're dismissed, looked down upon, and mis/underrepresented in Western media. Sex workers, mafia, criminals, emotionless tough-buff shtick. Yet many Westerners think Chezchoslovakia is still a country and Chernobyl is in Russia etc. There's a dismissive tone when you talk about "evil empire nation" and I get it, it's a genre cliché, but Sapkovskiy is Polish, and Poland was famously and brutally occupied during the entire WWII, one of the first victims of fascist Germany. In Slavic context, it makes sense. Etcetera Edit: Also, elves here are not a race metaphor, it's a Jewish metaphor. Again, bc Eastern European history

[@Porjil09]

Kate Kursive I love the Slavic elements in the games. I think the show payed homage to that element with the music. I thought it was spot on.

[@KateeAngel]

I am Russian, and I agree. Also very annoying when someone thinks that all ethnic Russians should be geld accountable for what Russian Empire and Soviet governments did to other ethnicities and countries. Most victims of those regimes were ethnic Russian poor people: during the Russian Empire they were serfs (and my historian friend said serfs in Russia in 19th century were treated 90% as bad as American slaves) until 1861 officially, and even after that many lived the same way until 1905 (first Russian revolution), and in the USSR many Russians were victims of repressions the same way as other ethnicities. It is true that history presented in Russian schools is far from objective and whitewashes many actions of Russian and Soviet governments and that is used for propaganda, but people who believe that, believe it only because they didn't have access to other sources, and many other people actively question that version of history. It is wrong also to equate Soviet and Russian, USSR was made up of 15 republics, and Russia was only one of them, equating USSR only with Russia is dismissive towards other nations which were parts of the USSR and to their problems

[@stupidpol]

that's exactly how i felt. Westerners are eager to criticize cultural appropriate when it comes to works of African or Middle Eastern descent but are completely fine with cultural appropriation of those who are not yet listed as victims. they are simply too bored to read Wikipedia. i remember that recently some weird folks even criticized a historical video game 'Kingdom Come Deliverance' for having no black characters. because Westerners believe that the world is a copy of American history and politics.

[@marvel_warhead4458]

omg yes. l'm czech and like no? Czechoslovakia is not a thing anymore?? Why do you still think that?? americans really don't see beyond the big pond

[@MaryamMaqdisi]

Thank you for sharing your thoughts, this helps me a lot to keep my own biases in check, I do know about Polish history, but I didn’t connect the dots until you shared your perspective. I’m also aware that people often disregard the struggles of Eastern Europeans based on colorism, since especially in the Americas most Eastern Europeans would definitely receive some privileges based on color. For example in my country I had a friend who was of Polish descent, and while she didn’t look the same as, say, an Italian person, she definitely had white privilege and was not discriminated against based on her ethnic background. On the other hand, brown and especially native people are subjected to discrimination fairly frequently, being framed as ignorant, ugly, impolite, etc. All of this is to say, please know that many of us are just not used to witnessing Eastern Europeans being discriminated against in the same ways as dark skinned or indigenous peoples. It doesn’t mean it doesn’t happen, but the double standard is even there in Europe. When Syrian refugees went there countries like Austria decided they were too many and too problematic, now there are signs in Ukrainian and (at least in the public eye) they are very eager to help. They may be second class citizens, but the willingness of people to help instead white Christians and not darker Muslims is there. I think it’s extremely important to keep getting this feedback from people like you so we can check our own biases and connect the dots better, especially because colorism, racism and Islamophobia can sometimes highlight only some of the most oppressed communities and erase the struggles of many, including Slavs. Bless you.

[@ShadowPa1adin]

"Ciri's gonna be fine." Oh my sweet summer child.

[@seemysight]

narrator voice, "she's not gonna be fine"

[@JM-mh1pp]

Eventually she will be more than fine.

[@ShalomDove]

“Yes queen but like, less queen.” 😂😂😂 you are a delight.

[@melaustin3305]

Not that it's a big deal or a defense of D&D (whom I now despise as writers) but allegedly the reason Dany doesn't have purple eyes in the show is because Emilia Clark struggled with wearing the contacts and it negatively affected her performance.

[@paulinedunne3481]

Not all eyeballs are created equal - I struggle with contacts for a couple of reasons, but the main one is that my eyes aren't the right shape, so they don't settle in the way they're supposed to (so they feel like having an eyelash in your eye all day, which is not how they're supposed to feel) and it's very easy for me to blink them out. You can also be allergic to them, like Daniel Radcliffe. They can be really drying, and cause redness or excessive watering, and most professionals would agree that they have an 8 hour daily limit, which shooting schedules can go over sometimes. It's why you see so much behind the scenes footage of actors putting in contacts just before shooting, instead of during makeup, which can cause problems if you aren't able to put them in/take them out yourself. Sorry, I didn't mean to go off here but it turned out I have a lot more knowledge about this that I thought?

[@melaustin3305]

@@paulinedunne3481 I totally get it. I moved from wearing contacts to glasses during quarantine because, while I prefer contacts for driving, I'm lazy and like... not really driving anywhere. But I've had a number of terrible things happen because of contacts and have had consistently dry eyes for years. I also routinely went over the 8 hour limit or fell asleep in them and regretted it. So, overall, my corneas are probably pretty happy about the recent switch and I don't fault anyone who can't deal with them.

[@katerynaufymtseva5073]

I just have to say this thing about timelines: when I watched the show I didn't know, like, anything about it, except for it existence. It doesn't give that much clues to figure out the time, if you're not looking for it. Like, who knew that the main characters don't age? Who knew what country was conquered at a specific time? It took me, like, half of the show to even figure out that it wasn't chronological. (but also, the number of female characters is FENOMENAL for a fantasy story, I love it. like, they are there and they're important, that's so rare and so cool)

[@geraltbiaywilk1788]

read Jaskier as Yackier (with soft c like in Cersei), it gonna sound as it does in polish, the original, in which its a name for a very lovely aggresivly bright yellow flower, and adjective derived from Jaskier - Jaskrawy means basicly a bright, intense colour

[@princessjello]

a response to the eyelash question: geralt would not have even put on the lashes. he hates ridiculous formalities. but if you were a witcher from the school of cat or griffin i think you would have put them back on lol Regarding Yennefer: I thought the attempted suicide was from being sold to a witch and not from being disabled? I wasn't sure. I like what the actress did with the role personally though. The elves allegory always annoys me lol. Even as I'm playing the game right now. Jaskier is incorrigibly straight he has a muse in every town (lmfao) I also wasn't confused by the jumping timelines... but i don't hold other peoples logic fails against them. I also want the buns I can't wait to see little ciri training with papa wolf Geralt and grampa wolf Vesemir uwu

[@ShadowPa1adin]

I also have trouble believing that the show glamorized suicide when Yen defends her actions to Tissaia, saying "It was the only thing I could control." and then Tissaia replies with "You weren't in control, you were losing it."

