Toss a coin to your witcher! With Henry Cavill’s final appearance as Geralt of Rivia, this new season of Netflix’s The Witcher is bittersweet. Based on The Time of Contempt books by Andrzej Sapkowski, the third season follows Ciri (Freya Allan) and her new family as they try to stay safe from everyone who wants to capture or kill her.
While the twists and turns could be too much for fans of the Netflix show who haven’t delved deep into The Witcher lore, part one aims to set up some new characters and plot points that will make more sense in the fourth season. But any time Henry Cavill appears on screen, you won’t be able to look away! The monsters are bigger and scarier, love is in the air, and deceit is the game. Here is the review of The Witcher season three part one!
Spoilers ahead!
The Witcher Season Three’s Surprise Villain
Credit: The Witcher
The end of season two introduces The Wild Hunt and Ciri’s father, The White Flame/ Emperor Emhyr (Bart Edwards), as the villains who want Ciri and her power for themselves. While The Wild Hunt makes a slight cameo this season trying to capture Ciri, Geralt comes to her rescue, but they leave something behind, meaning they can hurt Ciri in this world too. More of The Wild Hunt’s origin is explored in The Witcher: Blood Origin
But even in The Witcher’s world, kings, mages, and elves are out to get Ciri. Before this, Geralt had discovered that a powerful sorcerer kidnapped half-elven girls, brainwashed them to think they were Ciri, and probably sent Rience (Chris Fulton) after Ciri. But who was Rience’s master?
In Aratuza, Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) presents herself to the Brotherhood of Sorcerers to request a conclave because she believes they will help her protect Ciri if they think she is a normal novice. Despite her betrayal for not killing Cahir (Eamon Farren), the brotherhood accepts Yennefer’s plea to unite for the coming war. Part one was more about playing politics and trying to safeguard Ciri without any bloodshed — at least not too much of it.
Thanks partly to Tissaia and Vilgerfotz (Mahesh Jadu), who have been in more of the spotlight this season. Seeing the mages in all their glory was refreshing but slightly underwhelming, considering in the books, they are meant to be powerful and revered by everyone.
Credit: The Witcher
With Stregobor’s (Lars Mikkelsen) muddy history of experimenting on girls and the fact that one of the kidnapped girls, Teryn, came from Aratuza, Geralt believed they’d found the mastermind while at the conclave of mages’ party. But they were wrong all along. As they sit in their victory after exposing Stregobor, Yennefer and Geralt realize they might have caught the wrong person. A new suspect, Tissaia’s lover, and brotherhood member, Vilgerfotz, pops into the conversation. Rience was his apprentice once, and with Vilgerfotz’s power, he could easily be the mastermind behind all this. But the question is, is Tissaia in danger, or is she working with him?
Geralt and Yennefer’s Reignited Romance
Credit: The Witcher
In The Witcher season two, it seemed like Geralt and Yennefer were done for good. She had tried to sacrifice Ciri to the deathless mother to get her power back, and Geralt wouldn’t forgive easily. We see how Yennefer, Ciri, and Geralt morph into a family; they train, cook, have dinner together, and spend their days looking after each other. Yennefer finally becomes a mother to Geralt’s “daughter.” One of the few positives this season is their newfound love and trust.
They’ll both do anything to protect their family. Geralt slowly starts warming up to Yennefer, even trusting her enough to leave Ciri while he investigates which powerful mage is after her. Even though Ciri runs away because she doesn’t like the person Yennefer becomes when she is around other mages in Aratuza. When Geralt rescues Ciri from The Wild Hunt and reunites with Yennefer, you can tell they missed each other and can’t hide it when they are in each other’s arms.
Credit: The Witcher
Episode five shows us the night’s events from different perspectives, so it’s no shame if you get lost a few times. We did too. But Geralt and Yennefer make their on-and-off relationship official by sharing a kiss at the ball. Geralt even tells Yen that he loves her. While he’s thought about it numerous times, he has never said the words to her.
Ciri’s New-Found Power
Credit: The Witcher
Everyone wants Ciri for themselves and will do anything to get to her. The moments Ciri and Geralt shared in Kaer Morhen seem so far away, but the father-daughter bond they made will last forever. In episode four, Ciri and Geralt join Jaskier (Joey Barry) and a band of singers on a raft to Aratuza. And we get to see just how good of a Witcher Ciri is and all the skills she learned from Geralt and his brothers.
But as much as her power and strength grow while training with Yen in these first five episodes, it still feels like she has no control over her life and decisions. Going where Geralt and Yen want her to go and constantly afraid because of her father and other northern kings chasing after her. While she has no choice because of her elven blood, it would have been nice to see her take more control of her power, which everyone wants for vile reasons.
Henry Cavill’s Final Outing as Geralt of Rivia
Credit: The Witcher
Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt of Rivia is as close to perfect as fans could expect. While the series’ writing, plot, and pacing have come into question numerous times, Cavill’s performance as this monster-hunting mutant has always been excellent. The little glimpses of Geralt’s fun side in season three were entertaining.
Seeing him care for Yen and Ciri only made me dread that this was the last time we would have him as a part of this universe because the chemistry between Cavill, Anya Chalotra, and Freya Allan is pure TV gold. Whether fighting monsters or dancing with Yen, Geralt showcased that he could do politics and slay creatures from another world without breaking a sweat. This season could be one of Cavill’s best performances yet, and, sadly, he won’t follow it up in the next season.
Credit: The Witcher
Throughout The Witcher season three, there has been mention of the mage’s powers and what they can do; healing, hiding scars, and even reinventing entire faces. So it won’t be surprising if Geralt gets seriously injured trying to protect Ciri so that his face will change entirely to Liam Hemsworth’s. For the cast, however, within the universe, they won’t notice the change the same way as the audience.
Yes, there are some amazing shots, and this season has some solid storytelling, but it gets watered down by the heavy lore details and talking that diehard fans will gush over. For a fantasy show, it’s still low on magical displays and gory-er monsters that would make this series epic, but they could be leaving all that for the final three episodes.
The Witcher season three volume two releases on July 27th and promises a massive battle that will change everything!
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