The Witcher Season 2 Review: Your Favourite Monster Slayer Returns

Henry Cavill Carries a Bigger, Broader Season 2 on His Monster-Slaying Shoulders

The most beloved monster-slayer in television has returned yet once again. Season 2 of The Witcher gives us more of the muscled Geralt of Rivia. At the end of the previous season, Geralt finally meets Ciri, the magical princess he shares a destiny with.

However, Geralt of Rivia must also look after the new ward while he pines up for Yennefer, who was assumed dead earlier. On the other hand, the political sphere in the content is also taking up more shape, and it looks like the elves are plotting something.

The Witcher is indeed a fantasy saga featuring a world that is full of antagonists. Sometimes, it could be difficult to keep track of everything that is going on. Small details of the bloodlines of elven and similar names such as Vesemir and Vizimir might make things more complex.

Just like the first season, season 2 of the show keeps the viewer’s interests up. The swords-and-horses genre is full of blood pouring freely along with naked bodies. But with that, we also get to see some blunt comedy from Jaskier.

The first season of the Witcher was based on the short stories by Andrzej Sapkowski. Apparently, the author of the Witcher loved the format. Hence, in the television guise, the Witcher started off as a show featuring the monster-of-the-week.

For the first few episodes, the show sticks to that very format, as we see Ciri and Geralt staying in the mansion of Nivellen. Nivellen, a beast-man, is a raconteur with great magical capabilities but is struggling to find love in his life because of a hairy face.

Other than the story and the setting, the casting of the Witcher has also been truly exceptional. For instance, Kevin Doyle, who plays the role of a cowardly elf, has done a tremendous job. Similarly, Graham McTavish effortlessly delivers top performance as an intelligence officer. Each of the characters that appear in The Witcher seems to have a deep relationship with the overall plot.

With that, the economy of speech that the characters display is also unmatched. At times, it may as well overshadow the breathtaking landscapes shown in the series, the voluminous capes of the protagonists, and the luxurious palaces.

Nevertheless, Season 2 is largely based on the 1994 novel by Sapkowski called Blood of Elves. And it looks like season 2 does not follow the slow scene-setting that was observed in the first season. For instance, season 2 of The Witcher adds a lot of fun between the scenes involving magicians, queens, and kings arguing over the nuances that their next moves could cause.

For much of season 2, we see Ciri in training for fighting along with Geralt of Rivia. This happens alongside Vesemir, who is a senior Witcher. On the other hand, Vizimir is a different man, who is the churlish king of the Redanians.

However, the coming of age of Ciri is not as simple. Instead, it also comes with many obstacles. Hence, this part of the Witcher would remind people of Total Wipeout. But of course, with many monsters that have to be slain – from a huge insect with wings to a vengeful tree man.

If there is anything that everyone would remember from the first season, it would be that the special effects in the Witcher are insane. And season 2 further builds upon that to bring viewers some amazing action sequences.

However, based on the first season, the season 2 still seems rather underwhelming in terms of real action. That makes sense, given the fact that the new season of the Witcher was produced during the times of Covid. Hence, dealing with all the restrictions would not have been easy. So, it makes sense for fans not to judge the show too harshly.

Still, fans would certainly feel that season 2 is rather underpowered and constrained, given that most of it is marking time. There will be several instances where one would expect a lot more. Overall, season 2 is more like a season in between the wars as Big Gerry has something bigger to achieve next. However, the new season still tries hard to keep the viewers entertained and, for the most part, succeeds in doing that.

The Witcher season 2 is now on Netflix here in Australia.