THE LOVE LIST
5. The Fight Choreography
Did you SEE those fight scenes? The shaky cam, quick cut days are gone and what we are left with is some truly beautiful action-filled moments that are cinematic gold. Stab a man through his mouth and rip the sword out the top of his head? Brilliant. Pin a man to a door with a blade through his shoulder? Love it. Don’t want to kill the beautiful woman trying to skewer your heart? Willingly take the hits because you know you can take it! Geralt’s fight with the Stryga was beautiful and visceral and disturbing all at once. What a treat it was to see the action The Witcher had for us and this was only season one! Imagine what season two – with a bigger budget – could have in store.
4. That Dialogue Though!
Having read the original stories of The Witcher – and in particular, The Last Wish which most of Season one is based on – there is a particular way the story is told and a very acute sort of dialogue. It isn’t written in a poetic “ye olde” fashion, but they do make clever use of poetic metaphors and a dialect that sounds more sophisticated than our own. This rings true in the show and is a testament to the dedication and effort that went into maintaining the proper tone of the series. Not only was the cast easy to understand, but it was so easy to be captivated with every word in every scene. It had meaning and soul, it was potent but not flowery. It truly is a joy to listen to any of the characters speak.
3. Staying True to the Source Material
Much like the dialogue being on point, so too was… well, everything. The characters, the costumes, the settings, the war. While many video game adaptations take great liberties to fit into a movie format, this is of course – as mentioned before – an adaptation of the books and somehow this has left the events, characters, and tales, unscathed. I watched the show recognizing specific events from the books and more than once found myself smiling that the books were done justice. The Witcher doesn’t feel like it was inspired by the books, it simply IS the books come to life.
2. Toss a Coin to Your Witcher
Has there ever been a more perfect song brought to life in a show? Let’s pretend for a moment that the song “Toss a Coin” isn’t already incredibly catchy and a joy to listen to ten thousand times in a row. Firstly we have Jaskier – or Dandelion as fans might know him – the lecherous bard with a glowing smile and silver tongue (given the right inspiration for his songs, clearly) He offers to help improve Geralt’s image through song so long as he can travel with him for epic inspirations. Not only does Jaskier write the song after their first adventure and serenade us, the viewers, with this beautiful performance but it comes up again as he plays it and other songs of their adventures in pubs across the land to earn more gold for Geralt. Not only is this an amazing song, it plays into the narrative of the story, the character development of Jaskier, and it plays an actual part in the events taking place in the episode. Toss a Coin is an absolute treasure and quite possibly the greatest creative addition to the series.
1. Everything Henry Cavill Did for Geralt
I admit I too was skeptical at the casting of Henry Cavill as Geralt. I saw the initial images and I was less than impressed. Then I sat down and actually watched the show. Cavill not only perfectly executes Geralt’s unique voice with precision, but he also truly has the White Wolf’s mannerisms down to a fine art. His movement, his attitude, even the way he leans on the wall in Calanthe’s court, everything he does is exactly what I would expect from Geralt. It took very little time for me to forget I was looking at the face of Superman and instead could only see the Butcher of Blaviken made flesh. If Robert Downey Jr. was the perfect casting choice for Iron Man, than Henry Cavill is single handedly the only choice on the planet for Geralt, and whoever offered him that position deserves a handshake, a hug, and a thank you.
There you have it! Have you seen The Witcher yet? Let us know your thoughts on the show on Facebook, Twitter, or the Comments section below.