The third episode of Netflix’sThe Witcherfocuses mainly on Geralt and Yennefer, with Ciri’s story largely shoved to the side. This allows the plot threads of Geralt and Yennefer to have a bit more breathing room, and even play on each other a bit, doing wonders for the pacing compared toThe WitcherEpisode 2. However,The WitcherEpisode 3 is easily the worst episode yet for Geralt, brought down by some clunky dialogue and a poor representation ofTriss Merigold.
The race-swapped casting of Anna Shaffer as Triss Merigold has been the source of some controversy forThe Witchersince well before the TV show premiered. A more accurate representation of the character would have been nice to see, but Shaffer does the best with what she has to work with, which isn’t the strongest material in the series so far. Despite Triss being a hugely popular character inThe Witcherbooks and games, she’s basically just a walking plot device here, meant to push Geralt into another side quest and spout expository dialogue along the way.
Out of the three Geralt stories that we’ve seen so far, the one in this episode is the least interesting by a wide margin. It doesn’t help that the plot, adapted from “The Witcher” short story, is one of the most familiar of Geralt’s stories. It’s quite likely that even casualWitcherfans are well aware of the striga monster story and the outcome of it, which may make some impatient for the episode to just get to the point.
For those who may be unfamiliar with the striga monster story, it boils down to a tale of incestuous love and an evil curse, transforming the young princess of Temeria into a terrible creature. The special effects are once again a highlight, with the Striga brought to life using a mix of bone-chilling practical effects and CGI. Geralt and the striga have a knock-down, drag-out fight that sees the Witcher utilize a variety of his tools and abilities. Viewers get to see Geralt utilize potions, avariety of magic signs, and more in his fight against the striga.
Geralt’s battle with the striga ends just like it does in the story, with Geralt attacked by the princess once more after she is exposed to the sun and reverts back to her human form. Triss nurses Geralt back to health, making sure he is in fighting shape for the next “monster of the week” threat he’ll face next.
If there’s something that’s not really working forThe WitcherNetflix series, it is that Geralt’s adventures feel disconnected from one another. Thefirst episode ofThe Witchersaw Geralt stuck in the middle of a dispute between a wizard and a supposedly cursed child, whereas the second episode saw him held captive by elves. And now this episode sees Geralt hunting down and fighting the striga. It almost makes the show feel like a procedural drama, with Geralt meeting a bunch of characters that either die by the end of the episode or disappear as he moves on to the next town.
Something else that makesThe Witcher’s episodes feel disconnected from one another is the three ongoing timelines. We already know that the Ciri scenes take place at some point after Geralt’s scenes, with Yennefer’s scenes taking place before both of them. In one scene, we even see Temerian King Foltest and his sister/later lover as children. Netflix viewers who are unfamiliar withThe Witchersource material may be completely and utterly confused by these scenes, and it is still hard to understand whyshowrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrichdecided to go in this direction with the narrative structure.
Narrative oddities aside, Yennefer’s story was more interesting in Episode 3 than when we first met her inEpisode 2. There’s a bit of a time jump as she’s now a more established mage, and is romantically involved with Istredd. There is an initiation ceremony where Yennefer is to be assigned to be the sorceress for Nilfgaard, despite her wanting to serve the kingdom of Aedirn. Using some gruesome spells, Yennefer is able to transform her body, getting rid of her hunchback and facial deformity, and then using her newfound looks and confidence to seduce the king of Aedirn into taking her on.
Yennefer’s gory transformation really helped Anya Chalotra go all out with her scenes, and it was artfully paralleled with Geralt’s battle against the striga. It takes the episode awhile to get to these parts, but these final scenes areThe Witcherat its best, full of action, gore, creative monster designs, and impressive magic. Again, casual viewers may have trouble fully understanding Yennefer’s plot, but more hardcore fans will have an easier time following along.
WhileThe WitcherEpisode 3 mainly focuses on Geralt and Yennefer, that’s not to say thatPrincess Ciriis completely left out of the equation. Ciri is missing from most of the episode, but she does show up for the very last scene, where we see her drawn into a large forest by a trance. Dara attempts to run after Ciri, but is hit by a mysterious arrow that comes from an unknown direction. We see that the field Dara is in is littered with skeletons, which doesn’t bode well for the young elf.
With three separate plot threads and timelines being presented concurrently,The WitcherNetflix seriesstruggles with having a coherent narrative structure and it may be downright confusing for some viewers. However, the special effects are consistently good, and it’s always a treat to see Cavill’s performance as Geralt. A bit more cohesion would really do wonders for the show.