[@KaiInMotion]

*"Maybe I wanna be that bitch with a chicken-leg house."* - Baba Yaga's senior yearbook quote most likely

[@birdsofcray]

"I'm rooting for you but I'm also tired of you. I'm like Yass Queen but also Less Queen" had me DYING lol love this review

[@KnightofGascogne]

I think the adoration for Queen Calanthe (in this video and comment section) is very problematic, to say the least. Being a "badass strong queen" doesn't negate the fact that she's a cunning liar, an arrogant ruler who doomed her country, and most of all, a racist tyrant who committed genocide on a minority just because of racial hatred and (as always) to steal their lands. In ep.3, when Calanthe comes back from "war", covered in blood, she doesn't come back from an epic battle against evil. She comes back from a massive slaughter of innocent Elves. Cintra is a racist absolute monarchy, but because we see Ciri's pov, Nilfgaard are the "bad guys". ofc Nilfgaard commits war crimes, but don't think that the other kingdoms are better in that regard. They're all medieval and barbaric. Nilfgaard is very imperialistic, but at least they're inclusive and not human supremacists like Cintra, and as pointed out later, they try to improve people's lives, while kings and queens like Calanthe don't give a shit about the common people.

[@JM-mh1pp]

That is actually very true to life. Take a look at people with "great" in their names: Peter THE great, Alexander The great, Catherine The great. Now look what they actually did. Not one with hands that were not soaked in blood. If you had "Just" in your name that meant you hanged a lot of people, "Strong" that you killed a lot of people, " Wise" that you conned a lot of people "holy" that you burned a lot of people. The only thing without directly implied death is "good" and (maybe) "Merciful"

[@cloudbankleviathan]

I enjoyed Calanthe as a character, because of the above (it's refreshing to have a female character who is possessed of explicitly monstrous traits who still has - admittedly wrongheaded more often than not - maternity as a trait as well, but I kind of felt like her warmongering/brutality and general racism are rarely framed in a way that leads you to condemn her (and I'm excluding any 'Ciri pov' sections because I feel like that makes sense there - Ciri seems to idolize her grandmother, and any view to the contrary comes as a shock for her), which did bug me. I'm a little concerned she's going to be papered over so to speak by the 'death equals redemption trope' though. I felt like the show was building toward more nuance regarding power and abuse of the same while juggling establishing the world and mythos for audiences familiar and unfamiliar with the source material or existing adaptations, which maybe led to Nilfgaard being kind of one note evil empire. That said, I don't understand why inclusivity is read as good in this sense when we're ultimately talking about mass subjugation. Until we see more of Nilfgaard though (from the pov of characters who actually support it), that's my take on their portrayal in s1 at least. [Wow this was not supposed to be this long.]

[@vanyadolly]

She's an asshole in the book too and very clearly comes off at that during the dinner scene where Geralt and pretty much every other character we've been introduced to side against her. People like her because she's an interesting character, not because she's good or in the right. In fact the narrative never sets her up as being 'good'.

[@Rosy2468]

ehh don't make it between Nilfgaard and Cintra - both commit war crimes, both demonize any outside peoples, both throw their citizens lives away. Stick to the part where Cintra brutalizes the elves, and wastes the lives of its poorer citizens in battles they dont even want to fight. Nilfgaard is not inclusive. Using all their citizens, old and newly conquered, as cannon fodder doesn't really count as "equality" so much as it is nilistic pragmatism.

[@lxrdkenji]

Well this comment didn't age well lol.

[@meechelin5498]

The amount of times I have said "they should have hired a Black woman to do the wigs because these are trash" while watching something is seemingly infinite lol

[@TheX2k]

This girl is so adorable.

[@NaramSinofAkkad790]

Realizing you have a thing for sword people.

[@ross8093]

I think the timeline problems were only viewed as problems cause too many people got used to not having to actually pay attention to get what was going on in shows. I know I don't need to normally.

[@davidbodor1762]

Elves and Dryads are two different people, it's not good conflating them. In the show Dryads are characters of color, in the books they're described as varied from chestnut skin to red and green even. When it comes to elves, they're varied but more human-like - no green or outright red skin. The games have a tendency to whitewash all elves so the show is kinda good imho that they made the little boy that helped Ciri a black elven character. It's a very rare thing for elves in any fantasy to be black and it's about time fantasy elves were more inclusive. Fun fact the name of the actress that plays Yen, her name - Anya - is the same word as the word for "mother" in Hungarian. Which I find oddly fitting. PS - There was a lot of racist backlash against the show casting non-white characters, because Poland and medieval Europe - despite the fact that if they had read the books they'd realize the Continent isn't just Europe transposed, it's contains varied biomes from frigin cold mountains to scorching deserts to jungles.

[@HalfgildWynac]

Well, the game decided to go the more European way, even the more Slavic way, and that is a good thing that worked well for them. Being a bit different definitely gave them an edge and a unique look (generic European fantasy is in no way new in video games). The books and the show are more European in general, and the show decided to include more people of colour. That is fine by itself. The books are damn old; they were sarcastic and subversive fantasy back then. The show may want to keep that aspect of the series. Whether the way they did Asian and dark-skinned characters is fine depends on your preference. The way they did it in the show, people just ignore other people's vastly different looks. It is a good thing to strive for-but at the same time it implies that looking different is no big deal (while we know it is not the case). In reality that black royal guard would have had a story of how he got to this country (in our world, pale skin was an adaptation to less sunlight), and how he rose to his position. At the same time, Middle Eastern and Asian-looking people probably would not have looked so much out of place, especially if they had an established presence in the region. In some settings you could even have a story of the minority fighting the stereotype and discrimination. Sadly, we get almost none of that-everyone just accepts every skin colour and facial features unless you are a rebel elf. You may like it and accept it or you may feel it is a bit too good to be true. An example of justified diversity is Borch's Zerrikanian bodyguards. They come from a distant eastern country so you would expect them to look different.

