fwiw I enjoyed it quite a bit
My "I haven't read the books OR played the game please don't kill me " Review:
The Cast:
Henry Cavill was good as Geralt, imo. Not the MOST original interpretation: grumpy loner finds a family, dry sarcastic sense of humor, scars and a dark tragic past. But you could see his growth throughout the season into someone who-- while he's been hurt in the past-- is finally opening up to the people he's inadvertently grown close to. Probably the most nuanced Cavill performance I've seen, even if it is a bit boilerplate.
Anyan Cholotra made for a fine (with a capital F) Yennefer, fierce and powerful and hot as f***. She definitely had the biggest arc out of any of the characters, and carried almost all the emotional weight. Hopefully she comes back a little more mysterious and her allegiances a bit questionable... it seemed odd (probably because I'm comparing to slow-burn GoT) to have her and Geralt fall for each other so quickly
Freya Allen didn't have a whole lot to do as Ciri; again, since I don't know a whole lot about the source, all I knew of her was the "hot white haired one" so having her be so young is a choice. But her and Geralt's moment at the end was cool, this idea that they fully knew each other without ever having met.
Also props to many of the supporting characters, Jaskier, Mousesack, Tissaia, Calanthe, Stregebor (although I only see him as that dick from Sherlock) were all pretty solid in their roles and made their time on screen worthwhile
I thought Triss was underserved, from what I understand she's a big character in the games
For my few negatives:
-Production quality was obviously not quite at a Thrones level, some of the armor looked cheap, makeup on some creatures was a bit weird (though I just assumed that was a stylistic choice) and those dragons were a bit rough
-That exposition was dense. It might not be as broad as something like LoTR or GoT, but it felt like it went deeper than those two. There were certain elements I was having such difficulty following that I had to look them up, (e.g. the "Law of Surprise" when it was first mentioned, various names and locations, etc)
-Timelines... by the end I got it down, I think, but it still seemed a bit unnecessary. There were entire scenes where I wasn't listening to the dialogue (which probably contributed to my confusion noted above) because I was trying to figure out when the scene was happening.
So yeah, unhindered by pre-conceived notions, those were my thoughts while watching. Definitely eager to see season 2, and I hope Netflix doesn't go the way of the dodo before we see this series conclude. Any chance HBO would pick it up if it does? I hope so.
