I really enjoyed the 2nd season. But … I also have never read the books or played the games. Planned on reading them so it’s sad to hear they are changing from the book story so soon. I guess I’ll just enjoy it for what it is.
I still enjoyed the season, but the 3 main problems I had with it were: 1. How they took Yennefer's character to the point where she was sacrificing Ciri to get her power back. They tried to "fix" it in the finale but it's till leaves a sour taste. 2. Death of Eskel 3. Ciri's possession led to the death of a lot of Witchers. None of that was necessary.
I wholeheartedly agree with your analysis. Looking forward to the next video. Usually I don't want to be the "But in the books"-person, but they strayed so far from the storyline and turned things on their heads that it doesn't make sense anymore. I am determined to love the show, I really am, but they need to do better next season. The overall production of the show and great acting made up for a lot of its flaws though.
Why be determined to love the show if it keeps screwing up the writing every single chance it gets? Stockholm syndrome? There is absolutely nothing they can do in season 3 to undo the damage they have already caused. The only solution is to scrap it all and start from the beginning again.
Yay I've been waiting for this review. I enjoyed season 2, I have read the first 5 books but I forgot most of it because I wasn't reading for comprehension so I must reread. However, I hope the showrunner doesn't stray too far from the books making the story completely different. I don't mind changes as long as the chore stays the same.
@@GrayArea exactly the. I think these tv writers get the big head once they get their hands on someone else's books to adapt. They know there's already a fanbase for what their doing and then they think they're smarter than the author and choose to start changing shit for shits and giggles. I hope the showrunner doesn't Dan and Dave us. We've had enough of the Hollywood hacks.
@@sydnitheromantictaylor112 That so wrong thinking 🤦♂️ They don’t change stuff for shits and giggles. They change stuff because they do? Adaptions and how accurate they go is always up to how much the adapting person wants to stick to the original. I do think with big success for shows they do get more confident with doing their changes because they still had success. Other-times they do think they know better sometimes and it always leaves to disaster majority of time.
They change this to make the females the major thing in this series and push the lead male aside. Cavill's character is not the most important thing to the showrunner Lauren Hissrich. She stated she intended this series to be a female empowerment thing. Which is why Yen's story is changed so much. And why Eskel is killed off and Vesemir, Lambert and the non-canon witchers get marginalised and "killed off". They are men and, thus dead, evil, stupid, hateful, unimportant and not needed. Don't even hope season 3 will be any less shitty than this season. Or that finally, the series will concentrate on its hero Geralt. Or at least remotely resemble the books by Sapkowski. If that's what you hope for you haven't understood *ANYTHING* .
Honestly, watching this video is like being in an echo chamber. All you’re issues with the show are my issues too. As well as the fact that I did think it was good. The second season is really well made. I enjoyed it a lot. Such good production values!!! And although I’m all - WTF !!! - about Eskel the biggest crime done in regard to the source material is what they have done with Yennifer. Yennifer has many character flaws (all of which makes her a compelling character). Yenniferr can be deeply selfish but she’s not evil. And what she was gonna do to Ciri (sacrifice her?!!!) motivated out of a pure selfish desire is sooo out of character. She is selfish but she’s not that selfish. How the writers redeem Yennifer in the eyes of Ciri and Geralt and make it actually believable will be a challenge. Yes, she didn’t go through with it. Had a changed of heart - but she WAS going to! I do think it would have been fine to do this storyline with Geralt, Ciri and the audience thinking that Yennifer was intending on sacrificing Ciri only to have Yennifer trick the Deathless Mother (or attempt to) in some way with a well thought out plan, never truly intending on sacrificing Ciri but definitely putting her in harms way, taking a great risk with someone else’s life as well as her own. Afterwards Yennifer dismissively rolling her eyes at Geralt “do you really think me capable of such a thing?! You know me better than that”! Geralt wide eyed with anger and frustration over Yennifer’s selfish, reckless actions. That would be very Yennifer.
It should also be noted that the Nilfgardians had a strong Elven influence dating back to its very founding. They are humans with a bit of elven ancestry (which is not unusual in the north either) but an almost entirely elven culture. They were founded when a group of humans was adopted by the Black Seidhe, a group of elves closely related to the Aen Seidhe of the north. They have always respected elves more than other humans. Their common tongue is a dialect of the Eldar Speech.
The witch in the woods is Baba Yaga, from slavic folklore, so, even if not from the books, it fits the overall theme, i am just slightly disappointed that her hut was not on giant chicken leg 😅 yep, that's the stories and animation I grew up on, so it was nice for once to see some Eastern European folklore represented in pop media
I was so excited to see my favorite GOT lady doing a review of my new favorite show! I never read the books or played the games so your insights are great! Love you girl!
It fell so wrong to me when Vesemir wanted to make Ciri pass through the Trial of the Grasses. He would be the last dude to come up with something like this, in my opinion.
Had I not read the books upwards of 20 times I would love the show. And I do love it but it's not the story I love. I'm trying not to be so upset over the crazy changes. They really aren't building any characters at all. The on the trail talks Yarpen and Ciri have about neutrality are vital in who ciri becomes later on. They changed things that make the events in the books impossible. Cahir cannot become who he is supposed to. Uncle vesemir never would have put ciri at risk. The aloof, I am an island, Yen is what make the connections so important. All of the character cores are different but Geralt. So much heartbreak for not getting the stories I love so much.
I saw season two and currently going through the books. I enjoyed the season, I see it's fauls and changes people will dislike. I see the books the show and the games as separate and after hearing the show runners reason I can find some of her changes acceptable. I wish the eleves were done better though. I think the game of thrones season 8 comparsion is a bit over exaggerated.
