Season four of ‘The Witcher’ fails to deliver on already low expectations

By Josh Ball

‘The Witcher’ is a franchise with plenty of media adaptations. Latest among them is Netflix’s show. When actor Henry Cavill announced he was leaving the show due to creative differences, questions abounded. Cavill is known for being a fan of fantasy. Fans worried his dedication to the source material was the only reason the show had not spiraled into the Hollywood slop the fantasy genre has become. Sadly, we were right.

Season three ended with a lot of potential. Every character’s arc was masterfully developed, and the cliffhanger ending was executed to perfection. Despite it all, season four failed to capitalize.

The previous season left off with our main characters spread out across the Continent by the machinations of evil mage Vilgefortz of Roggeveen (Mahesh Jadu). The titular Witcher, Geralt of Rivia (then Henry Cavill), was gravely injured for the first time in three seasons; the central but not main character, Cirilla of Cintra (Freya Allen), was teleported to a desert town and found herself in the company of forgotten outlaw children; Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra) rallied a dwindling number of loyal mages against the growing power of Vilgefortz.

Season four ends the same as season three. Every plotline and character arc is left in the exact same state. The only interesting moment in these eight hours was a 15-minute campfire discussion in which Geralt (Liam Hemsworth) and his companions shared their backgrounds. This touching moment was ruined because it taught neither the audience nor the characters anything relevant to the story.

Even the good parts of the scene were overwhelmed by distracting context. Most of Geralt’s companions joined him between the events of seasons three and four. This would be fine if there was a single allusion to when each companion joined the travel party, but the only explanation is that it just seemed to happen.

The reason the latest season suffers is not because of Geralt’s recast. Liam Hemsworth portrays the titular Witcher well, but it pales in comparison to Henry Cavill’s performance. Hemsworth, though he matched the voice, did not imbue it with the same emotion. Besides this, Cavill has a physical presence that Hemsworth simply lacks. 

The most developed arc of the season was Ciri’s relationship with her new friends, the “Rats.” From the start of the season, it’s shown that Ciri is in a relationship with the leader of the group, Mistle (Christelle Elwin). From that point to the end of the season, the writers make sure you remember their relationship. Every scene with Ciri and Mistle contains a kiss or allusion to the romance between them. Regardless of your opinion, the whole arc was rendered useless by later events. The constant reminders betray a lack of trust in the audience to remember important details and result in a waste of runtime that could have been used to further the story. 

The Ciri arc picked up shortly after it left off in season three. What is confusing is the sudden character shift when Ciri is revealed to be a heartless, uncompassionate character. The writers failed to put Ciri into positions, forcing her to change. This arc, more than any other, reveals the writers’ disrespect for the audience’s intelligence.

Both battle sequences in this season suffer from poor writing. Neither is properly built-up, so they feel forced, lacking any real tension. There is no effort to define the battlefield or who is on which side. The showrunners themselves seemed confused when soldiers rushed to protect a queen who was in no danger, and a troll that was supposed to be fighting for the enemy appeared on the wrong side of a narrow bridge. Moreover, the designs of the armor are too similar, making it impossible to discern which soldiers fight for which army.

The only potentially redeeming aspect of “The Witcher” season four is the tension-building plot. Emhyr var Emrys (Bart Edwards), evil emperor of Nilfgaard, searches for Ciri to marry her and have a child to fulfill a prophecy. By the end of the season, Leo Bonhart (Sharlto Copley) plays a pivotal role in the ensuing race.

Even this well-crafted thread suffers from strikingly quick development. Season four would have benefited from consisting entirely of this side story. As it stands, the plot was rushed from too little screentime. Worse, it contains the latest insult to the audience’s intelligence. What was supposed to be a big reveal fell flat because anyone who paid attention to this plot longer than thirty seconds figured out the twist before it happened.

Season four of “The Witcher” had low expectations from the beginning, and Netflix managed not to meet them. The latest season is a disaster with the objective of offending the audience at every turn. As a fantasy fan, I am ashamed it exists. It is an insult to the lore of Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, and the pioneers of fantasy who came before him. If you want a show that respects you and your time, do not watch “The Witcher” season four.

“The Witcher” is streaming on Netflix

Josh Ball is a junior history major. He loves “The Lord of the Rings” and reading literature to evaluate the author’s worldview in light of Christianity.

Images courtesy of Netflix