ColBunkMust The two can’t be compared mate! Till this day so many high fantasy shows and period pieces are still trying to replicate what Weta workshops has done. I just hope LOTR on prime is closely consulting the likes of Weta and Peter Jackson to make the highest quality high fantasy they possibly can!
i am not sure if someone else mentioned this or not, but i think one of the biggest differences between the series and the book was episode 3 when Geralt faced the striga...in that in the book everyone knew it was a striga, everyone knew that the striga was the daughter of Foltest and his sister and Triss Merigold had absolutely nothing to do with the events that transpired there. Geralt didnt meet Triss until later.
Chaos S not to mention that Foltest was less of a prick in the book than the series made him out to be, showing genuine concern for the life of his daughter and Geralt.
Also wasn't the striga killing people for 7 years or so? I listened to the audio book a while ago and the first witcher who took the job did it years before geralt did I believe. It isn't stated in the show if the striga was around for that long but I am just going off of memory
@@helena6533 Not 100% sure but Geralt said an Elven phrase out of frustration that he heard before (but had the meaning/translation wrong). He didn't realize the true translation was something like "Be Gone and Go Fuc.... Yourself" which the Djinn took as a literal wish and promptly had to do.
@@helena6533 in the books, everything Geralt used against the Djinni, only made it bigger and angrier, so in desperation, he shouted a spell/exorcism, that he learned from elvish priestess. To his surprise, it worked - Djinni has flown away. Later in the story it was revealed, that what he shouted meant "Go away and f**k yourself" - his first wish, that Djinni didn't have the choice, but to fullfil ;)
The greatest similarity between the books and the tv show is that they are both chronologically messed up, but we always manage to figure out when is what.
I agree these were the major differences. Another important difference is that, in the books, the fulfilment of the law of surprise required additional confirmation that destiny is really at play, which usually meant child surprise needed to voice their consent. Also, Geralt kept invoking the law of surprise because this was how witchers were recruited, and he believed it was cancelled by the fact that Ciri was a girl and girls couldn't become witchers. Another thing is that when we learn that Yennefer used to be a hunchback in The Last Wish, we also learn that all the sorceresses were originally deformed in some way since only girls with zero chances of getting married were sent to train for a mage.
Biggest change imo: The Nordlings enslaving the Elderfolk Why keep a deep and complex sociological conflict that is an alegory to talk about the insidious nature of marginalization and the fear of the other when you can just make the humans slavers and avoid any and all fruitfull debate. This also breaks the lore completely down the road, because now there is no reason for the Mahakham Volunteer Corp to help the northern kingdoms in the war, and the Scoiat'el went from well meaning but ultimately harmful terrorist to freedom fighters with a noble purpose.
Why? Because Murica, that's why. Can't slander such an "obvious" allegory of Native Americans suggesting there is anything nuanced about it. Show is already painted as not correct enough, imagine the screeching if it dared to offend any saints of a certain quasi - religion. And for the rest - can't be too complicated, because aint' nobody got time to think. By the time Gruppenfuhrer Eredin is introduced, he might already be a walking tribute to Che Guevara, instead :)
@@ethan19991000 In the show the "lesser evil" is choosing between Stregobor and Renfri, because... they asked Geralt to do so? In the book, it's choosing between stopping Renfri right away, and by doing so start the massacre yourself, or letting her take villagers in hostage before taking action and by doing so let innocent people die and having no other choice than giving her Stragobor to stop the massacre. AKA the Tridam ultimatum
@@Metalichap They oversimplified that story to a point where the core message made no sense anymore. In the book Renfri even told Geralt that the massacre he just committed was pointless, because Stregebor wouldn't come out no matter how many people they would kill. Stregebor just didn't care. By trying to stop a massacre Geralt caused one. In the series he had no real reason to kill her except that she lied to him about leaving Balviken and tying to kill Stregebor.
@@onlinezwang The short stories got majorly dumbed down to the point of not making sense anymore. I don't get why people like the show so much. It's watchable, but not on the level of previously done media.
I didn’t mention it as I was choosing differences that affected multiple storylines, as opposed to just one. But, yes, I agree that the lack of Tridam Ultimatum was a significant change, and made the show version much worse without it.
If we look at Game of Thrones and whith GRRM saying something like: "small changes in the beginning will lead to bigger and extreme changes down the road", I fear for the worst. Just look at the dumpsterfire the last season of GoT was (it actually started to go downhill way earlier imo).
Its also thought that the sacking of Cintra was destiny's retaliation for Geralt rejecting Ciri. Its mentioned multiple times that when destiny calls in this universe there's a high price to be paid for ignoring it. Geralt invoking the law of surprise created a secondary bond of destiny to him and Ciri reinforcing the fact that they *need* to be together.
What were your thoughts on Netflix’s The Witcher? Did you come into it blind, as a game player, a book reader, or both - and how do you think that affected your enjoyment of the show?
I came in blind - having heard of the video game, but never having seen it. I enjoyed almost all of the episodes and overall I am waiting for season 2.
GameSpot Universe I watched it blind having not heard of it before but my sister recommended it. I gave it a go and absolutely loved it. I thought it was very engaging. I’ve watched it through twice though as the jumping between timelines is a bit confusing. Other than that it’s great and makes me want to read the books and play the game. Definitely my kind of game to play with the story and the fights 😄
played the games extensively, and some books - was only impressed with Geralt, the rest kinda made me disgusted with changing so much, and the forced diversity was a let down, but one I knew was coming... the cinematic quality was awesome, the set's and props were awesome but yeah that means less when you change so much
The two books has many short stories that were cut out in the tv series, not just plot devices (like the Tridam Ultimatum): A Grain of Truth, A Little Sacrifice, and the entire Temple of Melitele sequence. Myself, I did not get my favorite events in episode 4 (which is based on my favorite story A Question of Price), introducing Geralt as the honorable knight Ravix of Fourhorn, and a screaming banshee Pavetta resulting in the near destruction of castle Cintra.
Thank you for creating this!! As someone who has read the entire book series 3x’s, and spent over 366hrs playing the “Game Of The Decade”-Witcher 3. The Netflix Show is a Dumpster Fire, a Hot Mess. I forced myself to watch the entire show series 2x’s, once alone & once with my wife(who knew nothing about the Witcher) hoping that the 2nd time would make it better. Netflix changed too many Very Important Moments, destroyed & changed the the timelines, added/made up absurd events that never happened in the books. The monsters were absolutely laughable, the Striga looked like a person in a very bad rubber suit, the Golden Dragon was pathetic CGI(Game of Thrones set the standard of what an awesome dragon should look like!) the ghouls & Sylvan were B rated looking CGI as well. These monster fights looked sooo cheesy.( the special effects/movements looked like what you would see an episode of Dr Who-starring Geralt). I thought the overall acting was very solid, Henry definitely nailed the Geralt’s character. But what was too absurd for me to ignore, was when they showed Cahir beating Vilgefortz. This is the same person that Geralt couldn’t beat, plus the whole Ciri timeline & events are sooo screwed up & wrong. So I am going back to reading the books & restarting the game, because what Netflix created, IS NOT MY WITCHER. If your new to the Witcher and want to see the BEST Witcher video’s on Characters, Lore, History, Timeline/Events & Monsters, check out TH-camr’s PROPER BIRD and WITCHER GEORGE.
Wow, this was surprisingly accurate. Usually videos from big channels like this get enough things wrong that even my limited knowledge of the series show my a glaring error. You missed Triss showing up in the story with the Striga though. That was a pretty big change. At least as big as Istrid and Stregobor's expanded roles.
@@Zedul No, there wasn't any wizard at all in the Striga story in the books. He killed a couple guys who tried to assault him in a tavern then mind controlled the guards who responded to take him to speak to Foltest's castellan who eventually took him to meet Foltest. There he meets Ostrit the traitor and another guy who isn't very important to the story. He convinces Foltest to give him a chance to cure the Striga but then learns that there's a group who're willing to pay a lesser reward to have her killed. He then interviews a survivor, but it turns out the guard who brought the survivor is Foltest in disguise and they have a private conversation where he tells Geralt that he won't have him killed if Geralt does kill the Striga since he believes that she's suffering, but he trusts that Geralt will at least try to cure her first. This gives Geralt a chance to show his idealistic side and he insists on giving the king extra instructions to keep the princess safe from the curse if he manages to only partially fix it but dies in the process. Then he goes to the old palace to confront the Striga only for Ostrit to show up outside and try to bribe him to leave before trying to kill him when he refuses... This obviously goes really badly for Ostrit and results in him being exposed as the traitor and used as bait and everything basically happens the same from there. Instead of Triss healing him he gets a crappy patchup job to keep him alive the castellan gives him the full reward, and then he goes to the temple of Meleteli to get his wounds treated properly.
In the books Cahir is a rather good swordsman, at least compared to normal soldiers. He is however not nearly good enough to best Gerald or even teenage Ciri (with witcher training) in a sword fight. Vilgefortz on the other hand beats Gerald in a 1vs1 fight while only indirectly using magic. Infact Vilgefortz is probably the most powerful human magic user in the books(elder blood aside). So Cahir should have eaten shit against Vilgefortz.