Thanks Gray! I agree with a lot of your points. Just reading the final book in the series and I can't believe how many changes there are. I hope they can tie everything together into a decent story long term. Yennefer doesn't come across as a Bad azz b*tch like she is in the books, and yet she's willing to sacrifice Ciri. She's supposed to be hard and cold most of the time but still deeply care for Ciri (like a daughter). I really don't like her arc this season or the introduction of the deathless mother.
Thank you for the recap. I can't muster up enough enthusiasm for season 2 to sink what precious little leisure time I have into watching it. And now I feel like that is absolutely, positively OK.
I agree 100%. You forgot to mention how they made eskel and lambert so hostile towards Geralt and ciri. That pissed me off almost as much as vesemir not only nearly putting her through the trial of the grasses but stabbing her in the last episode.
Thank you for adding " The Birth Of Dragons" Obsidian Nights episode on Spotify!!!! This is all I wanted for Christmas, Im so excited to listen!!! I've been dieing for that episode!
Maybe since i watched wheel of time directly before witcher s2, yet i loved witcher s2 as a book/game player, even with weakness of show, it has room to grow I do think show runners are listening ala season 1, i think season 2, episode 1 is a good scope of what it can do.
This review summarized all my thoughts perfectly!!! Never read the books, or played the games. Became a fan through the show. But, everything that bothered you, irked me as well! Even if you don't know the source material, you can still recognize poor storytelling :/ (especially if you've seen good story telling before).
Exactly, the writing is terrible by itself, there aren't just plot holes the entire story is a plot void. It just adds further insult that the show isn't original but trying to "adapt" source material, and that source material is pretty good as well.
Well, i really liked the season 2 . There seems to be a divide between book readers and casual fans that really dig it. I take it as an interpretation of the books. Love it for what it is. I understand your point of view but does it necessarely need to be a straight adaptation of the books,?...A.S himself does not believe it has to be and seems pretty satisfied with it...
i've never read the books, and watched w/ a couple of others who haven't either. the main take-away was that while it was enjoyable the narrative was not clear at all, and we kept saying "all right; what just happened?" so in terms of things to cover: anything that helps us understand anything.
I've not read the books, so I missed the points made in S2E1. It didn't get interesting for me until E5. When I rewatched I skipped 1-4. Overhaul S2 was not as interesting as S1. I was disappinted in the Yenifer character of S2. She was much diminished, while the Siri character was expanding.
what they did to Jenna was despicable....she would never! i had to pause and get a glass of wine and then wait until it was safe to drink post blood pressure pill....then finish watching. how dare they! but i just appreciate them making it a tv show to spread awareness of the awesomeness of this franchise so i guess i digress but still....HOW DARE THEY!
it was the drinking the sweat from his ball sack for me! Love ya Grey! the books are so much better though.....but i thoroughly enjoyed this version of the story. Merry Christmas! and please go over the book differences vs the show. Infact, those books are good enough for you to break down as deep as you do the game of thrones books. Tip: check out the audio books....Priceless!
I did think the monoliths were bit Space Odyssey and kinda liked them but now you tell me they weren’t in the books but the games so wonder if it to do with the cross promotions the game and show been doing.
i didnt read the books and i was disappointed with season 2, so i can only imagine how people who did read the books must feel. for me it was just a big let down after waiting so long for it, plus expecting it to be as good as season 1.
Complete newbie to this franchise here. Never played the games, never read the books. I feel the same as you. S2 is super confusing! I don't understand the story at all, and it feels super rushed. The idea that Ciri loves Geralt, and the Yennerfer loves Ciri too, is totally laughable. I never saw that in the show. They needed to show it to us. There was not enough character development. My understanding of the source material and how the show is made is as follows. In the books, Geralt has a lot of adventures by himself, without Ciri or Yennefer. However, in the show's 1st season, fans were mostly invested in Yennifer, her relationship with Geralt, as well as Jaskier. Based on that information, it seems like the show wants to give fans what they want by involving Yennifer and Jaskier more into Geralt's affairs. It was a mess.
Agree with everything you said, hot mess or no. I just can't even with Miss Lauren Kennedy Benioff Weiss Hissrich right now. But at least she got a bigger budget for Season 2. Are we not even gonna talk about how the basilisks in Kaer Morhen (and WTF with that, anyway???) looked way better than the golden dragon Villentrentenmerth in Season 1? One thing I still love about this show... Henry is the Geralt we all need.
I made sure to finally finish s2 in it's entirety before binge-watching your content because you truly made my GØT experience way more fun but chile... the ptsd 😂😂😂
The show did touch on things the book left out. The producers made some unpopular changes to squeeze a lot of the books into the series. They are working with sources from the book and game. I think the 2nd season was better than the first.
Ok things I’d love to know more on: this world. This divided thing into another world, where the Hunt people were at the end. In general, knowing the bigger picture. I feel like I could read the books, but that might be even more confusing. So maybe there is an overarching basic understanding of their history and current landscape, that extends both book and show,,, Thank you!
Honestly, I loved it. I loved season 1 and this one topped that. Its getting me into the books. I've read the two short story books these seasons were based on. I can see the changes but can also see why they were made, for both the medium and the difference in audience. A 1990s Polish audience and a 2020s American audience are going to be very different. I thought the Baba Yaga story arc fit in well with the authors twisting of fairy tales
Wait another thing in season 1 when Geralt encounters the Strzyga he sees the body of another witcher.. He seemed to have no recognition of that particular witcher which implies he’s from a different witcher school Furthermore in that anime done by Netflix Kaer Morhen is sacked but only Kaer Morhen.. So maybe I think the show is Trying to say since the sacking they have been unable to create more Witcher’s for the school of the Wolf??
