When you get a glimpse of the Witcher, you can’t help but compare the series with Game of Thrones, for its resemblance in the story, characters, time, costumes and whatnot. It seems that Netflix wanted its very own Game of Thrones in all aspects. The Witcher is an adventure fantasy series, based on the book by Andrzej Sapkowski. However, the series fails to meets the expectations in terms of plot, characters and the thrill.

The story revolves around fantasy and magic with our lead Geralt of Rivia being a monster slayer. His mission is to travel through villages and kill cursed monsters. All he wants to do is lead a simple life and survive by killing cursed being. Eventually, he is lured into killing a generation of cursed beings. That’s when he enters into the twisted plot, becoming an integral part of it.

It would seem that Geralt is the centre of the plot, but no, he is not. Throughout the episodes two other prominent characters are introduced, one being Ciri, a princess with magical powers and another being Yennifer, a hunchbacked poor farm girl. The characters with their very own stories seem to be a major drawback for the series. Each one is introduced with an average backstory and a plain view into their lives. We don’t get to understand them as there is no solid base for those characters. The makers could have focused more on each character.

As far as the plot of the Witcher, it is quite inconsistent. The makers have including various short stories with the plot, which is a bit overpowering, not correlating with the main plot. The stories are prominently about the cursed beings and monsters which Geralt kills in his journey. It is evident that the plot moves towards the meeting of all the characters at a point, but it seems to take forever for each character to develop and move one step forward. There is a very little dosage of twits in the plot, most of the plot being very predictable. Also, it takes time to get the plot clear. It is not easy to understand the characters and where they take the story. It takes four to five episodes just to understand the main plot.

However, not all aspects of the series are disappointing. There are few silver lines which could turn the tables and make the series as successful as the thrones. For instance, the story of the Witcher is very promising and has the potential to become a highly rated series. The original story has a lot of characters, twists and turns, endless names of kingdoms and fictional places. The mere idea of fantasy, politics adventure and thrill have potential, especially after the success of thrones.

The stunt and sword choreography are exceptional and thrilling. A scene of a sword fight between Geralt and the villagers in the pilot episode proves this. The scene itself is well orchestrated and makes you go wow at specific places. Moreover, the landscapes, the fantasy kingdoms, enchanted forests, rustic pubs of the country and castles are a good addition to the story and somewhat makes it less boring and monotonous.

The cast of Witcher is fairly good with Hendry Cavill and Freya Allan have taken up the task and given their best to do justice to the characters. However, the dull and plain expression of Cavill at many times is a disappointment. The character of Dandelion is a fresh breath, for he is humorous and talkative. The makers seem to have done justice in terms of cinematography and the whole look of the series.

The Witcher is something you need to watch without expectations and perceive the series as it is. The makers, on the other hand, could put to make the plot smooth and easy to get a grasp of the story. The idea of merging different events in a plot has proven to be successful in many award-winning series. However, without a proper screenplay, the Witcher is not one among those. While the concept is tempting, the unclear screenplay is a let-down.