The Witcher and its conquest in the fantasy paradigm of television drama had initiated a good run with its expansion in the franchise. The showrunner, Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, admitted the third season of the Witcherverse to be a culmination of the last two installments. As the building blocks for the third revenue, The Witcher did not amuse the audience for several reasons. Instead, a remarkable footfall reduction mitigated the saga’s continuity. 

Keeping in mind the current lamentations of The Witcher’s maestro, Andrzej Sapkowski, here are five reasons why The Witcher’s third chapter could be the worst thing for the descending success of the Netflix show.

1. Henry Cavill’s exit from The Witcher

The beginning of The Witcher witnessed the sword of Geralt of Rivia being bestowed upon Henry Cavill. Traversing through the Continent, Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt’s monster appetite had been crucial for the show heralding to eminence. The third installment, as a culmination of the previous two chapters, ensued the vouch for picking sides. It showered primacy on the grandiose warfare between Nilfgaard and the people of the Continent.

However, Henry Cavill’s role as Geralt came to an end with the third installment. As per reports, he indicated how Geralt’s depiction was not entirely loyal to the source of the original. The conflict was manifold, as Cavill could not attain the version of the books that he vocally advocated for. The creators, failing their expertise to align with the books, ultimately led to Cavill’s adieu to the Netflix original.

Being the accumulator of substantial viewership, his departure send-off from the show could have been more regal and less controversial. However, that was not the case.

Flat characterization of Radovid

Although adaptations often ensemble the likes of creative liberty, The Witcher’s third chapter took the liberty a little too far. As was pointed out by Cavill previously, and Sapkowski recently, the live-action adaptation has been drifting voraciously from the original. Especially in regards to threadbare character portrayals, Prince Radovid’s evolution and buildup were a shred of evidence.

In lieu of making the characters more interesting, the creators rewrote the history of Radovid. Following the course of the series, Radovid falls prey to a romantic liaison with Jaskier. Not only that but he is also portrayed as King Vizimir’s brother instead of his son. The political depth of Jaskier of Sapkowski’s books was transformed into the catalyst of comedic relief in Netflix’s adaptation. 

Hence, not only his history but also his personality was at stake. A fallacy of legendary scripts, the fans too did not take this drastic difference lightly.

Lack of depth in the characterization of Ciri, Dijkstra, and Stregobor

The shallow character growth was not cordial to Jaskier alone. Ciri’s portrayal by Freya Allan in the Netflix adaptation focused on her meeting with Mistle when she was journeying with Fabio Sachs. However, in the book she meets Mistle and the Rats following her escape during the Thanedd fete. Furthermore, Geralt and Ciri’s battle with an Aeschna was not there in the original.

In the case of the false Ciri, Theryn is an Aretuza student who gets kidnapped by Vilgefortz. Originally, the false Ciri was used as a decoy in persuading Geralt to keep Rience away. In the Netflix adaptation, the false Ciri was manipulated to persuade that she was the real one. Dijkstra’s characterization also delved into the likes of burdening disappointment. As a spymaster, his feature in the third installment saw a polarising irony with his weaklings. His plots are often unfulfilled despite his cunning origins.

The translation of characterization is a failure even in this aspect. Stregobor’s depiction in the series also was not devoid of these modulations. Expanding his life cycle, he was established as a powerful mage. His story in the source was terminated, with Geralt threatening to kill him, but in the series, his death is due at the hands of the Nilfgaardian army. 

Weak scripting of dialogues

While the adaptation drifted incredibly from the book series, the dialogue script also suffered relentlessly. Given the setting and backdrop of the series, the dialogue writing was more in defy than in alliance. The grounding for a dark medieval insight often lacked the essence due to the hilarious attention to contemporary mid-strings of scripting.

The historic setting of the fantasy drama was plunged with current adages, vocabularies, and prospects. Furthermore, the editing was also sloppy as per fans. 

The Witcher’s trail till season 5 instead of 7

While the plague of not retaining source material was evident since the kick-start, season 3 still was in the trial of conventions. However, its initial stretch to conquer 7 seasons was cut short with the proposition of concluding by the fifth installment.  As the scripting process began actively for the fourth chapter, the announcement of the fifth season being the last one reached fans.

Given that the live-action adaptation was just getting the hang of staying faithful in some course to the source, its cut-short notice could infringe the layers of anticipation with a credible fall in the viewership.

What do you think of The Witcher season 3? Let us know in the comments below.