So many times during your video, I found myself literally saying out loud, "Right?!". I completely agree with so many of your points. Why does Hissrich feel the need to fuck up the story of the books? The books are successful for a reason. Stupid to screw with the stories. It's nothing short of their egos trying to make their own marks on the back of the original stories. This has to piss Cavill off I bet, but I since he is such a fan of the books.
Overall I liked it, but i cant get over that it has so much potencial to be actually great. I mean is the fucking witcher give the witcher more screen time or at least if they are going to make shit up then do it with better plot and dialogue. I hate what they did with the elves
yes i totally agree that this season was way of. It was basically a fanfic, not an adaptation. Also you missed that Ciri has access to the full powers of the elder blood at the end of season two. When she teleports them back she hits the place and time, so she is in control. How are they going to portray anything after thanned? Like every story after thanned makes no sense when Ciri can just teleport. How will she grow since she will never experience Bonhart or the Rats? Without cheap writing it is impossible for them to actually adapt the books anymore. So dissapointing!
Why do the Witcher’s react like they’re having a heart attack whenever there’s “Danger” nearby? I get it that they have extra senses similar to Spider-Mans Spider Sense.
I'm not a book reader but I really liked this 2nd season as much as I liked the first season, sorry you hated so much of it but it was great hearing your diverse opinions and the Easter eggs
I wouldn’t mind you doing book and show comparisons and keeping limited info on what is coming or in future books but doing what are different with what has happened.
So glad I just found you and this is the argument I had with Wheel of Time because I read the books and loved the books and now I hate the show but I came to The Witcher first by the show so I'd like to show you better than I seen the gameplay
She did not need to invent so much, first season was pretty cannon. My take is they alredy had the witchers actors and the set and wanted to make good profit. But the baba yaga arch, and Yen treason. I dont get it. It was not bad but unnecessary. Let's hope they get on track next season.
Never read the books or played the games, but it seems like how comic book movies are to the comic's canon. It has the basic idea of the characters, but it's pretty much it's own thing.
Oh my God you made me laugh so hard about the ball sack joke I am right on board with you girl. And I totally agree I really like the season but I feel like unlike game of thrones not being a book reader I'm a little lost. I'm wondering if I watch it over again if it will help. The first season I totally understood the time jumps so it's kind of weird that I don't understand what is going on in the season with the witch and the Hut and it was kind of all over the place. However I will watch anything with Henry in it. I thought the first episode was the best I kind of wish they would just focus on short stories like that. It would be nice to see Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer traveling around battling monsters and making magic I am hoping that is what the next season will bring.
Merry Xmas, Mama Gray! Well, the more videos you make about the Witcher season 2, the happier my holidays will be. Honestly, whatever you decide to cover on the series is guaranteed to be entertaining and informative. I definitely felt the same way about the rushed nature of this season resembling GOT seasons seven and eight. At least the portals in the witcher explained how people got around so fast as opposed to GOT. Your reviews are pure gold to me. Thank you for the most detailed and fun content.
She barely even touched on each episode and talked about how much she hated this and that and talked about the books the whole time not referencing them and this was her worst video yet and I love her videos
I have began to read the book in the Witcher and scared that I will not like the show because of it. Happy New Year 🎉🎉🎉🌞🌞❄️❄️❄️❄️everyone and I hope everyone has a safe, healthy Year ❤️🩹💗💜❤️💙🎉💥🎉💥🎉❄️
Yennefer, Geralt and Ciri ARE NOT a family unit at the point of Blood of Elves. That doesn't happen yet. Why are people finding this so hard to grasp. That family relationship isn't firmly established until time of contempt which they haven't adapted yet. They can basically do whatever they want with Yennefer and Ciris story as long as by the next season they have a mother/daughter relationship - in blood of elves, they still haven't got there by the end of the book. By the end of the season Yennefer has redeemed herself because not only did she not hand over Ciri in the end, but she even tries to sacrifice herself to save Ciri. The entire point of her story in this season is they wanted to focus on Yennefers realisation last season that her magic is no longer driving her, what she really wants is what she thinks she can't ever have, a child. So this season they strip her of her magic to really see if a child is more important to her than anything. And she realises just how much her magicbis important. She completely breaks down without it and feels useless, pointless. She can't even defend herself without it, she has no sense of confidence and no sense of self. So the influence of the demon witch gets her second guessing what she wants and she starts to believe that the opportunity of a child is not worth giving up the opportunity to be gifted with magic again. But the important thing is she makes the right choice in the end, she can't bring herself to sacrifice Ciri and attempts to give her own life to protect her - she picks the child over her magic and does what any mother would do to protect their child. The show just wanted to give her an arc and I don't see why the book fans are so up in arms about it. By the end of the season she is in a place where she can cement a mother daughter bond with Ciri because despite nearly giving her up she protected her in the end and showed what she was prepared to do to ensure that. It's a different, more dramatic way of adapting their relationship from blood of elves where they can barely stand each other. But that book plot isn't going to be all that interesting to put onscreen.
Okay. I've seen all of season 2 but haven't read books or played through the games yet. All I can say is there's a lot of potential in this series but it's getting wasted with sloppy writing and sloppy scripting as well. I'll bookmark and come back because you usually have great insight but I want to do some more reading first.