[@Valiguss]

The elves in the Witcher from the continent I do believe are all white in the series how ever if I remember correctly that isn’t the case for the elves from other worlds but generally they were white, I frankly don’t care that much I just want them to choose the best person for each role. But I think the problem a lot of people actually have is that the way the cast is almost ignored race which in a story like the Witcher where race, and species and sexuality matters it’s a world where you can get killed for it and so it matters but it seems they just did it for diversity without considering this.

[@ShadowPa1adin]

An interesting thing about the Dryads from the books is that humans would send orphans infected with plagues like smallpox into Brokilon, hoping that the sickness would kill the Dryads. Instead the dryads would cure the sickness and raise these girls as human Dryads (like the girl who was named Mona by her human parents then Braenn by the Dryads). So in a way it would make sense for a good portion of the dryads to look like regular humans dressed up as dryads. I don't remember anything about green skin from the books, I thought that was a CDPR-invention for the games (I do remember stuff about "walnut-shell" warpaint, though).

[@jjj7790]

​@@HalfgildWynac This argument "the world is based on Poland, so most of the characters being white makes sense" I found very strange to insist on with the Witcher specifically, because it doesn't track in-universe, or considering what bits of folklore the Witcher draws from. The Witcher bestiary draws from a clusterfuck of cultures and includes stuff like Djinn, Gryphons, Ghouls, and Zombies, aka a lot of stuff that is very not-European in origin. (Largely because the book's elements were all lifted from popular fantasy, but I digress). Also when you actually know the history of the actual Witcher world, humans as a species aren't even native to the Continent. They came from a separate dimension and only existed in the world for 1,500 years. The Continent is not on Earth, and the world is literally not our reality in any sense. In-universe, it doesn't make sense for humans to discriminate each other based on our perception of race, because humans are all considered a single race. Also because they are literal trans-dimensional beings, there is nothing in-universe dictating that the human ethnic makeup should be strictly European/Slavic/white at all, or that human ethnicity should even be affected by geographic origin on the Continent. It would be more affected by interactions with the existing races (the Elf blood quantum). In-universe there is no reason for a black human to justify reaching a position of power in spite of discrimination, because the dynamics of their world are just not like that. It would make more sense for them to question a dwarf or an elf, or someone of mixed dwarf or elf blood. Give actors of color opportunities to work, I guess.

[@davidbodor1762]

@@HalfgildWynac Does it? Hearts of Stone literally starts with an Offieri Prince. I think they did great with the Slavic mythology aspect, but let's not forget they also borrow heavily from folklore outside of Poland, and have clearly Turkish inspiration too in there with some other non-European ones too. Though as JJJ above says, the entire race aspect is moot because Humans aren't native to The Continent, they all arrived on ships so technically they all would probably be mixed to various degrees, they didn't arrive quite so long ago that they'd evolve different regional skin tones.

[@MedievalDragoon]

"B**** with the chicken leg house." Is infact, my life-goal.

[@Aveilas11]

"Everything's gonna be fine." 👀Remembers the books

[@kilisandra6008]

I'm sitting back just waiting for all the non readers to get hit with exactly how this all plays out they are so used to shows being redicoulusly cliche and tropey the stakes of this will be quite eye opening for them as the 1st season was for gamer only fans who had some expectations completely shattered spit on and dumped in the trash bin. Much to my glee I might add, we fans tend to get a bit covetous of our stories in one specific form even if that form is basically fan fiction as is the witcher games in comparison to the original IP. Wild hunt was a fantastic amazing fulfilling fun dynamic game world it was also fan fiction as the original characters and storyline by the original creator ended long before CD project red made their forays into them.

[@ella5452]

I enjoyed The Witcher overall - was definitely confused at times, but i wasn't so curious to go google stuff so I guess that says something. Loved your take on it.More of this please👏 😊

[@IvyMissFlower22]

“One-drop rule elf” LMAOOO

[@coloraddiction]

I'm so glad you mentioned Hercules/Xena because The Witcher has definitely been reminding me of those shows and filling that nostalgia void. ngl Geralt and Jaskier have more earned emotional chemistry than Geralt and Yennefer... Geralt and Yennefer felt very forced yet I felt the ebb and flow of Geralt's friendship with Jaskier far more intensely (even though there was heavy plot force in Jaskier's pursuance). I don't mind the timeline being confusing, but I felt that it lacked payoff. The confusion just didn't feel earned though I can't explain why. Sabrina spoilers?: "What do you stand for, your mythology is so bad." lol me watching: "Did they become pagan to defeat the pagans I'm confused" XD T_T XD

[@GreatWhite00000]

"Yes queen but less queen" was a rly good one lol

[@troyareyes]

Once I figured out that there WERE timelines I didnt have a problem following anything. I just didnt like that I had to spend so many episodes not knowing what the heck was going on structurally. I dont know what was gained by keeping it so opaque. Even Dunkirk had the sense to have little text at the beginning of each timeline showing that its different.

[@mohastgridlock]

"Fantasy for folks who don't like fantasy" was probably the worst element of GOT's marketing. Glad that Witcher didn't do the same thing

[@TheChurrisexy]

And thats so ironic because I remember the first reviews of GOT and they were compairing it with ESDLA all the time...like the reviewrs didn't have any idea about fantasy so they just compaired with the only one fantasy movie they know although they have very little in common. And know everyone is compairing everything with GOT and complaining if it has too much magic, like if the quantity of magic has something to do with the quality of the story

[@sarahtachibana1333]

"I have a SWORD for this video!" Three videos in, just discovered this channel today, I am falling deeper and deeper in love.

[@KimberlyKjellberg]

I started to watch the show after playing Witcher 3, it gave some more background to the characters, some of them I seen very little of. I also listened to all the audiobooks. I like Geralt after spending all those hours navigating him around his world. I'm not sure how well it's communicated in the show but all sorceresses are infertile, because being both a mother and a sorceress apparently makes you to powerful. All the witchers are also sterile, because of the mutations. I did have a bit of a problem with the timeline jumping, but I'm easily confused like that. So I don't hold it again the show what might as well be me.

[@adapienkowska2605]

In the books, most women (with few exceptions - e.g. Geralt's mother) and almost all men lose the ability to procreate due to changes in brain. Tissaia de Vries postulated to sterilize all adepts to prevent them from having children with innate ability to do magic. As most of these people without training would lose control over the power - in best case scenario they become mentally ill, in worst will destroy others.

