I tend to be more of a science fiction fan than a fantasy one, but I watch a fair bit of the latter. In both you enter world that are not quite like our own and I enjoy that sort of escapism. Creating a world that actually works whilst telling a story is not so easy. Firstly I will say that I have not read any of the books this [Netflix show](https://www.imdb.com/title/tt5180504/) based on and not played the video games either, so I came it to with no real expectations.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ndl1W4ltcmg

It is a very dark and dangerous world where the Witcher of the title is Geralt who has been trained and mutated to fight monsters. As well as the monsters there are wielders of magic and competing kingdoms.

The first season jumped around in time a bit, which could be confusing, especially as some characters can live for a long time. We are introduced to lots of characters and it is easy to lose track of who is who and which side they are on. Geralt is doing his monster killing thing whilst a powerful army sweeps across the continent. They seem to have an interesting in young princess Ciri, which has some magical powers of her own, but is not in control of them. We also see how Yennefer goes from crippled farm girl to powerful mage at a magical school that makes Hogwarts look like a holiday camp. Eventually their paths cross.

We get some light relief from bard Jaskier whose songs have gained a bit of a following. I have performed one myself at my local ale houses.

The second season is more linear as the established characters try to survive the tumultuous events. It is more about the people than monsters now. We get to see the base of the Witchers too. This was featured in an animated prequel that is also on Netflix and gives some background.

We are left on a bit of a cliffhanger that will have to be resolved in the next season.

I would say this is not a show for young kids. The violence is brutal and graphic, plus there is some sexual content. The effects are pretty good, but then we take that for granted even with TV shows now. The cast are great with the imposing figure of Superman Henry Cavill in the title role. Quite a few of them are British and it is filmed all across Europe. It is comparable in some ways to Game of Thrones (which I have not seen much of) in the rich mix of cultures and locations with everyone plotting for power. I expect that show has helped drive the demand for more of that sort of thing, but I think The Witcher stands on its own qualities.

I am keen to see what happens next. If you struggle to follow it then there are plenty of Youtube videos to help you out. That seems to be common for lots of shows now. It depends on how deep you want to go.