The Witcher Season 2 was a huge disappointment for the fans of the books. With Season 3’s release, many are wondering why it exists even.
The following contains spoilers for The Witcher Season 3 Vol. 1, which is now streaming on Netflix.
The Witcher Season 3 Volume 1 has finally been released and fans seem to be cautiously optimistic about the new entry into the franchise. Many of these fans felt burned by the previous season, citing that it took huge divergences away from the beloved source material. Some even speculate that this is a huge reason behind Henry Cavill’s departure from The Witcher. Season 3 is much more loyal to the books, but this has left fans wondering is Season 2 even necessary? Many of the elements of the second season are swept aside, and it now feels like a pointless chapter in The Witcher’s story.
Season 2 took a huge chance when it chose to move away from the story of the books and create a new villain for that season. Voleth Meir presented as a demon that feed on the pain of others. She manipulated Yennefer into sacrificing Ciri to her so that Meir could use her Elder Blood. On top of this ridiculous story, there were the new monster variants that Season 2 introduced that failed to connect with the fans. Many of the elements of Season 2 simply didn’t connect with the audience and lead to an extremely disappointing reception.
The Witcher Season 2 is Rendered Pointless By Season 3
The Witcher Season 3 has had some intense damage control to do after many fans on social media have written off the show after Season 3 ends. As it is with many adaptations, the books or other source materials are held in very high regard. After Season 2, there were many rumors that the writers working on The Witcher completely disregarded the source material, and the events of Season 2 seem to prove that. Season 3 course corrected in a huge way by heavily focusing on events from Time of Contempt.
Unfortunately this change in storytelling have left the events of Season 2 stranded. In order to move on with the story of The Witcher, the show had to abandoned or quickly move past any hanging story threads. Yennefer’s betrayal of Geralt and Ciri has virtually no consequences and any mention of monster variants or shattering monoliths is non-existent. With Season 2 having almost not connective tissue to the first volume of Season 3, it makes the entire season feel pointless and as if audiences don’t need to watch it.
The Witcher Season 2 Is Worth Skipping
In an age of binge-watching and rewatching series is common, The Witcher has killed its longevity by making Season 2 worth skipping. Despite strong performances from the cast, the story of The Witcher Season 2 is useless. With Season 3 essentially ignoring the season also, there is no point in fans wasting their time on it. No viewers want to watch a season that has almost nothing to do with the rest of the show.
The excitement for The Witcher has greatly dipped in part because of the story of Season 2 and because of Cavill’s exit. Even Netflix acknowledged this with a very distasteful advertising campaign that informs fans that Cavill is still in Season 3. For a series that is hoping to run seven seasons, it seems unlikely that the fans will support the series for that long. The Witcher fights itself between Season 2 and 3, making the former a useless chapter and worth skipping for all people who go back to watch Cavill’s seasons of The Witcher.
Stream The Witcher Season 3 Vol. 1 now on Netflix and Vol. 2 on July 27.
Source: cbr.com