[@fortunatesoul12]

I think knowing there was different timelines in advance was helpful, but I didn't need a chart or map to understand it. I was surprised on how much I like it

[@deaf-tomcat]

look, Witcher was so much fun!! It was the right amount of fantasy and action and gore and drama and camp!! Too many premier tv is boring and drab. Also YES, that wig is terrible, how loud do we need to scream to get hairstylists into these productions so they can properly lace these wigs?! I love Jaskier, and I'm total GeraltxJaskierxreader trash like their dynamic is just chefs kiss. And Yennefer... Man, do I have some complicated feelings about her!

[@penrilfake]

"Yes queen but also less queen" is now one of my favorite phrases of this year ngl.

[@olgabecci6685]

About the confusion of the timeline is that if you know that the story is going to be told not linearly then it is not that hard to follow, but if you don't know it is very confusing until you realise that it is told not linearly. In my opinion they should have made it more clear at the beginning that they are different timelines, because once you know that it becomes fun to follow, but not making it clear, made me more confuse because I didn't understand if the differnet time line thing was ment to be a twist or not and that was confusing for a bit as well

[@kiracarver988]

I love how you speak. You have a nice tone and your vocabulary manages to be expansive without being pretentious. I would easily read a book of yours. Im glad I found this channel

[@johnni3585]

Officially borrowing “yes queen but less queen” to reign myself in while still practicing self love

[@gryranfelt5473]

"Yes, queen, but like, less queen" XD

[@davidbodor1762]

I think Yen's depression is not just her disability, but rather how her father treats her, selling her for less than what a pig is worth? Like, fucking hell, that'd shatter anyone's self-worth. 20:35 - It's important to mention that time was critical for her there because she wanted a specific position, so she went into the procedure without pain medication to get to the dance in time. And the fact that she finds no fulfilment in her position later on is just that much more impactful given what she went through to get it.

[@baddbabylon]

Really enjoyed this although I may not agree with all of your views your humor made me laugh every time & you have a great point of view on things and a ton of charisma. Really like the drawings behind you as well, I assume you drew them? Also one thing I want to say is Nilfgaard is not evil (won't go into details bc spoilers), it's just that the point of view is from people of the Northern Kingdoms that are being invaded. Season 1 made Nilfgaard seem like terrible people, but its not quite that simple 😉

[@zotaninoron3548]

Old comment, but I just want to say that it isn't so much that Nilfgaard isn't evil. Its that it isn't really any more evil than the rest of the Kingdoms. They're all pretty atrocious in their own way and Nilfgaard has redeeming features.

[@davidbodor1762]

Yeah Nilfgaard is terrible, but so is literally every other country on the Continent. Nilfgaard has some things things that it does better than others, but also some that it does much worse. People tend to like the rebel, the underdog, so most people develop a liking for the Northern Realms, but they're not the good guys of the story really. I think Sapkowski does a great job to make it clear that monarchy as a whole is just evil, much like George RR Martin in ASOIF.

[@ashleyw.5871]

Hot fantasy... that f*cks. xD Genuinely depressed and upset that it took me this long to binge everything on your channel. I'm approx three hours deep and showing no signs of stopping.

[@kellharris2491]

I don't know I felt like yennifer regrets that she changed herself. She felt that she would be happy but she wasn't. She was very self destructive and self loathing. Her connection with geralt isn't because she was beautiful. Geralt can actually see that she once had a hunchback. What connected them was that they where both 'monsters ' created by magic. They where both outcasts of society and self loathing. I didn't think her suicide was cheap. She was abused and abandoned by her family and that night pushed her over the edge. She was noticeable criticised for her rash action. I felt her journey was about self love despite her circumstances.

[@noronahahaha]

Aside from the main topic of the video I really enjoyed you pushing your eyeball back and forth and telling me I deserved to see it.

[@adeleyecarew4116]

Hi are you going to do a video review of how Bonnie Bennett was treated in the Vampire diaries. After her, I cannot watch another CW show again. I have such little faith in their treatment of black women.

[@lexg5317]

talking about how bisexual people are into Baba Yaga and want to be her....i feel called out!

[@SoulDevoured]

I think the problem with Yennifers disability is again just the fact that there is so few representations. I found her incredibly relatable and empowering. I've been through and seen many people who have been through surgery to correct a disability. The trade off is always played down but you do pay for it in pain and many times it doesn't make you able it just changes the dynamic of your disability. Other things I found relatable but won't get too into because I'll start crying: Your family pushing you to a corner, saying what you are and are not capable and being frustrated by it Wanting people to look at you not only as a person but also as something to be desired The fact that people could treat her equally and desire her despite her appearance and her abilities The fact that she's not holy, she's a messed up person like everyone else who's been through shit How people who cannot have something try to obsessively chase value either through other means or what society tells them is right How fixating on your disability can be the thing that destroys you and your relationships The way society treats you and accepts you and how you're able to wield power if you are beautiful That's why I can't hate the transformation. It's the easiest way to highlight the different ways people interact with someone who is attractive and someone who is not. I recognize the character is problematic but I'm so happy the writers took the time to show us so much of her development and her interaction with the people around her. A+ in my book

[@amelieviljoen6766]

i got recommended this channel randomly through your GWTW video and i am SO glad for it!!! you review a lot of my favourite content with such genuine affection as well as good analysis & pacing- subbed and super excited to go through the entirety of your catalogue !! (ps: you're super pretty!)

[@somedudewatchintv5297]

The continent isn't the only place it's just the most important one.

[@orangesandsalt2161]

Loved this video! I too was one of the people that was a bit confused by the abruptly changing timelines but after a bit I got used to it. I honestly feel mournful about the loss of pre-transformation Yennefer. The fact that her storyline is over makes me sad.

[@ReinaElizondo]

I agree about the timelines. It felt like a reveal each time they had a hint of where the timelines fit in chronologically. I enjoyed that, and it gave a bit more complexity to each storyline that would have been very straightforward otherwise. It also built anticipation to wonder: Where are they now?

[@Magnus1964]

I don’t have a problem with non-linear stories, but good storytelling shows you where you are (this is a problem when the title character doesn’t age, but his hair could grow). Even the bard didn’t age during Cirry’s lifetime. And to be clear, you don’t need title cards to do this. Just show us time has changed somehow.