Thank you so much for this!! I was having so much trouble following the plots in season 2. Hell, I had trouble following InDeepGeek’s summary of season 2. What were they thinking with this? I liked season 1 so much more.
I totally agree. I understand it's hard to translate a book into a movie and sometimes it needs some changes..but ..... Kaer Morhen full of hookers ??? it was a mysterious place known only to witchers and Triss Merigold. Eskel enters Kaer Morhen with Leshen and none of the medallions reacts .... strange, not to mention there was an obelisk in the tree and again none of the medallions react. I do not think that adaptation consists in a complete change of characters, their personalities, motives and actions ... this whole season is one big shit ... illogical, full of plot errors, boring at times. For example, the road of Geralt and Yennever from Cintra to Kaer Morhen should take a week or two weeks on horseback and they ride there in the next scene :) it's just one of a thousand idiotic examples. I could talk for hours about what's wrong with this season and point out scene by scene the lack of logic in the understanding of Netflix's creators. I will say this ... if you think that this season was tragic, wait for the next one ... even if Netflix wants to return everything to the right logical track, it is due to so many mistakes and tragic ideas that we have received in this season ... the next seasons will not be able to fix it anymore. If Lauren Schmidt Hissrich were to do an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo would have reached Mordor in two or three days and the whole movie would have closed in 10 minutes.
Omg a map!, Has this been shown in the show? Because it just has made the world-building harder. And I’ll help, the world 🌎 building has been rough. S1 was almost impossible. S2 got better. Consumable pieces, more focused. But lore and rules? Still hazy. But needs to be said how that entering into that dream slash vision thing with Triss, is copy paste Dany in the books, House of the Undying. I mean they copied it. Anyways thank u! I got invested by ep6 ending. I feel better! Been a struggle.
Show Yennefer ~ The single hero of sodden, a powerful woman who has to stay silent so that Vilgefortz gets all the glory because patriarchy, and suffers the ultimate sacrifice, losing her all important power. Books Yennefer ~ Takes a fireball to the face, goes blind and has to peace out.
Season #2 like Season #1 before it was not perfect but I still loved it. All the scenes with Geralt & Ciri together, the scenes at Kaer Moren with Vesemir & the other Witchers and those scenes featuring Jaskier were unquestionably where Season #2 shined plus more monsters featured this season was also great to see & the entire cast once again was brilliant except for Vilgefortz who I still think was horribly miscast. The Elves arc however was extremely boring and new character Francesca was simply unlikable. I get that they're trying to makes us sympathize with the plight of The Elves but they dropped the ball big-time as the Elf characters in Season #2 are simply annoying & unlikable except for Filavandrel who so far is the only Elf character I do like. This is not a perfect adaptation but than again no adaptation is ever perfect and that's what fans should always remember. Season #2 is flawed for sure but is still endlessly entertaining & bada@$ to watch. Hopefully Season #3 will stick a little closer to the books more than these first two seasons have. Either way, I absolutely love Netflix's The Witcher✌
Merry Christmas Sweet Summer fam🎁!!!
Merry Christmas. I, too, was very conflicted. The books are so good. This, I am hoping changed so much so season 3 could focus on more.
So u in fairy tail land aka Atlanta
Happy Holidays
I really enjoyed the 2nd season. But … I also have never read the books or played the games. Planned on reading them so it’s sad to hear they are changing from the book story so soon. I guess I’ll just enjoy it for what it is.
season 2 explained...nope...series reviewed maybe 10% the other 90% talking about the books and hate this hate that...season breakdown maybe 10%
I still enjoyed the season, but the 3 main problems I had with it were:
1. How they took Yennefer's character to the point where she was sacrificing Ciri to get her power back. They tried to "fix" it in the finale but it's till leaves a sour taste.
2. Death of Eskel
3. Ciri's possession led to the death of a lot of Witchers. None of that was necessary.
I wholeheartedly agree with your analysis. Looking forward to the next video. Usually I don't want to be the "But in the books"-person, but they strayed so far from the storyline and turned things on their heads that it doesn't make sense anymore. I am determined to love the show, I really am, but they need to do better next season. The overall production of the show and great acting made up for a lot of its flaws though.
Why be determined to love the show if it keeps screwing up the writing every single chance it gets? Stockholm syndrome?
There is absolutely nothing they can do in season 3 to undo the damage they have already caused.
The only solution is to scrap it all and start from the beginning again.
@@zolikoff I like the overall feel of season 1 and the performance of Henry Cavill. That's why I want the show to suceed. No Stockholm Syndrome there.
Yay I've been waiting for this review. I enjoyed season 2, I have read the first 5 books but I forgot most of it because I wasn't reading for comprehension so I must reread. However, I hope the showrunner doesn't stray too far from the books making the story completely different. I don't mind changes as long as the chore stays the same.
Agreed! Yes make the changes that are needed for adaptation, just don’t change the lore.. and at the very least make it make sense🥺
@@GrayArea exactly the. I think these tv writers get the big head once they get their hands on someone else's books to adapt. They know there's already a fanbase for what their doing and then they think they're smarter than the author and choose to start changing shit for shits and giggles. I hope the showrunner doesn't Dan and Dave us. We've had enough of the Hollywood hacks.
@@sydnitheromantictaylor112 That so wrong thinking 🤦♂️ They don’t change stuff for shits and giggles. They change stuff because they do? Adaptions and how accurate they go is always up to how much the adapting person wants to stick to the original.
