The Witcher season 1 was one of the most popular shows on all of Netflix in 2019, but it wasn't without its flaws. Fans and critics alike took issue with various aspects of The Witcher season 1, and now Screen Junkies has taken some shots at the show as well in the latest episode of its popular Honest Trailers series.
The Honest Trailer for The Witcher season 1 says that the show is attempting to be the next Game of Thrones, but really ends up being the next Xena: Warrior Princess. This is in reference to the many negative comparisons that have been made between The Witcher and 90s fantasy TV shows, with some complaining about its aesthetic and cheesiness.
The Witcher Honest Trailer also points out how many of the episodes are very formulaic. Geralt is reluctant to take on a task, ends up agreeing to do the task, and has to contend with a monster of some kind. The lesson is usually that people are the "real" monsters, and the monsters themselves aren't always malevolent.
The Witcher Honest Trailer criticizes the show's story for other reasons as well. For example, it complains about The Witcher season 1's confusing timeline, where it jumped between different time periods without making it clear to the viewer since many characters hardly changed in appearance throughout the decades, like Geralt's bard Jaskier.
Speaking of Jaskier, The Witcher Honest Trailer wasn't completely negative. It actually gave some praise to the show for its "Toss A Coin to Your Witcher" song, which it admitted was actually quite good.
The Witcher Season 1 was popular, but few would argue that there wasn't room for improvement. The Witcher season 2 has already started addressing some of the complaints about the show's first season, allegedly changing the poorly-received Nilfgaardian armor and also moving away from multiple timelines in favor of a more linear story structure.
Unfortunately, it will be some time before The Witcher fans find out if these changes pay off or not. The Witcher season 2 premieres in 2021, meaning that fans of the show have to wait at least 10 months or so before they will get to watch any new episodes. Here's hoping that whenever it does premiere, The Witcher season 2 continues the show's momentum and gains new viewers as well.
The Witcher is available to stream now, exclusively on Netflix.