[@seankearney5828]

Just found this video would like to add some points 1 there are other continents, but they are not important to this story as of now, although are mentioned in passing 2 Tress Merigold, an important character to the books and games was played Anna Shaffer, who hopefully will do more things in later seasons 3 Ciri is a Lesbian or at lest she is in the games, I'm not sure about the books, which I'm hoping the show will expand into in the future 4 there are defiantly problematic elements to the witcher, many of which come from the author being deeply unpleasant

[@LadyAhro]

Sean Kearney I just hope that they don’t take the blatant abuse away from Ciri's first ‘relationship' because hoo boy it was a toxic connection.

[@yulian3578]

regarding ciri - i always thought of her as bisexual. the only instance that brings up her sexuality in the games i can remember right now is one where you as a player can chose between expressing interest in a man or woman, if i remember correctly? now, in the books she has a crush on a girl and later is in a relationship with a girl, and she's gettin crushes on boys. the relationship is... something, tho. i dont fully have made up my mind on it yet. because there's very good arguments about it being toxic and it starting with non-consensual sex. and i get why people are unfomfortable with it. on the other hand i wonder whether it was /meant/ to be like that, or whether its just really badly written. there's a lot of scenes and moments that make me think it was meant to be a genuine and mostly good relationship, just executed so poorly (and the way sapkowski writes about ciri's sexuality and sex generally is... not great throughout the whole series). i really think it could go either way in adapting it, and either way i feel like changes need to be made.

[@h3nder]

I thought Ciri was bi? Wasn't she somwhat in love with that boy from Skelige?

[@Murnauk]

I enjoy the show as it is but the special things about the books (that I think the games also didn't quite capture) was that it had a lot of very thoughtful and "deep" storylines but also embraced the humor and campyness. Like the firs (?) episode with Renfri...they basically just didn't deal with the entire main topic of the short story. It was still fun though...

[@CylonAlyna]

Jaskier is a mix of Joxer and Gabrielle. That is the most perfect description of him I've ever heard. 😁

[@5zakuro]

i actually liked the way caville played geralt - i wish there was a more noticeable change in attitude in the different timelines, since now you have to do a bit of digging and interpretation to see the ways in which he changed over time, but i felt he convincingly portrayed someone with so many years on his back, as well as someone who is othered by humans to the point that he doesn't identify as one anymore - and not with much real frustration or anger anymore, just a kind of tired resignation. the one thing i found very unconvincing though was his love for yen. the sense of kinship was there, but he seemed to have formed a really strong attachment awfully fast for no real reason, especially for someone as weathered as him.

[@godnoble]

I think it's easy to say "I could follow the different timelines" when you went into it KNOWING they were in different times. That's something you learned from those who came before you. But the show itself does nothing to prepare you for that, and it would've been so easy to just put some year #s at the bottom of the screen. The default for show structure is that scenes are happening in order, and that is what the makers had to know their viewers would assume. Plus, not only do you have to keep up with how drastically different the storylines are in time, you also don't know how much time has passed within the same storyline. How long was Yennifer at mage school? How long did she and Geralt know each other? Who knows!

[@samuelwebb2404]

Small note, to clarify for people who haven't read the books: there are actually 8 books. Two collections of short stories (The Last Wish, Sword of Destiny) from which the first season of the show is drawn. Then 5 novels which form the official "Witcher Saga", centered around Ciri's destiny, and one last book (A Season of Storms), that stands on its own, and takes place between the two collections of short stories and the saga.

[@anaiglesias9972]

One of the problem with this adaptation is that it made Nilfgar "the evil empire " when it is actually much more complicated than that. Nothing it is black and white on this story. I hope season 2 will make better job with Nilfgar.

[@curtmacquarrie]

They've been presented that way from the perspectives we've seen but the main guy seems complex enough that I assume he and by extension this nation has internally logical reasons for doing what they are doing that I just don't know yet.

[@JM-mh1pp]

@@curtmacquarrie Nilfgaard is expantionist empire but at the same time they are morally better than the kingdoms. They do not habe systematic policy of discrimination against elves (in fact they promise them their own country after the war) they keep their wizards in check so they do not grow to become total aristocratic bastards, they are better organised while at the same time being...well an empire so desire for total domination is kind of implied

[@Spamhard]

The books never implicit imply 'evil' that I can remember, but even just reading the first canonically in the book series, it's extremely obvious what they are, and I think the TV series shows that well. I don't ever recall the TV show saying they were evil either. You might not call Nilfgaard an evil empire by your reading, but I'd personally consider any colonial style kingdom intent on domination and slavery to be extremely questionable. Their method of domination is slaughtering and enslaving thousands of locals, burning villages to the ground and destroying entire livelihoods, which is an 'evil' act when the story mostly takes place in the eyes of Redanians and Kaedwenian's that are suffering through this. They are one of the huge villains of the series because they pose a consistent and looming threat to many of the main characters.

[@ShadowPa1adin]

I actually think the first season of the show went out of it's way to make Nilfgaard appear more sympathetic than how they first appeared in the books (emphasis on "first appeared'), Throughout the episodes we hear mentions of the political state of Nilfgaard: a usurping, the new usurper-king becoming a tyrant, peasants suffering under a new tyrant, said peasants being liberated from that tyrant by a returning lost King, the returning King becomes Emporer and makes positive changes that care for the wellbeing of the commonfolk and make the nation stronger. When Nilfgaard first appears in the books it is this dark, scary army that wages a new form of total warfare that leaves blood and fire in its wake. Don't get me wrong, it still has the "evil empire" aesthetic (although it could have used some better-looking armor) and also do horrible things, but in the later episodes we see the Nilfgaardian characters do believe that they are doing a necessary evil to achieve a greater good. In the books Jaskier tells Geralt that the Nilfgaardians defiled the corpse of Queen Calanthe, implying that the soldiers were just being violent sickos during wartime. In the show we see the Nilfgaardians defile Calanthe's corpse, but they do so for a practical reason (mages using a haruspicy ritual to track down Ciri's location). Even in the later novels (which present the more, allegedly nuanced view of the empire) both Ciri and Geralt are constantly coming across people whose lives have been greatly harmed by Nilfgaard's imperialism and expansionism.

[@KateeAngel]

@@JM-mh1pp Nilfgaardian culture also partly originates from elven culture, and Nilfgaardians have partial elven heritage and very much respect their elven ancestors, that may explain why their attitude towards elves is better

[@crownedinvictory91]

I really enjoyed your review, it was so fun to watch! It's interesting that you describe the Witcher as campy. Xena and Hercules to me are light and campy but the Witcher has a darker, more serious tone to me.