I do think with big success for shows they do get more confident with doing their changes because they still had success. Other-times they do think they know better sometimes and it always leaves to disaster majority of time.
They change this to make the females the major thing in this series and push the lead male aside. Cavill's character is not the most important thing to the showrunner Lauren Hissrich.
She stated she intended this series to be a female empowerment thing. Which is why Yen's story is changed so much. And why Eskel is killed off and Vesemir, Lambert and the non-canon witchers get marginalised and "killed off". They are men and, thus dead, evil, stupid, hateful, unimportant and not needed.
Don't even hope season 3 will be any less shitty than this season. Or that finally, the series will concentrate on its hero Geralt. Or at least remotely resemble the books by Sapkowski. If that's what you hope for you haven't understood *ANYTHING* .
Honestly, watching this video is like being in an echo chamber. All you’re issues with the show are my issues too.
As well as the fact that I did think it was good. The second season is really well made. I enjoyed it a lot. Such good production values!!!
And although I’m all - WTF !!! - about Eskel the biggest crime done in regard to the source material is what they have done with Yennifer. Yennifer has many character flaws (all of which makes her a compelling character). Yenniferr can be deeply selfish but she’s not evil. And what she was gonna do to Ciri (sacrifice her?!!!) motivated out of a pure selfish desire is sooo out of character. She is selfish but she’s not that selfish. How the writers redeem Yennifer in the eyes of Ciri and Geralt and make it actually believable will be a challenge. Yes, she didn’t go through with it. Had a changed of heart - but she WAS going to!
I do think it would have been fine to do this storyline with Geralt, Ciri and the audience thinking that Yennifer was intending on sacrificing Ciri only to have Yennifer trick the Deathless Mother (or attempt to) in some way with a well thought out plan, never truly intending on sacrificing Ciri but definitely putting her in harms way, taking a great risk with someone else’s life as well as her own.
Afterwards Yennifer dismissively rolling her eyes at Geralt “do you really think me capable of such a thing?! You know me better than that”!
Geralt wide eyed with anger and frustration over Yennifer’s selfish, reckless actions.
That would be very Yennifer.
It should also be noted that the Nilfgardians had a strong Elven influence dating back to its very founding. They are humans with a bit of elven ancestry (which is not unusual in the north either) but an almost entirely elven culture. They were founded when a group of humans was adopted by the Black Seidhe, a group of elves closely related to the Aen Seidhe of the north. They have always respected elves more than other humans. Their common tongue is a dialect of the Eldar Speech.
I've been patiently waiting for you to get to the Witcher season 2 .. you rock
The witch in the woods is Baba Yaga, from slavic folklore, so, even if not from the books, it fits the overall theme, i am just slightly disappointed that her hut was not on giant chicken leg 😅 yep, that's the stories and animation I grew up on, so it was nice for once to see some Eastern European folklore represented in pop media
Can't wait for more Witcher videos. I do enjoy listening to your views and opinions. Merry Christmas!!!
I was so excited to see my favorite GOT lady doing a review of my new favorite show! I never read the books or played the games so your insights are great! Love you girl!
It fell so wrong to me when Vesemir wanted to make Ciri pass through the Trial of the Grasses. He would be the last dude to come up with something like this, in my opinion.
Had I not read the books upwards of 20 times I would love the show. And I do love it but it's not the story I love. I'm trying not to be so upset over the crazy changes. They really aren't building any characters at all. The on the trail talks Yarpen and Ciri have about neutrality are vital in who ciri becomes later on. They changed things that make the events in the books impossible. Cahir cannot become who he is supposed to. Uncle vesemir never would have put ciri at risk. The aloof, I am an island, Yen is what make the connections so important. All of the character cores are different but Geralt. So much heartbreak for not getting the stories I love so much.
Nailed it!! I agree 100%!! I had so much stress watching this season...
I saw season two and currently going through the books. I enjoyed the season, I see it's fauls and changes people will dislike. I see the books the show and the games as separate and after hearing the show runners reason I can find some of her changes acceptable. I wish the eleves were done better though. I think the game of thrones season 8 comparsion is a bit over exaggerated.
Thanks Gray! I agree with a lot of your points. Just reading the final book in the series and I can't believe how many changes there are. I hope they can tie everything together into a decent story long term. Yennefer doesn't come across as a Bad azz b*tch like she is in the books, and yet she's willing to sacrifice Ciri. She's supposed to be hard and cold most of the time but still deeply care for Ciri (like a daughter). I really don't like her arc this season or the introduction of the deathless mother.
Thank you for the recap. I can't muster up enough enthusiasm for season 2 to sink what precious little leisure time I have into watching it. And now I feel like that is absolutely, positively OK.
Love gray area's reviews! She always educates us!
Merry chrimus Gray. So glad to see some content from you again. I've been wondering about the Witcher.....
I agree 100%. You forgot to mention how they made eskel and lambert so hostile towards Geralt and ciri. That pissed me off almost as much as vesemir not only nearly putting her through the trial of the grasses but stabbing her in the last episode.
Ya rediculous. I was fuming when he was gonna actually do it.
Thank you for adding " The Birth Of Dragons" Obsidian Nights episode on Spotify!!!! This is all I wanted for Christmas, Im so excited to listen!!! I've been dieing for that episode!
I loved yenifer’s storyline
Maybe since i watched wheel of time directly before witcher s2, yet i loved witcher s2 as a book/game player, even with weakness of show, it has room to grow
I do think show runners are listening ala season 1, i think season 2, episode 1 is a good scope of what it can do.
