Netflix continues the journey of Geralt of Rivia and company for another season of The Witcher. Packed with action, grief, mystery, and manipulation, this is the show that people have been wanting to toss their coins to. It also appears the show creators have taken fan feedback and incorporated it into Season 2.

The confusing time skips are gone and all character actions are taking place at the same time. The hair and makeup team also tried to make the actors look more like their videogame counterparts. The biggest change came to Cirilla of Cintra, whom fans were none too happy to see that she didn’t look like the videogame Ciri they were used to.

After some alterations and the natural aging process of the actor, Freya Allan has never looked better as Ciri. The barely visible blonde eyebrows from Season 1 are replaced with a darker brown color and the green eyes are more noticeable from a distance.

Fans were also quite upset with the casting of Triss Merigold because she didn’t look like Triss from the games. To address that, instead of a recast they changed her hair to be a bit more in line with the Witcher 3: Wild Hunt Triss. It really made a positive difference compared to the Season 1 iteration.

Aside from the two characters fans were most vocal about, every other character stayed true to their appearance from Season 1. The CGI monsters look especially good and the shriveled-up Nilgaardian armor is here to stay.

I recommend watching Season 1 again or a Season 1 recap because there are none in Season 2. The show picks up right after The Battle of Sodden at the end of Season 1, as Geralt and Ciri search through the rubble for Yennifer of Vengerberg. Shortly after, we get a masterclass demonstration of what Witchers are capable of. This quick sequence of events set the tempo for the show very early on.

Season 2 is a bit faster than last season, and I was glued to my seat for all 8 episodes. There’s more of an emphasis on battling monsters this time around and not just some low-level ghouls. The story expands upon the pre-existing lore outside Kaer Morhen, building out the world of The Witcher. The tricky thing is that all of the other nations are introduced at once and operate in secrecy.

The most exposure outside of Nilfgaard is the Elf-hating nation of Redania. Speaking of Elves, they’re also a focal point in the plot. Either on the run or working as a slave, Elves are on the brink of extinction. A chance encounter with an entirely unique main villain created for the show gives them a chance to rebuild and creates divergent storylines for our main cast.

Geralt is trying to teach Ciri how to control her powers while also learning how to become a father. After using forbidden fire magic, Yennefer is on a quest to regain what she has lost. Fringilla Vigo is hungry for power and tries to assume control of it within Nilfgaard. Finally, the Elf queen is seeking refuge for her people, no matter what it takes.

From all these perspectives, we start to learn more about Ciri’s ancestry and what she is truly capable of. Some fear what she is, others try to take what is hers. Ciri being a point of contention among every faction leads to some emotionally tense scenes that fall short of pulling on heartstrings. New characters are introduced and just don’t have the screen time to really connect with them.

It’s the same for the different nations that are represented in the show. Without a map or sense of where they’re located, it’s hard to imagine how they fit in the overarching world. Redania was the only nation that stood out since their presence was felt throughout the show.

The Witcher Season 2 addresses criticism from fans to make a streamlined story that closely resembles the visuals from The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt. Not only are Ciri and Triss improved visually, but the story is easy to follow. That doesn’t make it boring by any means. The divergent story paths create different perspectives to overarching plot points. An emphasis was put on fighting more of the scarier monsters in the Witcher-verse and it pays off. The fights are brutal and Witcher signs have a bigger presence because of them.

World-building was the weakest aspect of the show. A secret conglomerate of nations and mages doesn’t feel all that threatening when there’s no background information. There really isn’t any attempt to build out the rulers from each kingdom either, making them seem generic and not all that powerful. The world of The Witcher is so interesting that I wished that they put a little more time into building out the surrounding nations.

Without pondering outside the scope of the plot, the show was great. Story beats lead into one another and the huge reveals within the show kept it fresh. Especially the new bit of information we get at the end of the show should get any Witcher fan excited about what’s to come.

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The Witcher Season 2

8.5

Score

8.5/10

Pros

• Beautiful CGI Monsters
• Ciri & Triss Hair/Makeup Updates
• No Time Skips

Cons

• World Building
• Underwhelming Introduction of New Characters