I love Yen and Triss' actresses, they're great at what they do, but damn I was so disappointed with the choice Netflix has made, simply due to how the games have shaped my perception of what they should look like now. Same with Fringilla. Overall though, the show is quite enjoyable. It's nice to see that books and games like this are being brought to the big screen :)
Dipped my toe in the water with the Witcher 3 and the books so I’m not an expert but I heard the first episode was quite watered down compared to how it was written in the books. Overall I thought it was alright but could be a lot better. They definitely need more episodes for the next season to give them time to tell a good story but I do like the horror elements of when Geralt fights the monsters. That was done exceptionally well.
invalid account Yeah Gamespot were saying that the Butcher of Blanikin story line could and should’ve been way more fleshed out in the show to give the ending of episode 1 that punch it needs to get people hooked. I don’t know if Andre is just content with the money he’s seeing but if he wants to make more he needs to be guiding the director as to how she can bring his books to life. GRRM did the same with seasons 1-4 of GoT and it’s why it was so well received.
i came in cold to witcher and thoroughly enjoyed binge watching the complete series over two days. i'm simply rabid to see season two but will meanwhile read the books. i was glad to hear it was based on books and not the game as i'm not a gamer. i liked all the elements of the fae, the monsters and everything in between combined to make this whole idea work.
Lots of things are inspired by the video games though, as Henry Cavill (Geralt) is a huge fan and has major pull with the direction. The video games are what popularized the book series, in turn providing much appeal towards the Netflix adaptation.
Story wise, everything in the games was completely made up and written in a timeline AFTER the books, so the books are like the history and starting point. Once you're done with the show and the books, you could probably watch condensed story versions of the games on youtube if you wanted more witcher story, and didn't want to play the games yourself
I came into the Witcher, as you say, "blind". I was compelled to watch it based on the NETFLIX trailer(s). I have no gaming experience with it nor did I know about the books. It (the NF series) is a "stand-alone" to me and nothing more.
@@MrKickassFTW It's mostly because it's true that she is Indian, but she looks like some white people from here (my sister has the same skin color) so it's not that out of place. And idk I can see Yen in her, wouldn't be my firts choice but not that bad. But Fringilla is just completly off.
Ciri never truly becomes a witcher in the books. She is trained as a witcher by Geralt, and the other witcher's because they don't know how to raise a kid any other way. And this training is definitely beneficial to her threwout the series, but does not make her a witcher.
Thought Superman was too pretty for the role of the Witcher. However, though the show despite my views turned out pretty well. As I was watching it all my biases went away and I found myself enjoying the show so much that when the last episode ended I was like WTF. Can't wait for season two 😍🙌
It's more as CD Project take on the Geralt's wish. The game and series both diverge from the books. So in different mediums the wish might be revealed to be something else.
We don't actually know what Geralt's last wish was. On top of that, the Djinn could've twisted Geralt's wish. Even the game isn't exactly clear about that. All Yeneffer says is that there's magic that bonds them together. Whether that just means they always find each other or the spell makes them in love, who knows.
"10 biggest book differences" The show is one gigantic book difference. But that's okay, they can make their own creative interpretation instead of just copying the books. After all we don't need them to copy the books, since we have the books.
So... Am I the only o.e upset they fucked the whole Brokilon first meeting between Geralt and Ciri? It was so important to outline their bond and Ciri's power and the show took a massive shit on that to have a weird embrace between two characters that never met. Meanwhile we had the Mousesack bullshit which was sooo uninteresting. Don't get me wrong, I liked the show, but it could have been so much better if, well, they actually followed the books a bit more for important stuff:
Geralts wish was to be bonded with Yennefer forever which makes the Djhin unable to do anything to her because Geralt was his master. Rather their fates be bonded. That´s why Yennefer is so important to Ciri later on.
You made one mistake...Ban Ard, the academy for male wizards, was also on the Isle of Thanedd, just as Aretuza was. This is stated in The Time of contempt. So while it was against the rules, it’s not unlikely for male and female students to meet and have trysts.
Ban Ard Academy is a magical academy for boys, located in the Kaedweni city of Ban Ard. In the English translation of Season of Storms, both Northern magic schools are located in Aretuza on Thanedd. However, this was a mistranslation, and the original Polish edition states that the male one is located in Ban Ard, and the female one in Aretuza.
Maddie Cash I think so! It can definitely be a little slower than the show, but if you love series, there’s a lot of great short stories the show skipped that will help expand the world for you!
In this 1st season, it was a challenge for them to present to the world (gamer and non gamers) the huge setting of the world of the witcher. I thought it was not perfect, but just about nicely done. Like dave said the witcher universe is unique and enormous. Reading the books or playing the games will greatly help understand a bit more.
Maddie Cash I’m currently reading the books and I would say it’s worth it. There’s more information, separate stories you could read before s2 and leaves more room for imagination. Take the characters you see and build your own world as you read 😊
Definitely. Books are much better. More details, deeper meanings, actually thought provoking on the nature of the world, good, evil, etc. Not some two empty lines repeated over and over. And there are more twists to those stories as well as more humour, which I miss the most in this TV show.
This is just 10 major ones and these are BIG! I can't believe how many comments I read that the show is |EXACTLY like the book, or follows the book to the T! UGHHH!
i came in as a a player of the games and really liked the show. I read the books afterwards and now Im not as big of a fan of the show. its kind of sad but ive always found it hard to enjoy adaptations of books as much as the books. with the games i can treat them as more of their own story divorced from the books but the setting of the show makes that way harder!
I first played with your three then found a witch or comic through CD project red and dark horse comics. Now just finished the first season of Netflix is Whitcher and I look forward to more from Netflix CD project read and maybe picking up the English novels.
@@timpyrules Mediocre was probably the wrong word. Ciri - a 13 year-old child who'd only trained to be a Witcher for around 6 months beats Cahir in a swordfight. Meanwhile, as you said, Vilgefortz absolutely claps Geralt's ass - a fully trained Witcher. It was more - to me - just how insane of a difference Cahir (or Vilgefortz... or both)'s fighting abilities were.
@@DaveControlLive Cahir didnt have any trouble on the bridge. I dont remember any fight where Cahir was said to be poor. Furthermore Ciri beat Leo Bonhart as well adn we can both agree he wasnt easy. So Ciri being able to beat Cahir doesnt necessarily mean he is a poor swordsman
@@timpyrules Ciri vs Leo final fight had a very specific setting, tbh, so, I wouldn't say Ciri was a better fighter she just did wiser in that particular situation.
Am I the only person who actually liked the way the show handled Renfi and Stregabor? I don’t think it got dumbed down. I think the message was still very poignant. Yes they restructured it but the message they meant to convey was when choosing between evils the result will always be evil because evil is evil. He tried to disengage. He wanted Renfri to leave on her own terms for her own sake because he felt like they understood each other. What it means to be viewed as monsters when all you want is to live and be accepted. He thought she was the same. And probably somewhere in there she was. But her anger and her pride and bitterness had created evil because of Stregabor’s actions against her. She was never going to stop. She made that perfectly clear. She was broken and she was not going to choose to start over no matter what. The killing of her men was who was massacred and they had been radicalized by her vengeance and were also never going to stop. She was going to kill a small girl he had come to have a soft spot for because the girl treated him like a person and he wanted to protect her. He wanted to believe there was good there like he wanted to believe there was still good in Renfri. That she would change her mind but she said no. So they fought and she died because he understood it was either that or she would kill everyone to make a point and any humanity left in her would be gone. He did it to save what was left of her soul and her acknowledgement of the girl in the wood and her facial expressions at the end were her thanking him because she knew it was the only way. She had accepted it. It broke his heart because he thought she meant herself that she would be with him always so he took the broach. And when Stregabor came down and twisted the town to believe he was a murderer in cold blood he half expected that and even felt it was true but it was the little girl he saved turning on him in the end that solidified the message. Evil is evil. But you play the cards you are dealt. Actions have consequences and like it was said sometimes you will never know for sure if you made the right choice but that’s what it comes down to in the end. Choices. He chose to protect the town. He chose to save the girl. The girl chose to reject him and support Stregabor because he pays her way. Renfri chose vengeance and to become the monster they said she was. I loved the episode personally so I don’t understand why it gets so much hate
The wish was probably for Geralt to give yen a child. But you can play with those words. He technically has a child through Ciri and the child surprise thing. And Ciri can be yen’s legacy, to tech and raise. This is all without fertility. I would assume a Jin would be cheeky like that, casting a wish, but not in the way they would expect. And in doing that ties yens destiny to geralts and ciris Also smart because I would assume the Jin was destiny as well 🤭
@@MatiZ815 How can you say that it was "clearly" about them being together? The dialogs from the books wouldn't make much sense then... Why would Yennefer say that she doesn't even know if there is a force in nature that can make it possible?
@@kuba6156 I like your point of vue. The whole child thing fits even better because of that "force in nature" comment: she was thinking that it's not possible for her to be pregnant and that nothing in the world could change that. But there was a force in nature that gave her a child: Geralt's destiny gave her Ciri. Makes sense to me.
