When Netflix got the ball rolling on The Witcher and Henry Cavill’s casting was announced, the actor didn’t have the unanimous backing of the fandom. As usual, many decried the decision, and though it took some time, Cavill convinced them to the point those same people are now handing the show a death sentence after his departure.
It’s not as if his Geralt of Rivia reveal went any better, as the first public costume test for Netflix’s The Witcher got plenty of backlash, but once fans got to see a more rugged Geralt, plus the kind of passion Cavill brought to the table due to his genuine love for the games and Andrzej Sapkowski's novels, the role was his to keep. Unfortunately, since the announcement, it’s become known that Cavill’s decision may have been partly driven by creative differences which only worsens the blow that is losing him.
What’s Wrong With Netflix’s The Witcher?
At first glance, for those unfamiliar with either Sapkowski's books or CD Projekt Red’s trilogy, there’s nothing inherently wrong with The Witcher TV series, however, the more one is familiar with the vast lore of the franchise, the clearer the contrasts between the three become. Suffice it to say, The Witcher is a decent enough fantasy show on its own, but despite showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich stating it was her intent to tailor her story to adapt the main five Witcher books, many viewers have been left wanting something more faithful.
Although TV Geralt’s assortment of hums and grunts have a certain charm to them and are certified meme-worthy for the show, it also underlines how limited Cavill’s character can be when compared to his book iteration. See, the actor has talked before about how complex and multifaceted Geralt is meant to be, but unfortunately, the show doesn’t necessarily have room for that nor at the same time does it satisfy the monster-hunting desires of those that come from the games with too much action on display.
As hard-hitting a machine as Geralt can be, book Geralt is also supposed to be deeply introspective, the type of guy that spends countless hours pondering about the nature of men or that isn’t too afraid to debate the Continent’s political power players on an intellectual level, and yet Cavill’s character is not exactly that. Since he’s the hero, Netflix’s Witcher comes off as an upstanding guy, though it’s rare for audiences to see how is it that Geralt arrives at these positions, rather he’s meant to be taken as is.
Throughout the first two seasons, the biggest changes in personality come from his fallout with Jaskier, his love affair with Yennefer and finally becoming Ciri’s protector, nevertheless, book Geralt seems to evolve as a man who’s facing an uphill battle against a world hellbent on his extinction. He may be referred to as an oddity in the series, but in a world with less moral grey grounds, he lacks that unbearable heaviness of being that’s always on the mind of book Geralt.
Story Matters
If season one of The Witcher already got a good amount of flak for the constant time jumps it used to finally get its three main characters to come together, then season two is packed with puzzling story decisions that rob it from some of the book’s most shocking moments. Naturally, Emperor Emhyr’s reveal is the biggest of those twists, but even the way Ciri and Yennefer meet, with the latter basically kidnapping the young girl feels like the type of creative decision that’s really hard to walk back from.
Even if it’s very dysfunctional in both form and concept, the original versions of Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri do come to resemble a family of sorts, and the two women’s bond is crucial so that the child of destiny can start to develop her powers. Giving that relationship such a dark origin not only seems contradictory with what Netflix’s The Witcher should be building up to, it’s the type of storytelling decision that makes it hard for viewers to believe Geralt could eventually forgive Yennefer.
The same could be said about Geralt and Yennefer, whose love affair never really dies off over the years, with the main difference being that in the books they get to confront their own failures as a couple, rather than getting split due to Emhyr’s conquest plans having consequences for everyone in the Continent.
The worst part about Netflix’s The Witcher is that now it’s become clear the show’s star was not happy with the way the story was being told, exactly the same angle taken by some Witcher fans, as Cavill had stated his one condition to commit to the series for all potential seven seasons was that the content stayed true to the source material. Sure, Superman came knocking, however, for a character he loves so much, Cavill could have perhaps made it work had he felt The Witcher was worth devoting his time to.
Watching Cavill in early interviews when promoting The Witcher would entice hope in fans because it made them feel Geralt was in the right hands, but more recent clips of Cavill do show a degree of frustration in man that wanted the series he starred in to be everything he knew it could be. He's not alone either, as former writers have decried the lack of respect many people working on The Witcher have for the source material.
In the end, Henry Cavill leaves The Witcher with the utmost professionalism anyone could ask from an actor, no scandal, just disappointment and the harsh lesson that sometimes dreams are not all one builds them up to be. The Witcher now has to live or die by its own merits, no longer carried by star power, and while the fandom is entitled to feel betrayed by Netflix, if there's someone who definitely deserved better it was Cavill.