Warning Spoilers for the episode “Bottle Appetites” below

The Witcher is one of those shows that can never find it’s perfect medium. The second and third episodes were rocky and muddled, while the first and fourth episode have had there fair share of issues but ultimately, were definitely good additions to the story. The fifth episode was mixed bag just like the first and fourth, with some great dialog, character interactions and the meeting of Geralt and Yennefer. “Bottled Appetites” showed a more human side of the Witcher as opposed to what we are used to seeing. However the show still lacks anything more then just a monster of the week and just pushes the main story to the side yet again.

Geralt has been troubled by the events of the last episode where he is promised Ciri by the Law of Surprise. He hasn’t slept in days and is looking for a Djinn to wish to be able to sleep and to undo the promise. Of course this takes a turn for the worst when Dandelion comes along and interrupts Geralt, freeing the genie. The Djinn, in turn curses Dandelion and almost kills him, thus Geralt is now on the hunt for a magician to help cure his friend.

This is where I find the show to be its strongest; when it is focused on the main character himself and not the half told stories. In the book “The Last Wish” each tale is told with a smaller interaction between Geralt and someone else. The show shoots for the same feeling here, but fails to recapture that feeling as even if we are building up to something greater with Ciri, the pay off isn’t worth it at this point in time.

However. we are getting some stronger character development in Yennefer; as she has now been on her own for 30 years and has been cast out of the order of the mages. Yennefer is cunning, brutal and will stop at nothing to cure her infertility, even if that means to become a vessel for a dark and dangerous creature like the genie. This shows how vulnerable and naive she still is.

Geralt on the other hand, is still struggling to be more than just a wise cracking brute, even if he is a loveable one. His story intertwined with Yennefer’s brings down her story just a bit by making her more of a cameo rather then a new mainstay and adds more to the feeling of “monster of the week.” I’ll admit it is getting rather dull to experience that week after week.

Ciri, of course has once again received the short stick. As soon as her story gets interesting she is pushed aside to leave more room for the other two main characters. This makes me wonder why she was even included in this first series at all as most of this could have probably been told in a well realized flashback in the second season or maybe by alluding to it during the first.

The Witcher has been so focused on bringing the books to live-action, that the writers seem to forget that a bigger focus should have been placed on building the overall narrative, rather than slowly piecing the timeline together. This approach can be a tad more frustrating than enjoyable. The show is poorly paced and even with the info dumps we have received it is all forgotten about in the next episode.

I wanted to love this series, as I have fallen in love with the books and the games. So far the show feels rushed and unplanned, leaving the audience who haven’t read the novels or played the games a little lost. For the people who have experienced the other forms of The Witcher it can all be a little confusing and at times can feel like a waste of time.

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The Witcher

6

Score

6.0/10

Pros

• Interaction between Geralt and Yennefer

Cons

• Poor pacing
• Disregarding other characters
• Boring