I went in blind and loved it except for the part where they defended the wrong side of a bridge. I mean, the way they fought negated almost every advantage they would have had if the opposing army had been forced to funnel up on the bridge itself. I haven't seen a worse military blunder since Black Panther utterly failed to understand what a chokepoint is in Infinity War. I half-kid. Really did enjoy the show and started playing the game again like everyone else.
There was no bridge, there was no castle. There was a large field where both armies were actually fighting. Over 100K soldiers locked in battle. The northern mages stood on a hill (hence the Battle of Sodden Hill) and helped the north win. Yen was blinded by Frangilla early in that battle and Vilgefortz was the leader of the northern mages and helped them win that fight. He then hammered out the peace treaty afterwards. What you saw in the show was total bullshit.
That doesn't really count as a change, as "Jaskier" is the character's name in the original Polish editions of the series. Then again, I'm glad they didn't call the show Wiedźmin.
@@rottensquid I don't know how Dandelion or Buttercup sounds to native english speaker, I'm Polish and in polish language, Jaskier doesn't sound silly or funny, just flower, that described Jaskier character. I think that "Butter" and "cup" can sound silly. Jaskier It's from word "jaskrawy", "the bright one"
@@siejac7894 They're both very feminine sounding to English speakers, but Buttercup far more so. In the brilliant fairy-tale romance parody, "The Princess Bride," the princess was named "Buttercup," in mockery of the overly sweet, cloying nature of that sort of character in fairy tales. There's a word in English, "dandy," that was once used to describe men who dressed and acted with conspicuous sensuality and decadence. Oscar Wilde was famously a dandy, dressing in lush velvets and wearing his hair long, evoking a bygone romantic era. Of course, the word also ended up associated exclusively with homosexuality and un-manliness, for stupid, obvious reasons. Dandelion was most likely chosen because the character is clearly a dandy, and a delightful one. I love knowing the root word of Jaskier. Thank you!
It annoys me that they change heroes, their roles they played in books. Triss, Vringilla, Vilgevortz, Kahir, Foltest etc. They decided to kill some. Brooklyn Forest looks like Brooklyn, you can call me racist. The dryads look like amazons from the 90s series. The stories are shallow to pain, nir giving no reflection. The scriptwriters want to rewrite the Witcher's story. 80% of the content on this series is completely incompatible with books. Even the main plot has been severely affected. Why such treatments? the main strength of books are great written characters and their relationships with others. The writers decided to do everything their own way. For me 6/10 for Cavil who forced himself to the role of Geralt. Fear of who he wanted to play the role of showrunner ?!
@Ron. H. Yes. I know, she's a powerful sorcerer/ mage because of her elven ancestry. Although it's weird that Yennefer is called a source in this video. Lol
As far as I recall the books, Yennefer's elven ancestry has little to do with her magical prowess. In fact, it is barely mentioned at all. Sources are not fully explained, but I always understood them as children with various magical gifts they have no control over. If all sources become sorcerers/sorceressess and if every magic user must be source is not said (but I would hazard a guess and say no to both)
The translators decided that a direct translation to Buttercup would be a bit ridiculous, so they picked another flower that you might not giggle at every time you read it. Thus instead of Buttercup, we get Dandelion. Keep the ridiculous without going over the top.
Thank you all, besides dirtbag, for the replies. It's pretty cool/interesting with how some translations pan out, thank you all for the info, much appreciated😁
They should've kept Roach's Polish name too. I read somewhere that the Polish word just refers to a fish, it doesn't also ambiguously mean the insect or the end bit of a joint
I'm a big fan of the books and I loved the show but some of the changes piss me off... Especially the way Triss and Frangilla look. It's the polish inspired middle ages... Diversity my ass, it hurts the story and takes away from characters we know and love/hate. There were almost no black people in the 13th century in Poland and I don't like characters being changed just to satisfy some groups of people. Most of the changes made sense though since they needed to tell a connected story line in the show. The first two books were short stories after all.
@@danielt2505 in the 13th century? Are you sure? Do you have a source for that? I don't think Poland had wars in Africa back then. Edit: Doing a bit research on my own I've only seen articles indicating that there was a relatively large migration movement from colored people around 1500, which is 300 years after the story of Witcher takes place. I think my point still holds up but feel free to enlighten me. It would be cool to see a nice diversity 700 years ago but as far as I know that wasn't the case. The science just doesn't hold up.
@@danielt2505 we did have slaves, that's correct. How does that relate to black people in eastern/central Europe in the 13th century though? I don't get it.
This show is so freakin away from the source and that's all you find. Whole freakin race was redone, black driads dude. Black Fringilla Vigo witch bitchy temperemant and in Nilfgard at that, ffs they would eat black person alive in there. Learn about freakin Nilfgard. She was known in books for her white, pale skin and was quite friendly. Geralt got romance with her at some point. Triss .... yeah we all know this one. Yeneffer is too young, her personality doesn't match as well. Vilgefrotz =super badass monster in books and main boss replaced by a wimp. Cahir from good guy turned into psycho. Powers of sorceresses replaced, totally different than in books. Whole freakin magic is wrong, sorceresses didn't need a catalysts to cast magic, they just needed connection to the force, magic or w/e. There is even moment when Geralt asks Yeneffer if she doesn't need some catalysts and she replied she's sorceress not some village witch. Basically everything about this show is far from books and quite bad, except Geralt. Geralts is good and his fights and hunts save the show. Otherwise it would be tragic, but now it's like 5/10 riding on Geralt alone.
After Sword of Destiny, in what story does Geralt meet Ciri again? Is it in the 3rd book? Oh wait, I think it's in Something More in the 2nd book. I think Geralt is more intelligent in the books. In the tv show, he grunts and says fuck. Maybe that's from the games?
Is it me or does this video seem to have an underlying tone of not being all that stoked with changes? (Maybe I'm wrong) I'm happy that their not making a beat by beat reinvisioning of the books. But that's just my 2 cents :P
Upokoina George-Yates Hey! I wrote/voiced/edited. You’re correct - I felt the changes mostly negatively impacted the show. That said, I tried to keep this video neutral, as I have 0 issue with anyone enjoying the show or even preferring the changes. I put a positive aspect to Fringilla being more utilized - as an example. (So viewers would know who she was, as opposed to a random sorceress fighting at Sodden). I’m sorry that my personal preference shown through - it wasn’t supposed to sway anyone. There were heavy changes, so I was trying to showcase how that might impact things - not put my personal perspective onto it.
Tony Fong I didn’t write the review, but was part of the video review. I didn’t “Hate” the show for not following the book, nor did I “hate” the show. It was okay. I was disappointed as I felt the changes negatively impacted the nuances and world building I enjoy so much from the books, and thought the show could have been much better. To me - it was a fine show, but a mediocre adaption. If you disagree and love the show/think it’s a fantastic adaption, that’s cool! I honestly think season 2 will be better, and my opinion doesn’t really matter as you’re getting a 2nd season to watch regardless. ☺️
@@DaveControlLive DaveControl thanks for replying. It's been a fair few years since I read the books/ played the last two games. (I was never brave enough to try the first) So the finer points are lost to me. I've found that people with a rough idea of the witcher concept (i.e. "Wild Hunt only" watchers, the odd curious wikipedier or the forgetful few like myself) are far more likely to enjoy the show. For those with a more rich understanding of the material, I can understand how certain changes can seem to detract from a character or pivotal point in the narrative. In my opinion, I enjoyed the character over show, even though the growth was minimal and janky at best, their portrayals really resonated with me. All in all, regardless of your view on the show, I hope you and GSU continue to make Withcher content! Thanks again for replying and the video! Happy new year!
@@krapalicious Yep, and their follow up. Its wasn't their cup of tea, but ah well, each to their own! I just wanted to clarify their stance and maybe feed into a larger discussion. I totally missed that it was Dave voiced and edited this 🤦♂️.
Fuck the show the books are better, they toy with changing character personality like Dandelion's and cluster fuck the story to a mess. To me the witcher netflix is a fan fic remix of the greater books, it's too bad.
@@solid_king1155 from the book, triss has chesnut hair color, not red. the red hair just a creation from CDPR adaptation. but yes a bit dissapointed. but i dont think she ugly at all.
I came into it completely blind, binge watched it within a day while sick with the flu, and immediately bought the first game and started reading the books lol I don't mind the changes though. Honestly I like when there are some changes in story adaptations because it makes it more interesting. It's just more content to enjoy. I'd say the only real changes I wish weren't there was Geralt's eyes (having vertically slit pupils and not just gold colored) and the overall relationship between Jaskier and Geralt. Funny as it is to have them clashing a bit with Geralt's moodiness...I hope season 2 has them finding a more canonical friendship since Jaskier is supposed to be Geralt's best friend.
