Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich
Based onThe Witcher by Andrzej Sapkowski
Starring Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Eamon Farren
All episodes streaming on Netflix

by Whitley Albury, Staff Writer

While many of us spent the entirety of 2020 and a good chunk of 2021 humming “Toss a Coin,” the crew behind season two were working their asses off in a follow up. And did they deliver.

Admittedly, I was one of the ones kind of confused by season one’s nonlinear storyline. But once I read a comment about nonlinear, that immediately cleared it up for me. I’m one of those nerds who needs to be told if something goes in a nice even line or not before I can truly enjoy it. So I was curious if season two of The Witcher was going to be as strong with a fully fleshed out world. And the answer is a resounding yes.

We have Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill) as a sulking, grump-ass single father of a teenage girl - Cirilla of Cintra (Freya Allan). He still doesn’t want his Child Surprise, and yet, because of duty, he keeps her. They’re both traumatized after the Battle of Sodden Hill, and just need to lay low. Geralt thinks that they can lay low and avoid the Nilfgaardian mercenaries who have been hunting for Ciri. The two bond over their trauma, and Geralt privately mourns the loss of Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), thinking she succumbed to the battle and her own chaos.

What really stuck out to me about this series is how it addresses trauma. Sure, the source material in the books and video games lent a lot of back story as to how and why these characters respond to their respective issues in certain ways. But maybe because we as a collective audience have really gone through some shit this year, it was really refreshing to see Geralt try to help Ciri with her sleeplessness, and how he would try to make sure she stayed as up to snuff as she could while going through witcher training. And found family among gruff monster slayers who are also “monsters”? I love it! That’s my ideal trope and it delivered so very well! The first episode has this great interaction between Geralt and Ciri, where he’s trying to explain to her that not all monsters can be saved, nor do they always deserve to be. And it’s just so heartbreaking and so very good.

The series also opens up a wide realm of new possibilities for season three (I need it like, now), as well as new trouble afoot. I’m obviously always here for a good monster slaying time. I feel like we’re about to be introduced to other parts of the Continent, as well. Since the series doesn’t open with a map, a la Game of Thrones, I myself tend to struggle with keeping track of where exactly everyone is, but honestly, it’s fine!

I will say, the entire last episode of the season felt a bit rushed to me, personally. I know that the series was only contracted for eight episodes, but it felt like it should have been broken up into two. But given how good Jaskier’s breakup song is, I still feel like the season is overall a win. And yes, I have indeed been singing, “Burn, Butcher, Burn” at the top of my lungs since the episode dropped.