[@casmonido]

I don't know much about the author of the books (although I did hear he is not a very nice person), but as a person from Poland I must say I very much doubt that a Polish person living full-time in Poland would think to write deep racial allegories... because we have SO LITTLE people of color. And those we have are mostly from India, and are not very vocal because they just come here to work (I think). So we tend to be very uneducated, very basic in our ways of thinking about racial issues. Also, it's one of the reasons why I find your opinions so refreshing! Btw, the Polish far-rights (of which we sadly have, like, 56% of) were mad even about the few dark-skinned extras they did put into the show. Also, on completely unrelated note I just found out the book author's son died last year and am now sad although I don't like him, nor the books, and the son was nearing 50 so it's not as tragic :( Btw from what I remember the books have quite a few lesbian/bi female characters, but little to no male ones and I'm a fujoshi and I didn't appreciate that. Just a side-note, I'm commenting for the interaction stats, not because I had anything very important to say.

[@joannawinters6592]

I'm disappointed with some of casting but not because of color but one can say that Slavic cultures have less representation than poc in western media. Only 'Russian' spies and nonsense. I've met plenty of people from US and UK who don't know that Poland is not part of Russia and don't know that Czechs don't speak Polish and they don't know what Belarus is. There a quite few Chinese people in Poland too but mind that most people, no matter what color, in real life don't care about activism or such subject. My husband is Mexican and he couldn't care less about his color or how does that look or is received in Polish society.

[@ravenfrancis1476]

@@joannawinters6592 Are you seriously suggesting a group of white people are less represented than people of color? What the fuck lmao

[@i.cs.z]

@@ravenfrancis1476 I have seen more non white people in western media than people with central europian ethnicity in any non central europian media, so yeah.

[@KateeAngel]

@@ravenfrancis1476 Eastern European cultures are less represented. Even when people of such ancestry do play someone, that is usually a western character or some cliché. Also, it depends on what exactly race of POC you are talking about. Black people are very much represented nowadays, Native Americans not so much, Australian aboriginals not at all. Depends on particular group. I am from Russia and interested in minority indigenous cultures from all over the world. I watched a lot Native American and Australian Aboriginal movies about their history and issues, those were hard to find and those kinds of media are not widely known in either USA or Australia. My impression is that most white people in those countries live "blissfully" unaware about indigenous issues, unfortunately. Same as many people in Russia don't know about issues of many of our minority ethnic groups

[@ravenfrancis1476]

Kate S Cool, you’re still racist for pretending white people are an underrepresented ethnic group

[@MrJMB122]

The thing is to the Witcher is a great character but a lot of his development is so much internal contemplation then reflecting on experience. Let's say he gets very philosophical but it's appropriate and not ham fisted.

[@heatherv3515]

Damn thank you for this, I heard witcher was terrible but bc of you I watched it and THOROUGHLY enjoyed myself

[@acuriouself]

This was a really fun video 😊 Edit: I like it both ways, but your up is super cute.

[@littleleakyleakythere]

i do want to point out the parallels the show puts up between yen and the striga in the episode where she goes thru the transformation. that episode's geralt bit is him fighting and transforming a literal monster into a person again, and the fight and then transformation of the striga is lined up with yen's transformation.

[@georgiabevan2234]

Perfectly explained why I loved this show! Sometimes you just want camp I also find it so funny when fantasy books and shows sprinkle bits of modern Welsh in when they need something that sounds ancient and mystical even though it's still spoken (I live in a Welsh speaking area of Wales)... There's a scene in the Witcher when they're talking about some plants and they refer to one as "rhwydwaith carthion" which means "sewage system" 😂

[@Soahi]

I think the biggest problem with the witcher is how watered down some of the ideas are. In fantasy, you very often find a motive of destiny, which is a pretty generic plot device. But in "Witcher" it's almost the opposite. It's not a force that that is guiding you to achieve your goal, it's almost a curse. In books, Geralt tries to break free from destiny and do the opposite thing and every time he tries to do this, something terrible happens. Destiny is like chains, if you try to escape it, something will pull you back painfully. in the witcher series, destiny is just a plot device to bring Ciri and Geralt together. Also in witcher books, Nilfgaard isn't just an evil empire run by fanatics. It's like the Roman empire, conquering, but also bringing "culture". It's still terrible, but it's not as bad as depicted in series. The war against Nilfgaard is like any other war, just on a bigger scale and you can argue that if you're elf living in Temeria, your life might change for better if this country will be conquered by Nilfgaard. Also, racial issues are far more complicated in witcher. books. Watching series you could say that elves are only poor victims and very obvious allegory for black people. But in witcher books, elves are the biggest racists of all. they think that humans are pretty much apes that can talk and elf being in love with a human is almost like zoophilia and it will give you a stigma forever. So it's not an allegory, it's more like applying realistic rules to fantasy setup. I agree that it's ok to make a series that s simply fun and entertaining. But I think Game of Thrones is one of the most entertaining shows simply because they doing something more than just dumb fun. It's so complex and challenging. I'm not saying witcher has to do the same things. Witcher can be about having fun and laugh and finding happiness despite how fked up the whole world is.

[@susanlize3290]

Please do outlander

[@petertrigg9311]

Found you through your MTG video and immediately checked this one out, too. Great commentary, I really enjoy your stuff so far! You've been added to my pantheon of nerdy cultural criticism subs next to hbomberguy (insert thumbs up emoji or something)

[@JP-mg5hy]

I think we see the Pangea setting because making multiple continents demands the creation of multiple cultures and how they interact. Speaking to your stoic point at 8:15, I think an interesting part of Geralt/Jaskier was that instead of an 'absurd/straight man' comedy dynamic, we had a 'stoic/straight man' dynamic, which I think is a lot less common. They felt like unusual friends which is what I think the show wanted most. Totally agree on Ciri. I look forward to seeing her down the road when she has more of her own agency rather than needing to follow the obvious only path. Great details on Yennefer's problematic aspects. Love the term Mapquest fantasy. Loving binging your videos. Keep up being awesome!