I actually think that there is no section in the books talking about his eyes being cat-like. That’s afaik a game Interpretation from their enhanced senses
@@tengwean6182 It is mentioned in the books many times. something like: ''He held his hand up to block the sun by reflex when he could have simply moved his pupils into vertical slits. A reflex he never managed to shake off.'' Also in Sword of Destiny, he fools his opponent in a sword fight after he gets out of Brokilon with Ciri and they run into a bunch of bandits. At one point in the fight, Geralt's position is opposite the sun and he acts like the sun is blinding him, he blinks a few times and narrows his eyes, making the bandit that sun is blinding him. The bandit smiles not knowing Geralt can actually see perfectly well because of his vertical pupils. The bandit attacks where he thinks will be an easy blow where Geralt won't be able to see due to sun, but Geralt parries, to his surprise, then kills him. Also in the main story, Codringher asks him ''My cat is afraid of you, does it have something to do with-'' (meaning his eyes) ''YES. It does.'' Geralt replies sharply before he could finish. He doesn't like comments like that, to be reminded that he's a mutant.
Tengwean even if it wasn’t mentioned in the books I’d still want them to keep it just because it’s a pretty iconic feature for the character. Though the book description actually suggests they can switch back and forth between slotted and round which is even more interesting lol I’m assuming they didn’t keep it just to save on special effects. They’d have to rely entirely on computer effects to make it look good since contacts with different shaped pupils are very fake looking. Easier to just change the iris color.
I know this video is two years old and I’m shouting into the void but I WISH you would have actually watched the show so you would have learned how to actually pronounce so many of the names that you butcher. It shows that you were just reading script for a paycheck. Dude, your voice isn’t good enough for that sort of job so be grateful you’ve been allowed to at least do this.
The biggest change is that the world looks empty, like a shallow version of Game of Thrones. Very little Slavic influance. Too much diverse cast, like really... Triss is white and red head.
I thought they said they were following the book strictly... I'm gonna keep watching, because of Henry and the stunt team, but fuckin christ this is a shit show. The games are significantly better than both the books and the show. I said it.
I came in completely blind. I bought Witcher III on Steam ages ago but never downloaded it. All 4 of the main characters, I knew through various game sources. Yenn, Geralt, Ciri and Triss. Any complaint I had with Witcher I have with all TV shows of the modern era. They just don't make enough to justify a season. As long as there are 52 weeks in a year, 30 is the bare minimum episodes we should be seeing. If budget is that big of an issue, that needs to be taken control of because it shouldn't be the crippling factor in making good content. Not to the degree it does.
I completely disagree have you never heard of "quality over quantity"?. I'd say 8 - 13 episodes is the optimal amount for a season and there's plenty of shows that would be better at this length telling a much tighter narrative. You also don't seem to understand how budgets work, no studio would never greenlight a brand new show at 30 episodes that could flop 1/2 way through and lose them money. Not to mention 30 episodes doesn't mean more money for the studio which is their main goal. The CW superhero shows are a good example that would benefit greatly from 8 - 13 episode seasons. Since some are CGI and/or costume intensive (kinda of like the witcher) less episodes means less spread out CGI/costume budgets which means better CGI/costumes. Also many of their 22 episodes seasons are filled with throwaway pointless monster of the week episodes that don't further anything in the narrative.
Sounds like the writers of the show love and know the source material so well they can make some changes and still be faithful to the book..which is fine by me. I think, for your presentation, I’ll stick with the shown instead of reading the books.
I see you like the books, which is great, knowing there are people who still read. That being said Netflix has produced a series that has a good story, that I can follow, that also visual appeal. What works in a visual format doesn’t necessarily work in written format and vice versa. I’m going to keep watching whatever they put out( or when ever as the case may be). But I’m not going to read the books in the meantime.
@@garyb2392 I agree, that`s why I think this is a good tv series but a poor adaptation. They lack many things that made books fantastic and many characters, if not given a intro, I wouldn`t recognise becouse they don`t act like their book verions. It is sad because many of the stories are blant becouse of that and the choice that there has to be a villan- nilfgaard, cahir and fringilla is just meh and a bit stereotypical.
Łukasz Białek sounds like a case (at least for me) where ignorance is bliss, not having any background at all (books or video games) and watching the show as any other show is great for me because I can take it at face value. I can see why you’d be disappointed having the knowledge of details they got wrong or executed poorly to meet budget demands or what ever reason the producers decided.
@@garyb2392 that is very true, I`d prefer to be able to watch this show without background of the books but I can`t and because of that I cannot enjoy it as much as you did- happily things like Geralt and Jaskier are there so my pie has at least half of the fill :p Perhaps one day you will look for the books or games :)
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Biggest difference? The replacement of the nilfgardian empire with budget mordor
very well said
Don’t forget ballsack armour!
Honestly the quality of Weta Workshop's armor for LOTR, including that of the orcs was way better than the armor is The Witcher show.
ColBunkMust The two can’t be compared mate! Till this day so many high fantasy shows and period pieces are still trying to replicate what Weta workshops has done. I just hope LOTR on prime is closely consulting the likes of Weta and Peter Jackson to make the highest quality high fantasy they possibly can!
This. Black Fringilia pales in comparison (no pun intended)
i am not sure if someone else mentioned this or not, but i think one of the biggest differences between the series and the book was episode 3 when Geralt faced the striga...in that in the book everyone knew it was a striga, everyone knew that the striga was the daughter of Foltest and his sister and Triss Merigold had absolutely nothing to do with the events that transpired there. Geralt didnt meet Triss until later.
Chaos S not to mention that Foltest was less of a prick in the book than the series made him out to be, showing genuine concern for the life of his daughter and Geralt.
@@christphern thats true, Foltest definitely wanted to cure his daughter and wasnt about to kick anyone that wanted to try out of the kingdom.
You're right, but I'd still consider the changes cosmetic.
Right, it was Nenneke that helped Geralt after the Striga attack.
Triss appeared a few books after that...
Also wasn't the striga killing people for 7 years or so? I listened to the audio book a while ago and the first witcher who took the job did it years before geralt did I believe. It isn't stated in the show if the striga was around for that long but I am just going off of memory
Man, I wish they showed Geralt's first wish from the book - one of the better jokes in the series...
I was a little bummed when it didn't happen.
Wich was? Have only seen the tv show
@@helena6533 Not 100% sure but Geralt said an Elven phrase out of frustration that he heard before (but had the meaning/translation wrong). He didn't realize the true translation was something like "Be Gone and Go Fuc.... Yourself" which the Djinn took as a literal wish and promptly had to do.
@@highlanderknight haha awesome thanks
@@helena6533 in the books, everything Geralt used against the Djinni, only made it bigger and angrier, so in desperation, he shouted a spell/exorcism, that he learned from elvish priestess. To his surprise, it worked - Djinni has flown away. Later in the story it was revealed, that what he shouted meant "Go away and f**k yourself" - his first wish, that Djinni didn't have the choice, but to fullfil ;)
The greatest similarity between the books and the tv show is that they are both chronologically messed up, but we always manage to figure out when is what.
Place of power, gotta be.
I agree these were the major differences.
Another important difference is that, in the books, the fulfilment of the law of surprise required additional confirmation that destiny is really at play, which usually meant child surprise needed to voice their consent. Also, Geralt kept invoking the law of surprise because this was how witchers were recruited, and he believed it was cancelled by the fact that Ciri was a girl and girls couldn't become witchers.
Another thing is that when we learn that Yennefer used to be a hunchback in The Last Wish, we also learn that all the sorceresses were originally deformed in some way since only girls with zero chances of getting married were sent to train for a mage.
Biggest change imo: The Nordlings enslaving the Elderfolk
Why keep a deep and complex sociological conflict that is an alegory to talk about the insidious nature of marginalization and the fear of the other when you can just make the humans slavers and avoid any and all fruitfull debate.
This also breaks the lore completely down the road, because now there is no reason for the Mahakham Volunteer Corp to help the northern kingdoms in the war, and the Scoiat'el went from well meaning but ultimately harmful terrorist to freedom fighters with a noble purpose.
Why? Because Murica, that's why. Can't slander such an "obvious" allegory of Native Americans suggesting there is anything nuanced about it. Show is already painted as not correct enough, imagine the screeching if it dared to offend any saints of a certain quasi - religion. And for the rest - can't be too complicated, because aint' nobody got time to think.
By the time Gruppenfuhrer Eredin is introduced, he might already be a walking tribute to Che Guevara, instead :)
Why is no one talking about the fact that the meanign of "lesser evil" is totally different between the show and the book...?
Metalichap I don’t know if I understand. Could you explain?
@@ethan19991000 In the show the "lesser evil" is choosing between Stregobor and Renfri, because... they asked Geralt to do so?
In the book, it's choosing between stopping Renfri right away, and by doing so start the massacre yourself, or letting her take villagers in hostage before taking action and by doing so let innocent people die and having no other choice than giving her Stragobor to stop the massacre.
AKA the Tridam ultimatum
@@Metalichap They oversimplified that story to a point where the core message made no sense anymore. In the book Renfri even told Geralt that the massacre he just committed was pointless, because Stregebor wouldn't come out no matter how many people they would kill. Stregebor just didn't care. By trying to stop a massacre Geralt caused one. In the series he had no real reason to kill her except that she lied to him about leaving Balviken and tying to kill Stregebor.
@@onlinezwang The short stories got majorly dumbed down to the point of not making sense anymore. I don't get why people like the show so much. It's watchable, but not on the level of previously done media.
I didn’t mention it as I was choosing differences that affected multiple storylines, as opposed to just one.