This review summarized all my thoughts perfectly!!! Never read the books, or played the games. Became a fan through the show. But, everything that bothered you, irked me as well! Even if you don't know the source material, you can still recognize poor storytelling :/ (especially if you've seen good story telling before).
Exactly, the writing is terrible by itself, there aren't just plot holes the entire story is a plot void.
It just adds further insult that the show isn't original but trying to "adapt" source material, and that source material is pretty good as well.
Haha you had me at “I just want to drink the sweat from his ball sack.” 😂😂😂
Well, i really liked the season 2 . There seems to be a divide between book readers and casual fans that really dig it. I take it as an interpretation of the books. Love it for what it is. I understand your point of view but does it necessarely need to be a straight adaptation of the books,?...A.S himself does not believe it has to be and seems pretty satisfied with it...
Omg I missed your voice! Lost track of your channel after GoT ending and really happy to find it again. Merry Christmas! 💫
Dude I love how real you keep it.
i've never read the books, and watched w/ a couple of others who haven't either. the main take-away was that while it was enjoyable the narrative was not clear at all, and we kept saying "all right; what just happened?" so in terms of things to cover: anything that helps us understand anything.
The best commentary and voice for series!!! I'm watching you since the times of Game of Thrones... And I just love what you do. 😍
omg I've been waiting for the juice since I saw S2 happy holidays Gray!!
I've not read the books, so I missed the points made in S2E1. It didn't get interesting for me until E5. When I rewatched I skipped 1-4. Overhaul S2 was not as interesting as S1. I was disappinted in the Yenifer character of S2. She was much diminished, while the Siri character was expanding.
what they did to Jenna was despicable....she would never! i had to pause and get a glass of wine and then wait until it was safe to drink post blood pressure pill....then finish watching. how dare they! but i just appreciate them making it a tv show to spread awareness of the awesomeness of this franchise so i guess i digress but still....HOW DARE THEY!
Finally! The review I've been waiting for!
I definitely need to read the books!😅
That being said, as a person of Slavic decent, I did enjoy the Baba Yaga, and the “little hut” reference!
Yes! But where's the chicken leg 😅
@@chrissiek8706 there’s a single frame where you see ‘em!! Yes I’m a nerd!!🤣
it was the drinking the sweat from his ball sack for me! Love ya Grey! the books are so much better though.....but i thoroughly enjoyed this version of the story. Merry Christmas! and please go over the book differences vs the show. Infact, those books are good enough for you to break down as deep as you do the game of thrones books. Tip: check out the audio books....Priceless!
I did think the Witchers being frat boys was a let down and killing Eskel before we even knew him didn’t work.
Why'd they do Eskel like that?
*It's almost like they need to hire GrayArea to get this story right. Makes sense to me atleast.*
I did think the monoliths were bit Space Odyssey and kinda liked them but now you tell me they weren’t in the books but the games so wonder if it to do with the cross promotions the game and show been doing.
I was waiting on this one. Another certified classic!!
Aahh.. This is exactly like I felt watching this show ! 😕😕😕 First episode was great. My favourite. And .. Henry should write a plot for season 3...
Do a video on the hunt! I have no idea what that is
I just finished Blood Of Elves and I am so disappointed with season 2. They changed too much. Yen would never put Ciri at risk
Jaskier was the best part of the show 🙌🏽
If you don’t know the books or the games season 2 was great!!
Very much agree!
I never read the books, but I do like the show and this season to me was good. But, I guess after this I will read the books.
i didnt read the books and i was disappointed with season 2, so i can only imagine how people who did read the books must feel. for me it was just a big let down after waiting so long for it, plus expecting it to be as good as season 1.
Complete newbie to this franchise here. Never played the games, never read the books. I feel the same as you. S2 is super confusing! I don't understand the story at all, and it feels super rushed. The idea that Ciri loves Geralt, and the Yennerfer loves Ciri too, is totally laughable. I never saw that in the show. They needed to show it to us. There was not enough character development.
My understanding of the source material and how the show is made is as follows. In the books, Geralt has a lot of adventures by himself, without Ciri or Yennefer. However, in the show's 1st season, fans were mostly invested in Yennifer, her relationship with Geralt, as well as Jaskier. Based on that information, it seems like the show wants to give fans what they want by involving Yennifer and Jaskier more into Geralt's affairs. It was a mess.
Its doing its own thing. I liked it. Yes, I read the books and played the games.
Agree with everything you said, hot mess or no. I just can't even with Miss Lauren Kennedy Benioff Weiss Hissrich right now. But at least she got a bigger budget for Season 2. Are we not even gonna talk about how the basilisks in Kaer Morhen (and WTF with that, anyway???) looked way better than the golden dragon Villentrentenmerth in Season 1? One thing I still love about this show... Henry is the Geralt we all need.
I made sure to finally finish s2 in it's entirety before binge-watching your content because you truly made my GØT experience way more fun but chile... the ptsd 😂😂😂
The show did touch on things the book left out. The producers made some unpopular changes to squeeze a lot of the books into the series. They are working with sources from the book and game. I think the 2nd season was better than the first.
Ok things I’d love to know more on: this world. This divided thing into another world, where the Hunt people were at the end. In general, knowing the bigger picture. I feel like I could read the books, but that might be even more confusing. So maybe there is an overarching basic understanding of their history and current landscape, that extends both book and show,,, Thank you!
When Yen asked Filavandrel if he was in fact himself
He answered something like “ah the bloody bard”
I’m assuming meaning Jaskier
The writing was awful. Rience’s entire plot reduced to
‘Some fire fucker’
Wtf.