[@SpencerDragonMonster]

Hahah you put it well about how the ways it's so...basic are honestly just what the doctor ordered. I really need to watch the rest of it, and probably should have waited 'til doing so to watch this because spoilers, except I've recently gotten hooked on your vids (you had me at "Byronic Heroes"). I watched the first ep a while ago, and was like, "This is enjoyable, but it all feels like a cross between 80s fantasy movies (drink every time someone says "Your Destiny," if you want alcohol poisoning in the first half hour) and a middlin pastiche of the kinds of 20s/30s/60s/70s pulp sword-and-sorcery that got me hooked on reading the genre in the first place*" Don't get me wrong, I still love that stuff and enjoy revisiting it from time to time, but it had me going, "Wait, THIS is what everyone's been saying is the new big thing in cutting-edge, groundbreaking fantasy adventure? Have that many fellow fantasy dorks seriously read nothing that happened in the genre between Tolkien and Terry Brooks?" You make a great case for, Maybe that's why it hits the spot. * - Like, seriously, people have done exhaustive point-by-point video essays on the degree to which The Witcher stole damn near EVERYTHING from Michael Moorcock's Elric Saga...Now Elric, THERE'S a Byronic hero for ya ;)

[@MrFWKnight]

Please do a video on why you don't fuck with Outlander.

[@nikoteardrop4904]

The ableism around Yen is deeply mean-spirited. She's established as a straight up confident, capable, ambitious badass before going through beautification torture. Disabled folx deserve better representation. We basically get two stories: either we need to be fixed or we're used as inspiration porn for abled people.

[@nikoteardrop4904]

@Christopher Stanley if we're looking at this absent of context outside the show, sure, I'd agree. However, The Witcher didn't form in a vacuum, and this is basically one of two plots disabled people in media get to have. We either seek to "fix" ourselves regardless the cost, or our "rising above" day-to-day struggles are played as inspiration porn for the able bodied. There was a real chance to let Yenn be the confident, capable, sexy badass she is pre-ritual without the Disabled Person's Story Written By Able Bodied Person required fixing and beautification scene. And also make it literal torture. It's a shitty choice and a deeply ableist plot.

[@nikoteardrop4904]

The shitty point being the insistence she *needed fixed* in the first place.

[@JM-mh1pp]

@@nikoteardrop4904 If you think that disabled people would not fix themselves given the opportunity you are just kidding yourself.

[@nikoteardrop4904]

I haven't said anything amounting to "show bad". I enjoy the show, because nuance is a thing. I'm saying that, as I and a lot of other disabled folx have said, Yenn's story perpetuates a deeply tired trope with disabled characters. It's a broad statement, yes, but it's absolutely accurate for the vast majority of depictions of disabled people. It's lazy writing by people who have neither the experience to support writing disabled characters nor the inclination to talk to disabled people about what legitimate representation should look like. Yes, it is *more* of a criticism of the ableism seriously baked into the broader culture, but it's also a criticism of The Witcher media specifically because it does the bare minimum to push against that ableism. You don't get a hold star for just showing up with a not-actively-shitty portrayal of a disabled character. We don't get better representation by just shutting up and accepting what we're given.

[@nikoteardrop4904]

I'm not even condemning the show. My OP is more about how Yenn is awesome without being "fixed" (frankly, in every sense of that word, which is a whole other bag of yikes), which is honestly a big step forward for disabled representation, but they (writers in every iteration) can absolutely Do Better.

[@rj-sn7rq]

20:53 honestly I’m retrospect this would have been an amazing chance to platform a actor with a major physical difference to play young yen, like they could have brought a really vital perspective to the character. Because upon hearing you mention it, IT IS super weird that a actress with no physical impairment or “disability” was casted to play a character where that is such a major part of her story and characterization

[@EvaMoritz]

It was very interesting to hear an opinion of someone who is so drastically different from me, especially that I totally adored the book, and I read it growing up as Sapkowski was writing it (I’m that old) I blame it for shaping me and who I am. I am also totally bi-lingual so I read this book in original Polish (excellent) and in English translation (ok, will pass) many many times. And despite a lot of criticism that I had to the show, I really loved it. I think that Henry is so good as Wiedźmin, because he is himself a great fan of both books and the game. I agree with some of your points and with some I disagree. Of course, everyone is entitled to their opinions. But I have a genuine question I am very interested in your answer. If the show was true to the book, there will be ‘no colours’ in the series at all, apart from ‘zerrikanians’. As Sapkowski placed the conflict of races between different types of humanoid creatures. And less-humanoid as well. Why is this ‘colorisation’ of the story, so necessary, that the director felt a need to introduce a totally new character, just to have a “black Elf”. Elves in the story are very much like in Tolkien convention: very tall, thin, extremely pale, with pointy ears and no fangs, just tiny straight teeth. Is there something wrong with this? Sapkowski grew up in communist Poland, with the borders more or less closed to the outside world, apart from Soviet Block. I think that this is why he was thinking in certain things about a continent and about the empires. But also about power struggles in various conflicting political ideologies. He was influenced by the reality he lived in. Is there something wrong with that also? Would you demand from say, African author, writing stories based on African legends, and they are plenty, to mandatory include white people Chinese people, Bangladeshi people or Arabs and Jews as some major characters or at all? Also a note about “disability criticism”. 1. Yennefer did not want to kill herself just because of her disability. She was sold to the ‘evil witch’ by her own family for less than the price of a pig. 2. When a disabled person may have a chance to cure the disability, would it be wrong to go for it and without being accused of ‘not-accepting and not-appreciating’ that disability? In any case, I really appreciate your view on the show and I highly recommend the book.

[@babycsac9366]

“I have dated so meany sword people” lol I have never had a sentence come out my life so hard before LOL

[@kvarce417]

This is my dream channel, i’m so happy you showed up in my recommendations 🙌

[@simmerslodraw]

So stoked I found your channel! Right up my alley!

[@anyaeacmen9578]

I’m watching DS9 for the first time and it’s a treat to watch a creator that loves Buffy and DS9 so much. I really appreciate your critique of the ableism & the separate issue of depictions of “ugliness”. I laughed so hard at “Yes queen... but less queen”. I also love your Genevieve FT art and art collection in general!