But, yes, I agree that the lack of Tridam Ultimatum was a significant change, and made the show version much worse without it.
If we look at Game of Thrones and whith GRRM saying something like: "small changes in the beginning will lead to bigger and extreme changes down the road", I fear for the worst. Just look at the dumpsterfire the last season of GoT was (it actually started to go downhill way earlier imo).
Its also thought that the sacking of Cintra was destiny's retaliation for Geralt rejecting Ciri. Its mentioned multiple times that when destiny calls in this universe there's a high price to be paid for ignoring it. Geralt invoking the law of surprise created a secondary bond of destiny to him and Ciri reinforcing the fact that they *need* to be together.
Missed the most important one. Geralt KNEW Pavetta was pregnant. He claimed the child on purpose.
What were your thoughts on Netflix’s The Witcher? Did you come into it blind, as a game player, a book reader, or both - and how do you think that affected your enjoyment of the show?
I came in blind - having heard of the video game, but never having seen it. I enjoyed almost all of the episodes and overall I am waiting for season 2.
I Never played a Witcher Game nor read any of the Books. Tbh, i have to rewatch a 2nd time, but i liked the show.
GameSpot Universe I watched it blind having not heard of it before but my sister recommended it. I gave it a go and absolutely loved it. I thought it was very engaging. I’ve watched it through twice though as the jumping between timelines is a bit confusing. Other than that it’s great and makes me want to read the books and play the game. Definitely my kind of game to play with the story and the fights 😄
played the games extensively, and some books - was only impressed with Geralt, the rest kinda made me disgusted with changing so much, and the forced diversity was a let down, but one I knew was coming... the cinematic quality was awesome, the set's and props were awesome but yeah that means less when you change so much
As a huge book fan i didn't hate it nor did i liked it. Mediocre at best
The two books has many short stories that were cut out in the tv series, not just plot devices (like the Tridam Ultimatum): A Grain of Truth, A Little Sacrifice, and the entire Temple of Melitele sequence. Myself, I did not get my favorite events in episode 4 (which is based on my favorite story A Question of Price), introducing Geralt as the honorable knight Ravix of Fourhorn, and a screaming banshee Pavetta resulting in the near destruction of castle Cintra.
Or Coodcoodak :'(
Thank you for creating this!! As someone who has read the entire book series 3x’s, and spent over 366hrs playing the “Game Of The Decade”-Witcher 3. The Netflix Show is a Dumpster Fire, a Hot Mess. I forced myself to watch the entire show series 2x’s, once alone & once with my wife(who knew nothing about the Witcher) hoping that the 2nd time would make it better. Netflix changed too many Very Important Moments, destroyed & changed the the timelines, added/made up absurd events that never happened in the books. The monsters were absolutely laughable, the Striga looked like a person in a very bad rubber suit, the Golden Dragon was pathetic CGI(Game of Thrones set the standard of what an awesome dragon should look like!) the ghouls & Sylvan were B rated looking CGI as well. These monster fights looked sooo cheesy.( the special effects/movements looked like what you would see an episode of Dr Who-starring Geralt). I thought the overall acting was very solid, Henry definitely nailed the Geralt’s character. But what was too absurd for me to ignore, was when they showed Cahir beating Vilgefortz. This is the same person that Geralt couldn’t beat, plus the whole Ciri timeline & events are sooo screwed up & wrong. So I am going back to reading the books & restarting the game, because what Netflix created, IS NOT MY WITCHER. If your new to the Witcher and want to see the BEST Witcher video’s on Characters, Lore, History, Timeline/Events & Monsters, check out TH-camr’s PROPER BIRD and WITCHER GEORGE.
Came in as neither book reader nor having played the game, just plain curiosity. now I'm listening to book 1 and loving it.
Wow, this was surprisingly accurate. Usually videos from big channels like this get enough things wrong that even my limited knowledge of the series show my a glaring error. You missed Triss showing up in the story with the Striga though. That was a pretty big change. At least as big as Istrid and Stregobor's expanded roles.
@@Zedul No, there wasn't any wizard at all in the Striga story in the books. He killed a couple guys who tried to assault him in a tavern then mind controlled the guards who responded to take him to speak to Foltest's castellan who eventually took him to meet Foltest. There he meets Ostrit the traitor and another guy who isn't very important to the story.
He convinces Foltest to give him a chance to cure the Striga but then learns that there's a group who're willing to pay a lesser reward to have her killed. He then interviews a survivor, but it turns out the guard who brought the survivor is Foltest in disguise and they have a private conversation where he tells Geralt that he won't have him killed if Geralt does kill the Striga since he believes that she's suffering, but he trusts that Geralt will at least try to cure her first. This gives Geralt a chance to show his idealistic side and he insists on giving the king extra instructions to keep the princess safe from the curse if he manages to only partially fix it but dies in the process.
Then he goes to the old palace to confront the Striga only for Ostrit to show up outside and try to bribe him to leave before trying to kill him when he refuses... This obviously goes really badly for Ostrit and results in him being exposed as the traitor and used as bait and everything basically happens the same from there.
Instead of Triss healing him he gets a crappy patchup job to keep him alive the castellan gives him the full reward, and then he goes to the temple of Meleteli to get his wounds treated properly.
@@Zedul Oh lol, you know more about that than I do. I just know neither of them was in that story. I haven't finished the novels.
In the books Cahir is a rather good swordsman, at least compared to normal soldiers.
He is however not nearly good enough to best Gerald or even teenage Ciri (with witcher training) in a sword fight.
Vilgefortz on the other hand beats Gerald in a 1vs1 fight while only indirectly using magic.
Infact Vilgefortz is probably the most powerful human magic user in the books(elder blood aside).
So Cahir should have eaten shit against Vilgefortz.
True, there is no way that Cahir could possibly parry or do anything towards him.
They made Vilgefortz a joke
Vilgefortz had to fake his death
Didn't mousesack die in the show? Or did i get it wrong? In the books he doesn't die, right?
yea he died
But in the books he’s also not really mentioned a lot. Only in something like 2 or 3 short stories
I pretty sure CAHIR is pronounce as "KAH - HERE".
Great video though.
For someone who hasn't read the books, this was very informative, ty.
I love Yen and Triss' actresses, they're great at what they do, but damn I was so disappointed with the choice Netflix has made, simply due to how the games have shaped my perception of what they should look like now. Same with Fringilla. Overall though, the show is quite enjoyable. It's nice to see that books and games like this are being brought to the big screen :)
Dipped my toe in the water with the Witcher 3 and the books so I’m not an expert but I heard the first episode was quite watered down compared to how it was written in the books. Overall I thought it was alright but could be a lot better. They definitely need more episodes for the next season to give them time to tell a good story but I do like the horror elements of when Geralt fights the monsters. That was done exceptionally well.
The books are a lot better. It almost seemed that the writers for the show missed the point of a lot of stories.
invalid account Yeah Gamespot were saying that the Butcher of Blanikin story line could and should’ve been way more fleshed out in the show to give the ending of episode 1 that punch it needs to get people hooked. I don’t know if Andre is just content with the money he’s seeing but if he wants to make more he needs to be guiding the director as to how she can bring his books to life. GRRM did the same with seasons 1-4 of GoT and it’s why it was so well received.
I personally think geralt mom cast should be triss lol. 😂
The prettiest woman in the show. On screen for 10 seconds
To me in this show Triss should be Renfri's twin. That would be a acceptable minimum.
i came in cold to witcher and thoroughly enjoyed binge watching the complete series over two days. i'm simply rabid to see season two but will meanwhile read the books. i was glad to hear it was based on books and not the game as i'm not a gamer. i liked all the elements of the fae, the monsters and everything in between combined to make this whole idea work.
Lots of things are inspired by the video games though, as Henry Cavill (Geralt) is a huge fan and has major pull with the direction. The video games are what popularized the book series, in turn providing much appeal towards the Netflix adaptation.
Story wise, everything in the games was completely made up and written in a timeline AFTER the books, so the books are like the history and starting point. Once you're done with the show and the books, you could probably watch condensed story versions of the games on youtube if you wanted more witcher story, and didn't want to play the games yourself
Geralt looks, costume, the way he speaks, fights...is mostly base on the games as Henry Carvill is a fans of the game
The games were much close to the books and the lore the books established then the show is.
I enjoyed the show and your review/comparison very much. I haven't yet read the books and I don't play any video games.
I came into the Witcher, as you say, "blind". I was compelled to watch it based on the NETFLIX trailer(s). I have no gaming experience with it nor did I know about the books. It (the NF series) is a "stand-alone" to me and nothing more.
The show is an adaptation of the books. Mostly direct and so fsr only the first book (aside from ciri). The games start after the end of the books
You missed Fringilla being described as "ghastly pale" and resembling Yennifer, which is actually an important plot point.
Yes, but come on man, gotta get them Netflix race quotas to get the money for the show.
@@goatlib2338 but not YOUR money
thing bad
Funny that you complain about Fringila being black but not Yennefer being Indian...
@@MrKickassFTW Nah, the folks on the forums did that too
@@MrKickassFTW It's mostly because it's true that she is Indian, but she looks like some white people from here (my sister has the same skin color) so it's not that out of place. And idk I can see Yen in her, wouldn't be my firts choice but not that bad. But Fringilla is just completly off.