Honestly, I loved it. I loved season 1 and this one topped that. Its getting me into the books. I've read the two short story books these seasons were based on. I can see the changes but can also see why they were made, for both the medium and the difference in audience. A 1990s Polish audience and a 2020s American audience are going to be very different. I thought the Baba Yaga story arc fit in well with the authors twisting of fairy tales
I have been waiting for your review. I agree with everything you said.
Wait question.. is Francesca the elf that Geralt head butts in season one??
Wait another thing in season 1 when Geralt encounters the Strzyga he sees the body of another witcher..
He seemed to have no recognition of that particular witcher which implies he’s from a different witcher school
Furthermore in that anime done by Netflix Kaer Morhen is sacked but only Kaer Morhen..
So maybe I think the show is Trying to say since the sacking they have been unable to create more Witcher’s for the school of the Wolf??
Could be. It was so confusing. I found myself saying huh? Multiple times
@@GrayArea I think it is that probably
So many times during your video, I found myself literally saying out loud, "Right?!". I completely agree with so many of your points. Why does Hissrich feel the need to fuck up the story of the books? The books are successful for a reason. Stupid to screw with the stories. It's nothing short of their egos trying to make their own marks on the back of the original stories. This has to piss Cavill off I bet, but I since he is such a fan of the books.
Overall I liked it, but i cant get over that it has so much potencial to be actually great. I mean is the fucking witcher give the witcher more screen time or at least if they are going to make shit up then do it with better plot and dialogue. I hate what they did with the elves
yes i totally agree that this season was way of. It was basically a fanfic, not an adaptation. Also you missed that Ciri has access to the full powers of the elder blood at the end of season two. When she teleports them back she hits the place and time, so she is in control. How are they going to portray anything after thanned? Like every story after thanned makes no sense when Ciri can just teleport. How will she grow since she will never experience Bonhart or the Rats? Without cheap writing it is impossible for them to actually adapt the books anymore. So dissapointing!
Why do the Witcher’s react like they’re having a heart attack whenever there’s “Danger” nearby? I get it that they have extra senses similar to Spider-Mans Spider Sense.
I'm not a book reader but I really liked this 2nd season as much as I liked the first season, sorry you hated so much of it but it was great hearing your diverse opinions and the Easter eggs
I honestly didn’t hate it, just certain changes I really hated.
@@GrayArea Truuue you did say you were torn, I like hearing the different views from book readers, keep it up. Love your channel!
I wouldn’t mind you doing book and show comparisons and keeping limited info on what is coming or in future books but doing what are different with what has happened.
I was waiting for this!
So glad I just found you and this is the argument I had with Wheel of Time because I read the books and loved the books and now I hate the show but I came to The Witcher first by the show so I'd like to show you better than I seen the gameplay
She did not need to invent so much, first season was pretty cannon.
My take is they alredy had the witchers actors and the set and wanted to make good profit.
But the baba yaga arch, and Yen treason. I dont get it.
It was not bad but unnecessary. Let's hope they get on track next season.
I love how you casually mentioned Dune.
~ GIRL...you made me holler out at 4am lol LOVE "that" line! ~
Merry Christmas 🎄 grayarea it’s good does have its problems season 2
Yes ma’am! I was waiting on this. Let’s go!!! 🧐🙌🏾
Never read the books or played the games, but it seems like how comic book movies are to the comic's canon. It has the basic idea of the characters, but it's pretty much it's own thing.
Witch has a prequel blood origin please cover.
Oh my God you made me laugh so hard about the ball sack joke I am right on board with you girl. And I totally agree I really like the season but I feel like unlike game of thrones not being a book reader I'm a little lost. I'm wondering if I watch it over again if it will help. The first season I totally understood the time jumps so it's kind of weird that I don't understand what is going on in the season with the witch and the Hut and it was kind of all over the place. However I will watch anything with Henry in it. I thought the first episode was the best I kind of wish they would just focus on short stories like that. It would be nice to see Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer traveling around battling monsters and making magic I am hoping that is what the next season will bring.
I love this review, so many good points puts in funny and sarcastic way, 13:44 laughed so hard xD
Merry Xmas, Mama Gray! Well, the more videos you make about the Witcher season 2, the happier my holidays will be. Honestly, whatever you decide to cover on the series is guaranteed to be entertaining and informative. I definitely felt the same way about the rushed nature of this season resembling GOT seasons seven and eight. At least the portals in the witcher explained how people got around so fast as opposed to GOT. Your reviews are pure gold to me. Thank you for the most detailed and fun content.
She barely even touched on each episode and talked about how much she hated this and that and talked about the books the whole time not referencing them and this was her worst video yet and I love her videos
Thank you for the amazing content
I have been waiting. Yay 😊
Please do episode breakdowns?!?!?
gray lady: "i'm having flashbacks to GOT". me: "NOOOO!!!!!" as in yikes!
I have began to read the book in the Witcher and scared that I will not like the show because of it. Happy New Year 🎉🎉🎉🌞🌞❄️❄️❄️❄️everyone and I hope everyone has a safe, healthy Year ❤️🩹💗💜❤️💙🎉💥🎉💥🎉❄️
Make more whicher stuff please. The show is awsome honestly i like it a hell of alot more then the last season of game of thrones
I have not finished the book yet but I’m scared that if I like the books then I may hate the show. Whit the GOT I really love the books
Witcher Juice time yay!!!!
Thank you for including your coughs and flem .
It really makes it raw.
Omgggggg I didn’t realize I left them in… ima cut it out.
