The Witcher Season 3 Volume 1 Review: Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, this series stars Henry Cavill as the titular Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, Freya Allan as Princess Cirilla of Cintra, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer and Joey Batey as Jaskier. Other cast members include Eamon Farren, MyAnna Buring, Cassie Clare, Aisha Fabienne Ross, Hugh Skinner, Bart Edwards, Mimi Ndierni, Anna Shaffer, Lars Mikkelsen, Tom Canton, Mexia Simson, Mahesh Jadu, Graham Mc Tavish and Ed Birch.
Stephen Surjik, Bola Ogun and Loni Peristere directed the episodes in this part of the third season. They were written by Haily Hall, Mike Ostrowski, Tania Lotia, Rae Benjamin and Clare Higgins. There are five episodes in the current volume, each ranging from 50-65 minutes.
– The Witcher Season 3 Volume 1 Review Does Not Contain Spoilers –
Like every season in The Witcher, this season, too, had a crazy timeline, which got crazier only by the end of the volume. The idea that this series should be split in half was brilliant because the structure so far has been rigid, sticking to the facts and setting up events that would unfold later. This has rendered the series a little loaded with lore and information. However, if people were able to follow the spin-off Blood Origin, then they should have no problem keeping up with this.
All of the players from the last season have now been coming together to cause problems for our main trio this season. Fortunately, Geralt knows how to take care of them, so it didn’t cause that much of a problem. Like every season, this season also started with an unrelated incident involving Geralt and his swords, leading us into the storyline. The series has been using this tool since the beginning to help us get used to the tone of the coming episodes, and it is fantastic.
However, the bit that makes this season different from the ones before is the domesticity among the three of them. Even though there are larger stakes in the storyline, the series does a brilliant job of keeping the three of them at the centre of the story. Their relationship is what drives the larger pawns in the story. The kind of foresight and pre-planning that goes into plotting the individual nodes of the story needs to be studied because the writers have done a great job at that.
In case anyone was looking for a specific example, the last episode does exactly that. It manages to entangle so many storylines, motivations, plots and other things in a package that is so self-contained that the audience is made aware of every perspective of the story while still keeping it fresh and enthralling is a brilliant way to tell the story. Moreover, the kind of politics we see in this series is extremely indicative of the world we live in but also far removed from the kind of problems we would be facing.
The military is such a loaded entity in this series because they control public opinion but also act as pawns for the monarch on top. While that ensures there is violence everywhere, it also gives viewers a deeper look into the social customs of the story world. The action sequences have been absolutely brilliant, and it was rewarding to see the character Ciri finally implement all the learnings from her time at Kaer Morhen into the real world, giving Allan a chance to exercise her stunt skills.
Additionally, without mentioning any spoilers for the same, we finally get to see some much-needed queer representation from one of the main characters. While it is always satisfying to see good queer relationships, this has been amazing because it didn’t feel forced. It was set up over multiple episodes and featured angst even when there were many external elements in motion. This kind of pay-off also translated to Yennefer and Geralt’s relationship, which was given a wonderful progression, making us root for them once again.
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The Witcher Season 3 Volume 1 Review: Final Thoughts
Viewers who love The Witcher Universe should definitely take a gander at this season, but not before watching The Witcher: Blood Origin because there are references to the prequel in this season, and they only make sense if one knows what happened behind the scenes. However, this volume is absolutely brilliant. There is a lot of political communication while also balancing the individual character story, which aligns with the show’s tone and keeps the universe moving forward.
We also see many players coming together and playing their cards, which gives me the idea that there is definitely something big coming in the next volume, hopefully, a big and eventful conclusion to Cavill’s performance as this incredibly loved character. His performance, along with all the other main cast members, also shows how they have managed to keep the performance at the top while still giving us a story at its finest. Anyone on the brink still wondering whether to watch this show or not should definitely take the leap and try this one.
The Witcher Season 3 Volume 1 is currently streaming on Netflix. Volume 2 of this season will arrive on the platform on July 27, 2023.
What did you think of the season? Do you have any theories of what might happen next? Let us know in the comments below.