Nice vid! Isn't telling that Ciri is/will be a witcher a spoiler tho?
Ciri never truly becomes a witcher in the books. She is trained as a witcher by Geralt, and the other witcher's because they don't know how to raise a kid any other way. And this training is definitely beneficial to her threwout the series, but does not make her a witcher.
Hopefully there is a video for Season 2 changes as Netflix did change more for this season.
Thought Superman was too pretty for the role of the Witcher. However, though the show despite my views turned out pretty well. As I was watching it all my biases went away and I found myself enjoying the show so much that when the last episode ended I was like WTF. Can't wait for season two 😍🙌
I thought the same thing!! Just shows Henry cavill can play anything and be convincing!
HC is more then acceptable in that role.
If you play the games, you learn about the wish with Yenn on top of the boat on a mountain.
It's more as CD Project take on the Geralt's wish.
The game and series both diverge from the books. So in different mediums the wish might be revealed to be something else.
We don't actually know what Geralt's last wish was. On top of that, the Djinn could've twisted Geralt's wish. Even the game isn't exactly clear about that. All Yeneffer says is that there's magic that bonds them together. Whether that just means they always find each other or the spell makes them in love, who knows.
"10 biggest book differences"
The show is one gigantic book difference. But that's okay, they can make their own creative interpretation instead of just copying the books. After all we don't need them to copy the books, since we have the books.
So... Am I the only o.e upset they fucked the whole Brokilon first meeting between Geralt and Ciri? It was so important to outline their bond and Ciri's power and the show took a massive shit on that to have a weird embrace between two characters that never met. Meanwhile we had the Mousesack bullshit which was sooo uninteresting. Don't get me wrong, I liked the show, but it could have been so much better if, well, they actually followed the books a bit more for important stuff:
BadBurrito Yeah, I agree, I thought that was an essential story to their characters and why the embrace was so impactful.
The TV show made it unemotional and unimportant. Ciri didn't even care about him when they finally met, she only asked who's Yennefer...
Geralts wish was to be bonded with Yennefer forever which makes the Djhin unable to do anything to her because Geralt was his master. Rather their fates be bonded. That´s why Yennefer is so important to Ciri later on.
no mention of ermion. sad.
You made one mistake...Ban Ard, the academy for male wizards, was also on the Isle of Thanedd, just as Aretuza was. This is stated in The Time of contempt. So while it was against the rules, it’s not unlikely for male and female students to meet and have trysts.
Ban Ard Academy is a magical academy for boys, located in the Kaedweni city of Ban Ard. In the English translation of Season of Storms, both Northern magic schools are located in Aretuza on Thanedd. However, this was a mistranslation, and the original Polish edition states that the male one is located in Ban Ard, and the female one in Aretuza.
i usually always read the book series before i watch something, but i’ve already seen (and loved) the witcher, should i still read the books?
Maddie Cash I think so! It can definitely be a little slower than the show, but if you love series, there’s a lot of great short stories the show skipped that will help expand the world for you!
In this 1st season, it was a challenge for them to present to the world (gamer and non gamers) the huge setting of the world of the witcher. I thought it was not perfect, but just about nicely done. Like dave said the witcher universe is unique and enormous. Reading the books or playing the games will greatly help understand a bit more.
Maddie Cash I’m currently reading the books and I would say it’s worth it. There’s more information, separate stories you could read before s2 and leaves more room for imagination. Take the characters you see and build your own world as you read 😊
Definitely. Books are much better. More details, deeper meanings, actually thought provoking on the nature of the world, good, evil, etc. Not some two empty lines repeated over and over. And there are more twists to those stories as well as more humour, which I miss the most in this TV show.
I didn't know about it until Netflix had it. I love it!
What about Mousesack dying? Isn't he supposed to be alive since Ermion lives in Witcher 3?
Ohh how I wish Netflix could show mad crazy Vilgefortz and the most humble of higher vampires, Emiel Regis Rohellec Terzieff-Godefroy.
season 2 needs a plotline....
Oh the homie regis
I'm pretty sure that's still many seasons away
Regis first appearance is the 5th book, if I recall
It will take a while before he shows up on the show
@@tatianaoliveira2191 Wasn't it more like 3rd one?
This is just 10 major ones and these are BIG! I can't believe how many comments I read that the show is |EXACTLY like the book, or follows the book to the T! UGHHH!
i came in as a a player of the games and really liked the show. I read the books afterwards and now Im not as big of a fan of the show. its kind of sad but ive always found it hard to enjoy adaptations of books as much as the books. with the games i can treat them as more of their own story divorced from the books but the setting of the show makes that way harder!
Fringilla Nigo
Biggest changes? Swords are so short they look like toys, Gerald doesn't have cat eyes, Gerald's scar is missing, etc.....
Geralt never had a scar on his face.
@@DuffmanChess Neck I meant, sorry. Played the games a lot, keep forgetting he doesn't have a scar in the books, just the neck...
I first played with your three then found a witch or comic through CD project red and dark horse comics. Now just finished the first season of Netflix is Whitcher and I look forward to more from Netflix CD project read and maybe picking up the English novels.
Making Ciri much older and cutting the Brokilon scene is a major mistake. It's essential for the whole saga.
dirt man wat.
He didn’t even mention race.
Came into the show as a game player and absolutely loved it! Excited fir season 2.
BennyHooHoo 32 same
No Nivellen, pox on it
If I remember correctly, yennefer did not fight in the battle for sodden, or?
It's been too long since the books.
She did fight and was injured in it by fringilla vigo. She was blind for some time
Why is Nightblue3 giving this list
Hmm
Fuck
The single biggest difference is the first of three wishes.
I was so disappointed they left that out. Favorite moment in all the short stories.
I played the games and read the book, i enjoyed the show mostly trough some moment made me raise an eyebrow
How did you get that Cahir is a mediocre swordfighter from the bookd???
He was mediocre compared to Vilgefortz.
@@anzepirnat2830 Vilgefortz absolutly claps Geralts ass in the books
@@timpyrules Mediocre was probably the wrong word. Ciri - a 13 year-old child who'd only trained to be a Witcher for around 6 months beats Cahir in a swordfight. Meanwhile, as you said, Vilgefortz absolutely claps Geralt's ass - a fully trained Witcher. It was more - to me - just how insane of a difference Cahir (or Vilgefortz... or both)'s fighting abilities were.
@@DaveControlLive Cahir didnt have any trouble on the bridge. I dont remember any fight where Cahir was said to be poor.
Furthermore Ciri beat Leo Bonhart as well adn we can both agree he wasnt easy. So Ciri being able to beat Cahir doesnt necessarily mean he is a poor swordsman
@@timpyrules Ciri vs Leo final fight had a very specific setting, tbh, so, I wouldn't say Ciri was a better fighter she just did wiser in that particular situation.
Am I the only person who actually liked the way the show handled Renfi and Stregabor? I don’t think it got dumbed down. I think the message was still very poignant. Yes they restructured it but the message they meant to convey was when choosing between evils the result will always be evil because evil is evil. He tried to disengage. He wanted Renfri to leave on her own terms for her own sake because he felt like they understood each other. What it means to be viewed as monsters when all you want is to live and be accepted. He thought she was the same. And probably somewhere in there she was. But her anger and her pride and bitterness had created evil because of Stregabor’s actions against her. She was never going to stop. She made that perfectly clear. She was broken and she was not going to choose to start over no matter what. The killing of her men was who was massacred and they had been radicalized by her vengeance and were also never going to stop. She was going to kill a small girl he had come to have a soft spot for because the girl treated him like a person and he wanted to protect her. He wanted to believe there was good there like he wanted to believe there was still good in Renfri. That she would change her mind but she said no. So they fought and she died because he understood it was either that or she would kill everyone to make a point and any humanity left in her would be gone. He did it to save what was left of her soul and her acknowledgement of the girl in the wood and her facial expressions at the end were her thanking him because she knew it was the only way. She had accepted it. It broke his heart because he thought she meant herself that she would be with him always so he took the broach. And when Stregabor came down and twisted the town to believe he was a murderer in cold blood he half expected that and even felt it was true but it was the little girl he saved turning on him in the end that solidified the message. Evil is evil. But you play the cards you are dealt. Actions have consequences and like it was said sometimes you will never know for sure if you made the right choice but that’s what it comes down to in the end. Choices. He chose to protect the town. He chose to save the girl. The girl chose to reject him and support Stregabor because he pays her way. Renfri chose vengeance and to become the monster they said she was. I loved the episode personally so I don’t understand why it gets so much hate
The wish was probably for Geralt to give yen a child. But you can play with those words. He technically has a child through Ciri and the child surprise thing. And Ciri can be yen’s legacy, to tech and raise. This is all without fertility. I would assume a Jin would be cheeky like that, casting a wish, but not in the way they would expect. And in doing that ties yens destiny to geralts and ciris
Also smart because I would assume the Jin was destiny as well 🤭
Makes no sense. The wish was clearly about Geralt and Yen being together. You can only argue about the wording of it. Nothing about any children.