[@Roitame]

As a person with disabilities myself, I didn't find Yennefer's portrayal to be ableist. Rather, it was a portrayal *of ableism*, both from those around her and her own internalised ableism. It was a super solid and relatable depiction that made me feel really seen many times. I don't feel like any of her decisions are really given a narrative thumbs up at any point. Like, at least to me, the show is constantly stressing that Yennefer is a *super fucked up person* who regularly makes really fucked up decisions. It also seems to be pretty clear along both the ableism and race-metaphor axes that said fucked-up-ness is in no way the result of anything inherent to any of her mariginalised identities, but rather the treatment those identities have garnered from those around her. I also feel like the transformation makes a pretty good metaphor for the fact that, the harder one tries to bury their marginalised identities, the higher a price you pay. I think the fact that both men and women with physical abnormalities get full romantic arcs *before* those abnormalities are removed (specifically thinking both Yennefer ad also Ciri's father) is pretty good evidence that ableism was definitely not the intent.

[@sael91]

As a big Witcher fan, I lowkey really love seeing an intelligent perspective on the show from someone who hasn't played the games or read the books. That said if you ever do read the books I would love to hear your thoughts about them given how divergent the show is from them, especially given your insights on GoT.

[@ratatataraxia]

What was your favorite season of Xena? Mine is season 6. They really put their heart into the last season.

[@realexiscastro7213]

Subscribed and hit the bell, this is the 3rd vid I'm watching of yours and happy the algorithm put me on. I hope you either do a reaction series to or examination of Dark on Netflix. The series just ended, its hard sci-fi and astoundingly well written/directed. It is a German show and would recommend German audio with English (not CC) subs. I'm curious on your thoughts and examination from a character relationship perspective

[@Archer-1453]

Handful of things: 1. The author takes a lot (like *a LOT*) inspiration from traditional Polish folklore and tradition (which is why his fantasy seems just weird enough to not be cliche after cliche). That said, his stories are steeped in some misogyny, ableism, and racial...homogeny. While the show sticks to most of the important parts it does a solid job kinda relieving its audience of having to engage with some of the really bad stuff. 2. Recognising the sins of the author that bleed brightly into his art, his explicit intention was to give a predominantly conservative, traditionalist Polish audience a set of characters through which they could get a glimpse at different types of prejudice. Does it hold up well to a (superficial) American standard? No, it screams hand-holdy, neo-liberal "integration". Geralt's mistreatment by bystanders was intended to really drive home the mistreatment of Roma people especially, but also other ethnic minorities in Poland. Again, intended for a far less progressive audience. 3. At the end of the day, the series is supposed to be about giving hope to those who feel out cast be they affected by racial, gender, or other prejudicial mistreatment. Again, this message was written by an old white straight man from an Eastern European country so execution is...😶

[@achaemenidarsenic]

I am sorry but what?!? Hardcore misogyny and racial homogeneity ?? Can you give me some context to these statements, because the witcher series is the whole opposite of what you are stating above. Like, I am not saying Sapkowski is perfect, but you are just presenting it as if he was some racist&sexist writer from the 19 century :d

[@Archer-1453]

AchaemenidArsenic AGAIN he wrote primarily for his books to be read in Poland and other Eastern Bloc countries. I’m not saying he himself is racist or sexist but you cannot sit here and lie that his books feature a wide and diverse cast of individuals. You would be correct to say the base theme of the story is striving to overcome prejudice around the characters who deviate from the norm but again, all those societal outliers are still white folks who are taken with less consideration if they’re female. Now, historically, were women treated equally in Poland? No. How about racially diverse? No. He did a solid job portraying the actual hard ship. If you watched this video or any others that make similar observations it’s clearly pointed out how there is an adherence to what Sapkowski is obviously comfortable including in his stories. I’m not saying he’s a racist, in fact I’m defending him in my comment...if you just read a little better you’d get that

[@achaemenidarsenic]

@@Archer-1453 Would you have a problem with a Japanese fantasy writer who had only "Asians" in their story? I mean I could understand your point if you say ''yes'', I would just disagree with that statement. However, I really dont get the misogyny/sexist point; how are women treated unfairly by the author to the point of calling it ''hardcore misogyny''?

[@Archer-1453]

AchaemenidArsenic lord above, *A G A I N*, my comment was specifically commenting on the reflections made in this video. I agree with most of what she said in regards to representation. However, she says she has not read the books and thus is gleaming almost all of the show’s representation and treatment of certain concepts from what’s seen there. The games do not reflect some of the more /problematic/ takes on things like sex and disabilities that are present in the books, the show even less so. I’m not trying to “cancel” the books or the author, just contextualising the problems she has with the series. In regards to that first question, I mean, I guess not? Are the Asians featured in said “Japanese Fantasy” only Japanese or are there Chinese, Korean, Malaysian, or other Asian cultures represented? I mean it’s pretty obvious that Niiflgaard is a fantastical representation of the HRE, a nation that threatened Poland for a huge amount of its history. Why not include other pseudo-cultures? I mean, man you can say I’m being racist to white folks or what ever but I’m pretty fucking white and I still understand the lack of variety in Western Fantasy. There’s nothing you can do to fix a series that’s 10+ years old.

[@achaemenidarsenic]

@@Archer-1453 Sorry for being obnoxious about it :p but I still dont get the idea that Sapkowski has some misogynisitc vibes in his writings based on your comments. And to add the represantation thing; why should polish fantasy be judged on the fact that it doesnt represent demographics of USA but Japan has a free go? Becasue they are white? Like if it is a fantasy made in USA, I would totaly be a "SJW" cuck and complaint that there are not any POC in it. :3

[@adapienkowska2605]

26:00 this is especially funny, because Sapkowski never draw any maps for his books. He always treated them as a second thought. Also, in books there are more continents, but they are undiscovered. Ciri predicts one guy will discover a continent that doesn't yet have a name.

[@ianstewart8420]

Yennefer wants to be perfection at all costs and slowly learns she is wrong about what that is. All the Character development has NOT happened yet in the show, so far we have just gotten the characters where they need to be for the story to start.

[@danamacinnis3065]

Love the dress and love the Witcher. A big part of my enjoyment is the music. My fav song is from the 6th episode (I think). "She destroyed with a sweet kiss". I find myself humming this on the way to work.

[@normacenva8411]

YAY for mentioning Parable of the Sower! Great vid as always.

[@BoiledGrassTea]

loving the Revolutionary Girl Utena fan art in the background!!!!!

[@CaraRowen]

I fucking love you. Genuinely even when we don't agree with everything or even when you go off about things I otherwise wouldn't care about. You are a genuine joy.

[@CaraRowen]

This was in response to the eyelash pressing.

[@corngreaterthanwheat]

I love that you just casually have a rapier hanging out in your apt.