Thank you
Merry Christmas and happy new year 😀
@@GrayArea Don't you dare LOL
🤣😂😅 "Drink the sweat. . . . . ." Your first after me!!
Yennefer, Geralt and Ciri ARE NOT a family unit at the point of Blood of Elves. That doesn't happen yet. Why are people finding this so hard to grasp. That family relationship isn't firmly established until time of contempt which they haven't adapted yet. They can basically do whatever they want with Yennefer and Ciris story as long as by the next season they have a mother/daughter relationship - in blood of elves, they still haven't got there by the end of the book. By the end of the season Yennefer has redeemed herself because not only did she not hand over Ciri in the end, but she even tries to sacrifice herself to save Ciri. The entire point of her story in this season is they wanted to focus on Yennefers realisation last season that her magic is no longer driving her, what she really wants is what she thinks she can't ever have, a child. So this season they strip her of her magic to really see if a child is more important to her than anything. And she realises just how much her magicbis important. She completely breaks down without it and feels useless, pointless. She can't even defend herself without it, she has no sense of confidence and no sense of self. So the influence of the demon witch gets her second guessing what she wants and she starts to believe that the opportunity of a child is not worth giving up the opportunity to be gifted with magic again. But the important thing is she makes the right choice in the end, she can't bring herself to sacrifice Ciri and attempts to give her own life to protect her - she picks the child over her magic and does what any mother would do to protect their child. The show just wanted to give her an arc and I don't see why the book fans are so up in arms about it. By the end of the season she is in a place where she can cement a mother daughter bond with Ciri because despite nearly giving her up she protected her in the end and showed what she was prepared to do to ensure that. It's a different, more dramatic way of adapting their relationship from blood of elves where they can barely stand each other. But that book plot isn't going to be all that interesting to put onscreen.
Great video on Not the Witcher!
Okay. I've seen all of season 2 but haven't read books or played through the games yet. All I can say is there's a lot of potential in this series but it's getting wasted with sloppy writing and sloppy scripting as well. I'll bookmark and come back because you usually have great insight but I want to do some more reading first.
yea...killing Eskal was crazy
being a normie GOT fan, i have to admit i have been loving the witcher. pretty cool story
Thank you so much for this!! I was having so much trouble following the plots in season 2. Hell, I had trouble following InDeepGeek’s summary of season 2. What were they thinking with this? I liked season 1 so much more.
I loved the season but I haven't read the books so..
This season was much better than the last. It was more intriguing and less corny
😳😳😳 As a complete newbie, I feel the exact opposite.
The Great Con-junction ... You'll never understand unless you've been to North Pole Alaska ...
I totally agree. I understand it's hard to translate a book into a movie and sometimes it needs some changes..but ..... Kaer Morhen full of hookers ??? it was a mysterious place known only to witchers and Triss Merigold. Eskel enters Kaer Morhen with Leshen and none of the medallions reacts .... strange, not to mention there was an obelisk in the tree and again none of the medallions react. I do not think that adaptation consists in a complete change of characters, their personalities, motives and actions ... this whole season is one big shit ... illogical, full of plot errors, boring at times. For example, the road of Geralt and Yennever from Cintra to Kaer Morhen should take a week or two weeks on horseback and they ride there in the next scene :) it's just one of a thousand idiotic examples. I could talk for hours about what's wrong with this season and point out scene by scene the lack of logic in the understanding of Netflix's creators. I will say this ... if you think that this season was tragic, wait for the next one ... even if Netflix wants to return everything to the right logical track, it is due to so many mistakes and tragic ideas that we have received in this season ... the next seasons will not be able to fix it anymore.
If Lauren Schmidt Hissrich were to do an adaptation of The Lord of the Rings, Frodo would have reached Mordor in two or three days and the whole movie would have closed in 10 minutes.
Your the best Gray
Omg a map!, Has this been shown in the show? Because it just has made the world-building harder. And I’ll help, the world 🌎 building has been rough. S1 was almost impossible. S2 got better. Consumable pieces, more focused. But lore and rules? Still hazy. But needs to be said how that entering into that dream slash vision thing with Triss, is copy paste Dany in the books, House of the Undying. I mean they copied it. Anyways thank u! I got invested by ep6 ending. I feel better! Been a struggle.
Show Yennefer ~ The single hero of sodden, a powerful woman who has to stay silent so that Vilgefortz gets all the glory because patriarchy, and suffers the ultimate sacrifice, losing her all important power.
Books Yennefer ~ Takes a fireball to the face, goes blind and has to peace out.
Season #2 like Season #1 before it was not perfect but I still loved it. All the scenes with Geralt & Ciri together, the scenes at Kaer Moren with Vesemir & the other Witchers and those scenes featuring Jaskier were unquestionably where Season #2 shined plus more monsters featured this season was also great to see & the entire cast once again was brilliant except for Vilgefortz who I still think was horribly miscast. The Elves arc however was extremely boring and new character Francesca was simply unlikable. I get that they're trying to makes us sympathize with the plight of The Elves but they dropped the ball big-time as the Elf characters in Season #2 are simply annoying & unlikable except for Filavandrel who so far is the only Elf character I do like.
This is not a perfect adaptation but than again no adaptation is ever perfect and that's what fans should always remember. Season #2 is flawed for sure but is still endlessly entertaining & bada@$ to watch. Hopefully Season #3 will stick a little closer to the books more than these first two seasons have. Either way, I absolutely love Netflix's The Witcher✌
The 1st episode was good. Downhill from there. Good job taking the mystery out of the wild hunt and showing their face already...