MatiZ815 was just a theory, he clearly saw the markings on a uterus on her. But who knows what destiny has in mind heheh
@@MatiZ815 How can you say that it was "clearly" about them being together? The dialogs from the books wouldn't make much sense then...
Why would Yennefer say that she doesn't even know if there is a force in nature that can make it possible?
@@kuba6156 I like your point of vue. The whole child thing fits even better because of that "force in nature" comment: she was thinking that it's not possible for her to be pregnant and that nothing in the world could change that. But there was a force in nature that gave her a child: Geralt's destiny gave her Ciri. Makes sense to me.
@@goatlib2338 That's why she wanted the djinn. But geralt wished for their destiny to be intertwined
I went in blind and loved it except for the part where they defended the wrong side of a bridge. I mean, the way they fought negated almost every advantage they would have had if the opposing army had been forced to funnel up on the bridge itself. I haven't seen a worse military blunder since Black Panther utterly failed to understand what a chokepoint is in Infinity War. I half-kid. Really did enjoy the show and started playing the game again like everyone else.
There was no bridge, there was no castle. There was a large field where both armies were actually fighting. Over 100K soldiers locked in battle. The northern mages stood on a hill (hence the Battle of Sodden Hill) and helped the north win. Yen was blinded by Frangilla early in that battle and Vilgefortz was the leader of the northern mages and helped them win that fight. He then hammered out the peace treaty afterwards. What you saw in the show was total bullshit.
@@goodmongo7423 Lol. Thanks for the extensive breakdown. That makes a ton more sense.
Aretuza = Beaubaxtons
Except that Beauxbatons is not an all-girls school in the books, just as Durmstrang is not an all-boys school.
For once, unlike the series, there were no gypsies.
the give and take of chaos/magic is implied to be stored with/within the user: "reserve your chaos" and "lightning in a bottle".
It's bullshit. Don't know why they try to make their own stuff and complicate things when its so much better in the books
When they cast magic it kills some of their Midi-chlorians.
Dandelion to Jaskier
That doesn't really count as a change, as "Jaskier" is the character's name in the original Polish editions of the series. Then again, I'm glad they didn't call the show Wiedźmin.
Jaskier is Buttercup in Polish, but english name of this flower sounds silly, then they rename it to Dandelion.
@@siejac7894 Because "Dandelion" doesn't sound silly at all. :D
@@rottensquid I don't know how Dandelion or Buttercup sounds to native english speaker, I'm Polish and in polish language, Jaskier doesn't sound silly or funny, just flower, that described Jaskier character. I think that "Butter" and "cup" can sound silly. Jaskier It's from word "jaskrawy", "the bright one"
@@siejac7894 They're both very feminine sounding to English speakers, but Buttercup far more so. In the brilliant fairy-tale romance parody, "The Princess Bride," the princess was named "Buttercup," in mockery of the overly sweet, cloying nature of that sort of character in fairy tales.
There's a word in English, "dandy," that was once used to describe men who dressed and acted with conspicuous sensuality and decadence. Oscar Wilde was famously a dandy, dressing in lush velvets and wearing his hair long, evoking a bygone romantic era. Of course, the word also ended up associated exclusively with homosexuality and un-manliness, for stupid, obvious reasons. Dandelion was most likely chosen because the character is clearly a dandy, and a delightful one.
I love knowing the root word of Jaskier. Thank you!
It annoys me that they change heroes, their roles they played in books. Triss, Vringilla, Vilgevortz, Kahir, Foltest etc. They decided to kill some. Brooklyn Forest looks like Brooklyn, you can call me racist. The dryads look like amazons from the 90s series. The stories are shallow to pain, nir giving no reflection. The scriptwriters want to rewrite the Witcher's story. 80% of the content on this series is completely incompatible with books. Even the main plot has been severely affected. Why such treatments? the main strength of books are great written characters and their relationships with others. The writers decided to do everything their own way. For me 6/10 for Cavil who forced himself to the role of Geralt. Fear of who he wanted to play the role of showrunner ?!
Yennefer is a source? I thought it was only Ciri. Yennefer is just a very powerful sorceress because she is a quarter elf.. right?
@Ron. H. Yes. I know, she's a powerful sorcerer/ mage because of her elven ancestry. Although it's weird that Yennefer is called a source in this video. Lol
As far as I recall the books, Yennefer's elven ancestry has little to do with her magical prowess. In fact, it is barely mentioned at all.
Sources are not fully explained, but I always understood them as children with various magical gifts they have no control over. If all sources become sorcerers/sorceressess and if every magic user must be source is not said (but I would hazard a guess and say no to both)
Why is he called Jaskier, (Apparently Buttercup) in the show, when in the books and the game he's Dandelion?
Jaskier, buttercup and dandelion is actually the same but with different translation. Jaskier is in polish but dandelion is in english
The translators decided that a direct translation to Buttercup would be a bit ridiculous, so they picked another flower that you might not giggle at every time you read it. Thus instead of Buttercup, we get Dandelion. Keep the ridiculous without going over the top.
@dirt man For asking a question... Seeing as you don't understand the word racist, Go look it up. While you're there, also look up moron.
Thank you all, besides dirtbag, for the replies. It's pretty cool/interesting with how some translations pan out, thank you all for the info, much appreciated😁
They should've kept Roach's Polish name too. I read somewhere that the Polish word just refers to a fish, it doesn't also ambiguously mean the insect or the end bit of a joint
nothing about the blackwashing huh ?
I'm a big fan of the books and I loved the show but some of the changes piss me off... Especially the way Triss and Frangilla look. It's the polish inspired middle ages... Diversity my ass, it hurts the story and takes away from characters we know and love/hate. There were almost no black people in the 13th century in Poland and I don't like characters being changed just to satisfy some groups of people. Most of the changes made sense though since they needed to tell a connected story line in the show. The first two books were short stories after all.
You mean.. there were no black people in Eastern or Central Europe.. we had our own slaves from wars etc.
@@danielt2505 in the 13th century? Are you sure? Do you have a source for that? I don't think Poland had wars in Africa back then.
Edit: Doing a bit research on my own I've only seen articles indicating that there was a relatively large migration movement from colored people around 1500, which is 300 years after the story of Witcher takes place. I think my point still holds up but feel free to enlighten me. It would be cool to see a nice diversity 700 years ago but as far as I know that wasn't the case. The science just doesn't hold up.
@@mephistovonfaust I think my reply got deleted? idk. Just to make it clear. I meant European slaves. Not African.
@@danielt2505 we did have slaves, that's correct. How does that relate to black people in eastern/central Europe in the 13th century though? I don't get it.
SPOILER ALER! I REPEAT, SPOILER ALERT ABOUT GERALT'S LAST WISH!!! Geralt's last wish was that his and Yenneffer's Destiny was intertwined.
This show is so freakin away from the source and that's all you find. Whole freakin race was redone, black driads dude. Black Fringilla Vigo witch bitchy temperemant and in Nilfgard at that, ffs they would eat black person alive in there. Learn about freakin Nilfgard. She was known in books for her white, pale skin and was quite friendly. Geralt got romance with her at some point. Triss .... yeah we all know this one. Yeneffer is too young, her personality doesn't match as well. Vilgefrotz =super badass monster in books and main boss replaced by a wimp. Cahir from good guy turned into psycho. Powers of sorceresses replaced, totally different than in books. Whole freakin magic is wrong, sorceresses didn't need a catalysts to cast magic, they just needed connection to the force, magic or w/e. There is even moment when Geralt asks Yeneffer if she doesn't need some catalysts and she replied she's sorceress not some village witch. Basically everything about this show is far from books and quite bad, except Geralt. Geralts is good and his fights and hunts save the show. Otherwise it would be tragic, but now it's like 5/10 riding on Geralt alone.
After Sword of Destiny, in what story does Geralt meet Ciri again? Is it in the 3rd book? Oh wait, I think it's in Something More in the 2nd book. I think Geralt is more intelligent in the books. In the tv show, he grunts and says fuck. Maybe that's from the games?
Is it me or does this video seem to have an underlying tone of not being all that stoked with changes?
(Maybe I'm wrong)
I'm happy that their not making a beat by beat reinvisioning of the books.
But that's just my 2 cents :P
Did you see their review video? They hated the TV series because it didn't follow everything from the books.
Upokoina George-Yates Hey! I wrote/voiced/edited.
You’re correct - I felt the changes mostly negatively impacted the show. That said, I tried to keep this video neutral, as I have 0 issue with anyone enjoying the show or even preferring the changes. I put a positive aspect to Fringilla being more utilized - as an example. (So viewers would know who she was, as opposed to a random sorceress fighting at Sodden). I’m sorry that my personal preference shown through - it wasn’t supposed to sway anyone. There were heavy changes, so I was trying to showcase how that might impact things - not put my personal perspective onto it.
Tony Fong I didn’t write the review, but was part of the video review. I didn’t “Hate” the show for not following the book, nor did I “hate” the show. It was okay. I was disappointed as I felt the changes negatively impacted the nuances and world building I enjoy so much from the books, and thought the show could have been much better. To me - it was a fine show, but a mediocre adaption. If you disagree and love the show/think it’s a fantastic adaption, that’s cool! I honestly think season 2 will be better, and my opinion doesn’t really matter as you’re getting a 2nd season to watch regardless. ☺️
@@DaveControlLive DaveControl thanks for replying.
