Netflix's 'The Witcher' dethroned 'The Mandalorian' as the biggest TV series in the world

Update 3 :

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/witcher-passed-mandalorian-as-biggest-tv-show-in-the-world-2019-12

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Update : So I saw this article today and I thought I would share it with you guys , it's a good read and a good response to unfair criticism of Witcher

The Critics Must Be Crazy: ‘The Witcher’ Is A Fantastic New Netflix Original Series

https://www.forbes.com/sites/erikkain/2019/12/20/the-critics-must-be-crazy-the-witcher-is-a-fantastic-new-netflix-original-series/#177374af54a4

I’m most surprised by GameSpot’s very spoiler-filled review, which anchors its largest complaint onto one of the show’s greatest strengths: its narrative structure. I’m baffled by this complaint but I won’t say more for fear of spoilers. Suffice to say, it’s like complaining that the first season of Westworld is bad because it’s too confusing.

meanwhile GS in need of serious damage control

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I was waiting for so long , to see Gearlt of Rivia again and now here we are , The Witcher is back , he's played by Henry Cavill and......... he's great !!!! I doubt there's any other actor who can play the white wolf better than Henry, it's like he's born to play this role. after watching the first two episodes I can assure you that Witcher is great fantasy show and it's worth your time but if you look for a new Game of Thrones , you'll be disappointed , Witcher is not GOT and it was never supposed to be , maybe that's the problem , people expected so much from Witcher that they forgot what the real story is about .... The Witcher TV series is flawed , I agree but It deserve more than a 4 score.

Well I haven't seen it yet but I just saw the rewiew score of FOUR on gamespot! I gotta say I'm a little shocked. I was expecting allot more. Having said that, I'll definitely check it out soon and decide for myself.

Regardless if it's good or bad, I won't be watching it, because I haven't read the books or played the games.

hurry up, then

Just watched the first episode. It was fantastic - totally nailed the Witcher feel. I had my doubts about Henry Cavill as Geralt but turns out he's an excellent choice. It's been a while since I got excited about a tv show.

Watched the first episode completely enjoyed it, have no idea why it only scored 4. I'm watching the rest to night.

*shrug* The first game isn't available on consoles, and I'm weird about playing games without playing the first in the series. I know you don't need to in order to enjoy the second and third, but that's just how I am. If they remaster it and do a trilogy collection, I'll be all over it.

@JustPlainLucas: Feel free to start with TW3.

@JustPlainLucas: Just play Witcher 3 and it doesn't required to if you played the previous games or not, Witcher 3 works well for newer fans alike. It's a great game, you should at least play it on Switch or PS4.

there's big gap between audience reception and critics which I believe is because that those journalists who slammed Witcher are new to the series , The TV series has a big problem , the show keep jumping backwards and forwards and this makes it really confusing for new audience but all in all The Witcher is great

Be good if you have no idea about the games nor the books, completely shit for others who have read them.

Unavailable in the UK, lol, even more dogshit.

Played the game and beat on 2 platforms. Watched the 1st episode last night and enjoyed it not really one for videogames turning into tv series.

Just finished the series. Yeah it confused me a bit. I thought the could handle the time jumps a lot better.

Finished the 1st season. I'd give it a solid B-. Cavill is surpsiingly good as Geralt, can't say the same for other actors though...just not A quality stuff at this point.

I like the feel of the the monster hunter episodes but the main storyline feels 'meh'. Starting to see how hokey some of the Witcher's main lore and world are though.

I think the three main actors do a good job but the other performances are a mixed bag. Overall I enjoyed the first episode though.

Just finished the first episode and really liked it! They have done a great job of catching the feel of The Witcher world.. that being said, if you aren’t familiar with the world before seeing the show, it is a bit of a confusing mess!

Joey Batey was great as Dandelion , specially in EP5

I watched the first 3 episodes so far, and it gets more and more interesting. Geralt is very convincing, and so is Yenn. They cast some black actors and actresses, I guess for the sake of political correctness, but in a fantasy world based on Slavic and Norse folklore and myths it makes it look kinda goofy IMO, especially Yenn's bf.

yeah ... political correctness , the plague of our age, however It didn't bother me much that Fringilla is black ...

I never read the books or played the games (just a tiny bit), but I'm really digging the show. I find it a little hard to follow though.

I'm only halfway through and just realized that each character's story arc is taking place in a different time and that they're not all in sequence, lol.

I fucking love it.

Interestingly enough, the GS review's biggest complaint is my favorite part of the show; I am absolutely loving the jumps in timelines. It is confusing, but pleasantly so; it keep your mind active, constantly wondering exactly where you are at, but they make it pretty clear within a few minutes.

Sometimes you're not sure exactly what time you're at, and I understand that might upset more insecure people, but it's a fun tease in that regard in my opinion.

Cavill is excellent as Geralt, and the rest of the cast is excellent as well imo. Not gonna lie; I've got a man crush on that Henry fella, he is a beautiful specimen of the human race.

There was a moment in the first episode where they mentioned about 10 different places, people, and factions in the span of two sentences, and it was a little overwhelming --I was only familiar with the names b/c of the games; I imagine someone completely new to the Witcher lore would be confused-- but ultimately it doesn't really matter; the story is about Geralt, a man with no allegiances, therefore the various provinces, people, leaders, and so forth don't really matter.

