Since its release in December of 2019, Netflix's The Witcher has received a large amount of praise among fans of the Witcher franchise. However, not every aspect of the series has been met with the same level of positivity and series showrunner, Lauren S. Hissrich, has responded to the most recent point of contention amongst fans of the series.
The Witcher is a Netflix Original series that premiered on December 20th, 2019 and is based on the popular Polish novel series of the same name. It even has a video game adaptation, which has seen a resurgence ever since the release of the Netflix series. Though, due to the large amount of dedication and passion the fans have for this series, it makes every minute change made in the Netflix adaptation hard to ignore.
One of the most noticeable of which being the odd changes made to the Nilfgaard armor. Contrasting the memorable black, metallic look of the armor featured in the CD Projekt RED Witcher series, the Netflix take on the armor is very wrinkly and unflattering by comparison. This sparked heated discussion online, to which Lauren S. Hissrich, the showrunner for The Witcher Netflix series, has openly addressed.
Hissrich explains that due to the large size and scale of the Nilfgaardian army, she and the other writers wanted the armor to look like something that could be mass produced to as many people as possible. In addition, Hissrich also mentions that because the army's priority is to head North, they are concerned more with how effective the armor is in actual combat, rather than how well it looks aesthetically. Something fans should keep in mind is that this is still the first season of the series and there are additional seasons that have yet to be released.
This is not the first time that showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich has made changes to The Witcher that contrast other adaptations of the franchise. One of the more notable is the decision to change Dandelion's name to Jaskier. However, because the Netflix series pulls largely from the Witcher novels, rather than the video games, that change in particular is more understandable.
That being said, not every change to the series was as well received or understood as a simple name change. With Jaskier it's more forgivable since his core character still shines through in his portrayal. However, the drastic change in Ciri's character did not go over well with most fans of The Witcher. A change as significant as that can deeply impact the story's pacing and overall quality, more so than a minute discrepancy such as armor design.
The Witcher is available now exclusively on Netflix.
Source: IGN.com