Hello movie and TV fans! I watched The Witcher Season 4 over the weekend. It hit a rough patch, losing it's main character, Henry Cavill who embodies Geralt. It's a tough job for the new actor, Liam Hemsworth to replace a guy who is the perfect representation of the character. I watched the previous seasons so I wanted to just finish the series even if my expectations were low. I'll veer away from the usual template of my movie reviews and discuss some of the elements in this show.

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Liam Hemsworth as Geralt

I had low expectations of Liam Hemsworth since Henry's shoes as Geralt will be hard to fill. However, Liam didn't do too bad in the role. He got the brooding, silent, Witcher. Even his sword fights were great. They were crisp and well coordinated. On the other hand, the show still suffer from the its weaknesses.

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The Rats

The Rats are perhaps the ones I found most annoying in this show. They are shown to be heroic and admired by people but they are nothing more than criminals who even kidnap children. I found even their initiation oath to be cringy. They were a cocky bunch that got what they deserved in the end.

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Leo Bonhart

Leo Bonhart is my favorite character in this show. He's a scary villain that projects danger. He's the perfect anti-hero who remind me of Hans Landa in Inglorious Basterds. I was actually rooting for him when he fought the Rats. His sword fights, especially with Ciri was great.

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The Awful Episode 5

A musical? Really? Fans of the Witcher are mostly males. I doubt most of us will like a musical. It was a wasted episode in my opinion. I skipped to the anime part (Regis's story) in this one.

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My Criticisms with The Witcher

The writers had a good source material and a loyal fan base that were eager to see The Witcher on live screen. They had the materials for the next Game of Thrones but some how the story was confusing. It jumps from one perspective, different timelines and I couldn't relate that much to the motivations of the characters. In GoT, there were a lot of houses and the viewers can relate to them. Even House Frey, a minor house--they didn't betray the Starks out of caprice. There was a deep seated motivation behind their betrayal and viewers can relate. In The Witcher, fans watched it because of Henry Cavill. With him gone, the show sufferred and most fans tuned out.

Adapting a show has a good formula for success: respect the source material and the loyal fan base. The source material is already great, that's why they were adapted to the big screen. I don't understand why some writers would change it. Take for example Lord of the Rings, Game of Thrones and recently, One Piece. All these didn't deviate from the materials they were based on and the fans loved it. Even people who didn't know about the books loved it because the source material was already good to begin with! Change it and you alienate the fans.

Nevertheless, I'll still watch season five just to see how it ends. I'll probably skip some scenes that I find uninteresting though.

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Photos were from imdb.