Yeah I am enjoying all of what you said a lot.

It's really interesting because [iirc] Witchers don't age like humans, so you're essentially witnessing three generations worth of story going on; Geralt and the queen (and the queen's daughter) as the oldest timeline, Cirilla as the youngest, and then I guess the whole Geralt and Enfrri was in the middle somewhere? Also Yennefer. Meanwhile, Geralt remains pretty much unchanged. I love the scene where he is with the whore and she is going over his scars, and she asks "oh whats this from" and he is like "it was from a princess" and it flashbacks to the striga hunt

Yeah I thought it was interesting, but I am happy they are going in the whole civil rights analogue with the elves and dwarves. Or at least I think they are; I'm only on episode four, but they've briefly touched on the discrimination and displacement the elves faced, and that servant dwarf in the tent was definitely treated like a slave.

Someone should make a comparison video for Geralt vs Striga with the game and the tv show side by side.

It's not bad. 4 seems a tad low from GS.

Your wish is granted

Henry Cavill did a great job of Geralt. He's played all the games and read the books. He's a massive nerd apparently. Also:

Really enjoyed the games and the series so far cast very well. Should really get around to reading the books. I prefer audio books though.

@npiet1 said:

Henry Cavill did a great job of Geralt. He's played all the games and read the books. He's a massive nerd apparently. Also:

He's a big fan of Total War games :D , makes me so proud

also

It really is awful. Imo. The monsters look like they were thought up by an 8th grade student project, the dialogue is painful, the acting is at times laughable, the bard is totally out of place, the costumes and scenery are unimaginative and the skipping back and forth between timelines is nonsensical.

A 4 is extremely generous.

let's agree to disagree

@the_master_race: Yes, to each their own. Great swordfight, yes... but then compare it to the knight turned hedgehogs scene...complete with kiss from a princess that reverses a curse. Just Disney kid level stuff.

Well Duny was really cursed at age of 13 and his reunion with pavetta undid his curse , if you see this similarity , it's because Witcher story is based on classical fairy tales :

A Grain of Truth (Ziarno prawdy), based on Beauty and the Beast

The Lesser Evil (Mniejsze zło), based on Snow White & the 7 Dwarfs

A Question of Price (Kwestia ceny), which has elements of both Rumpelstiltskin and Cinderella

and so on

Finished the series today. It was pretty damn great. Nice little cliffhanger at the end, but also a bit of closure.

That was such a great scene. One among many.

and this scene

Yeah it was.

I Actually went and watched The Witcher 1 (video game) opening cinematic, which recreates that story) immediately after that episode. At the time, that video game cinematic was one of my favorites (it still is pretty great, if dated), but the show actually did a better job.

Back when CDPR was an indie studio , ......

I watched the full first season. Decent show. I binged watched it - so it had my attention. I had no problem with the timeline jumps - in fact it made it fun to try and figure out when something was occurring. Not a problem at all. Don't normally care much about casting, but was a little disappointed in Trish. Really wanted to see a red head playing here as that's kind of the point of her character.

I dug it. Although,.I didn't like triss, way too much Yenn, and no where near enough Geralt in final

Netflix's 'The Witcher' dethroned 'The Mandalorian' as the biggest TV series in the world

https://www.google.com/amp/s/amp.businessinsider.com/witcher-passed-mandalorian-as-biggest-tv-show-in-the-world-2019-12

I liked it. It wasn't flawless but it's damn fun TV.

Only two episodes in so far, but I'm enjoying what I've seen to this point. Weird that I'm getting into this, but Game of Thrones couldn't hold my interest past the halfway point into season one.

Wow, pleasantly surprised, and I agree.

Gamespots criticism of the "narrative structure" was indeed unfounded. Maybe it's just the young folk's inability to pay attention and/or their lack of being comfortable simply not knowing what is going on?

As for Mandalorian, don't get me wrong it's one of my favorite shows, but it's not that good. Sometimes the shows seem a bit goofy, and I like that, but Star Wars is a lot of peoples' darling of a show and frankly I don't think it would get any bad reviews from major outlets.

Long live The Witcher! "Who is Yennifer!?!?!?!" Bwahahahahhahahaha

The Mandalorian was quite a bit better (with much higher review scores), but I liked both.

Mando Finale was beyond epic, had considerably superior cinematography, editing, and music than TW.

unlike The Witcher , Mandalorian is really slow-paced and the amount of budget -15 million per episode- and marketing that it received was much higher than Witcher , I loved both series but Witcher is my most favorite

can you believe it ?! Only 4 Marks !!! ... SMDH

Yeah I found that was my issue with the Mandalorian too, but star wars has always been a bit slow imo.

Overall a good adaptation, but seems a bit simplistic and rushed compared to the same stories in the book.

Not sure about best but certainly great enjoyed it. Pleased it's renewed for series 2.

Only 3 episodes in, but I am enjoying it. Never read the books and didn't play more than 20 minutes of one of the games. I think I'm better off as I don't expect things to happen and then get annoyed when they change them like I did with Game of Thrones. I can just sit back and let the D&D nerd in me enjoy the show for what it is.