It's been a fair few years since I read the books/ played the last two games.
(I was never brave enough to try the first)
So the finer points are lost to me.
I've found that people with a rough idea of the witcher concept (i.e. "Wild Hunt only" watchers, the odd curious wikipedier or the forgetful few like myself) are far more likely to enjoy the show.
For those with a more rich understanding of the material, I can understand how certain changes can seem to detract from a character or pivotal point in the narrative.
In my opinion, I enjoyed the character over show, even though the growth was minimal and janky at best, their portrayals really resonated with me.
All in all, regardless of your view on the show, I hope you and GSU continue to make Withcher content!
Thanks again for replying and the video!
Happy new year!
@@krapalicious Yep, and their follow up.
Its wasn't their cup of tea, but ah well, each to their own!
I just wanted to clarify their stance and maybe feed into a larger discussion.
I totally missed that it was Dave voiced and edited this 🤦♂️.
Fuck the show the books are better, they toy with changing character personality like Dandelion's and cluster fuck the story to a mess. To me the witcher netflix is a fan fic remix of the greater books, it's too bad.
Read most of the books so I don't have to watch to know there are a lot.
Hazard2005 Yes but what was your opinion of the show?
Biggest difference of all: TRISS
Yes, yes .
I was awaiting long curly ariel red hair beauty, bur instead we got en ugly potatonosed gargoyle. 😟😟
Solid_King well that’s just horrible to say about someone. the actress is actually stunning but she’s just not Triss.
Ryuko Matoi I agree I think she’s gorgeous
@@solid_king1155 from the book, triss has chesnut hair color, not red. the red hair just a creation from CDPR adaptation. but yes a bit dissapointed. but i dont think she ugly at all.
the game adaption of Triss was even further from the original and still everybody loved it
I came into it completely blind, binge watched it within a day while sick with the flu, and immediately bought the first game and started reading the books lol I don't mind the changes though. Honestly I like when there are some changes in story adaptations because it makes it more interesting. It's just more content to enjoy. I'd say the only real changes I wish weren't there was Geralt's eyes (having vertically slit pupils and not just gold colored) and the overall relationship between Jaskier and Geralt. Funny as it is to have them clashing a bit with Geralt's moodiness...I hope season 2 has them finding a more canonical friendship since Jaskier is supposed to be Geralt's best friend.
I actually think that there is no section in the books talking about his eyes being cat-like. That’s afaik a game Interpretation from their enhanced senses
@@tengwean6182 It is mentioned in the books many times. something like: ''He held his hand up to block the sun by reflex when he could have simply moved his pupils into vertical slits. A reflex he never managed to shake off.''
Also in Sword of Destiny, he fools his opponent in a sword fight after he gets out of Brokilon with Ciri and they run into a bunch of bandits. At one point in the fight, Geralt's position is opposite the sun and he acts like the sun is blinding him, he blinks a few times and narrows his eyes, making the bandit that sun is blinding him. The bandit smiles not knowing Geralt can actually see perfectly well because of his vertical pupils. The bandit attacks where he thinks will be an easy blow where Geralt won't be able to see due to sun, but Geralt parries, to his surprise, then kills him.
Also in the main story, Codringher asks him ''My cat is afraid of you, does it have something to do with-'' (meaning his eyes) ''YES. It does.'' Geralt replies sharply before he could finish. He doesn't like comments like that, to be reminded that he's a mutant.
Moon Oh yeah, I remember it now you said it. It’s a shame I don’t have the books anymore to reread
Tengwean even if it wasn’t mentioned in the books I’d still want them to keep it just because it’s a pretty iconic feature for the character. Though the book description actually suggests they can switch back and forth between slotted and round which is even more interesting lol I’m assuming they didn’t keep it just to save on special effects. They’d have to rely entirely on computer effects to make it look good since contacts with different shaped pupils are very fake looking. Easier to just change the iris color.
They merged cahir and the emphyr into the same person in the show I think
No. Fringilla and Cahir repeatedly talk about the White Flame which is a title of Emhyr var Emreis (also his name is at least once mentioned directly)
Tengwean nvm then
eh-durn
I know this video is two years old and I’m shouting into the void but I WISH you would have actually watched the show so you would have learned how to actually pronounce so many of the names that you butcher. It shows that you were just reading script for a paycheck. Dude, your voice isn’t good enough for that sort of job so be grateful you’ve been allowed to at least do this.
Is that SilverMont narrating?
Ryan David I was... maybe it seemed familiar because we both do Dark Souls Lore? 😝
@@DaveControlLive damn it! Sorry Dave! This is awesome though, I feel like you Silver and Vaati should narrate everything!
What about literally every black person in the show was either changed from white or completely made up ?
Am I the only one who’s bother by his pronunciation of names…
The biggest change is that the world looks empty, like a shallow version of Game of Thrones. Very little Slavic influance. Too much diverse cast, like really... Triss is white and red head.
Crim Rui Triss is only a red head in the games. That was a change they made from the books, where she’s described as having “chestnut” hair.
The Green Room Hermit Chestnut hair is brown - not a shade of red. Look it up.
DaveControl in Poland it’s dark red/ maroon actually. Google „kasztanka” and you’ll get chestnut fur / hair.
I thought they said they were following the book strictly... I'm gonna keep watching, because of Henry and the stunt team, but fuckin christ this is a shit show. The games are significantly better than both the books and the show. I said it.
for everyone who liked the show and might consider reading the books. PLEASE DON'T!
Ignorance is bliss.
Yeap. Quite a sad reality.
You have missed that strange thing with average higher pigmentation of the cast ;/
Just say it out loud.. forced racial diversity
most trite change, the name of Dandelion.
hard pass on the show. I cant get over the casting choices and the differences pointed out just erk me too much.
lmao the few casting choises aren't the problem at all. The problem is how it butchered several key plot points and dumbed it down.
I came in completely blind. I bought Witcher III on Steam ages ago but never downloaded it.
All 4 of the main characters, I knew through various game sources. Yenn, Geralt, Ciri and Triss. Any complaint I had with Witcher I have with all TV shows of the modern era. They just don't make enough to justify a season. As long as there are 52 weeks in a year, 30 is the bare minimum episodes we should be seeing. If budget is that big of an issue, that needs to be taken control of because it shouldn't be the crippling factor in making good content. Not to the degree it does.
You wouldn't handle living outside of the States very well. Most European shows have 4-10 episode series.
I completely disagree have you never heard of "quality over quantity"?. I'd say 8 - 13 episodes is the optimal amount for a season and there's plenty of shows that would be better at this length telling a much tighter narrative.
You also don't seem to understand how budgets work, no studio would never greenlight a brand new show at 30 episodes that could flop 1/2 way through and lose them money. Not to mention 30 episodes doesn't mean more money for the studio which is their main goal.
The CW superhero shows are a good example that would benefit greatly from 8 - 13 episode seasons. Since some are CGI and/or costume intensive (kinda of like the witcher) less episodes means less spread out CGI/costume budgets which means better CGI/costumes. Also many of their 22 episodes seasons are filled with throwaway pointless monster of the week episodes that don't further anything in the narrative.
Yenefer is so friggin hot
I've got 1 major difference - books were actually pretty good and had some depth to it unlike the show.
Yennefer actress Anya Charlotta is bae a fellow Indian also
She looks like Polish girl with a bit of Gypsy or Tatar ancestry mixed in. And Anya is basically Ania (Anna).
Sounds like the writers of the show love and know the source material so well they can make some changes and still be faithful to the book..which is fine by me. I think, for your presentation, I’ll stick with the shown instead of reading the books.
To be honest most of theese change makes no sensie do i personalny cant agree to your ststenent
I see you like the books, which is great, knowing there are people who still read. That being said Netflix has produced a series that has a good story, that I can follow, that also visual appeal. What works in a visual format doesn’t necessarily work in written format and vice versa. I’m going to keep watching whatever they put out( or when ever as the case may be). But I’m not going to read the books in the meantime.
@@garyb2392 I agree, that`s why I think this is a good tv series but a poor adaptation. They lack many things that made books fantastic and many characters, if not given a intro, I wouldn`t recognise becouse they don`t act like their book verions. It is sad because many of the stories are blant becouse of that and the choice that there has to be a villan- nilfgaard, cahir and fringilla is just meh and a bit stereotypical.
Łukasz Białek sounds like a case (at least for me) where ignorance is bliss, not having any background at all (books or video games) and watching the show as any other show is great for me because I can take it at face value. I can see why you’d be disappointed having the knowledge of details they got wrong or executed poorly to meet budget demands or what ever reason the producers decided.
@@garyb2392 that is very true, I`d prefer to be able to watch this show without background of the books but I can`t and because of that I cannot enjoy it as much as you did- happily things like Geralt and Jaskier are there so my pie has at least half of the fill :p Perhaps one day you will look for the books or games :)
the biggest difference is the show was fun to watch and the books was a drag to read
tbh.... the tv show is terrible. cutting out mindlessly is not a good way to go