Review: The Witcher Season 3 Henry Cavill's Last Stand as the White Wolf

Pt. 1: Intense, intriguing, well-written, fantastic monster design and fight choreography, but serious lack of action. The first batch is full of mystery, magic, and game-of-throne-esque political scheming but will the final three be a worthy send-off?

Henry Cavill (Geralt), and Freya Allan (Princess Cirilla of Cintra),Susie Allnutt, Anya Chalotra (Yennefer of Vengerberg) Courtesy of Netflix/ SUSIE ALLNUTT

The first half will drop on June 29th, followed by a second batch of episodes on July 27th.

The epic monster-slaying saga is back in action this Thursday with ‘The Witcher’ Season 3 Volume 1! The hit Netflix series returns with Henry Cavill’s final battle as Geralt of Rivia in a two-part captivating season, with five episodes dropping on June 29th followed by the final three episodes on July 27th.

The highly anticipated action-adventure fantasy centers on Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer, as the trio reprise their roles in the mystical world filled with mages, witchers, elves, Djinn’s, dragons, ghouls, Striga’s and shapeshifting Doppler’s. The season picks up right after the events of season 2 as the trio are on the run fighting some of the many monsters, mages and other forces working against them. Anya Chalotra (Yennefer of Vengerberg), and Freya Allan (Princess Cirilla of Cintra) star alongside Henry Cavill, who is back for the last time as the fan-favorite mutated monster hunter Geralt before being replaced by Liam Hemsworth.

The Witcher based on Andrzej Sapkowski's Witcher novel series, has received points of criticism for straying too far from the novels. In fact, it is widely speculated that Henry Cavill's shocking departure from The Witcher series is for that very reason. However, fans can enjoy one last dance with Cavill as he leaves the series on a high note.

Showrunner and series creator Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich built an expansive fantasy universe featuring a combination of cheeky humor and over-the-top drama that stretches the furthest reaches of the Continent, containing magic, monsters, spells, and magical beings. The witcher has everything fantasy fans could ask for - bizarre creatures, enchanting action, compelling mysteries, magic and intrigue.

Henry Cavill Season 3 Netflix/ Susie Allnutt

“As monarchs, mages, and beasts of the Continent compete to capture her, Geralt takes Ciri into hiding, determined to protect his newly-reunited family against those who threaten to destroy it. Entrusted with Ciri’s magical training, Yennefer leads them to the protected fortress of Aretuza, where they hope to uncover more about the girl’s untapped powers; instead, they discover they’ve landed in a battlefield of political corruption, dark magic, and treachery. They must fight back, put everything on the line – or risk losing each other forever.”

The upcoming season will dive deep into The Continent’s politics as well as establishing Ciri’s powers and Geralt’s plans on keeping her safe.The first episode jumps right in as Geralt, Ciri and Yennefer are on the run and journey across the continent, as Yennefer helps Ciri to harness her powers. It opens with a short but impressive exciting opening action sequence of slow-motion sword fighting and amusing POV. We only get a few but rather stimulating fight scenes sprinkled throughout the first few episodes.

Season 2 concluded with a shocking twist, as we discovered that Emperor Emhyr of the Nilfgaardian forces (Bart Edwards) is in fact Ciri’s father and is on the hunt for her whereabouts. While last season was more focused on establishing the bond between Geralt and Ciri, season three focuses on the mother-daughter dynamic with Yenn and Ciri, while also establishing regained trust between the trio.

Things are different now for our hero as he is now a father figure entrusted with the care of the powerful Princess Cirilla of Cintra. There’s less weekly monster fights for coin as Geralt now has to keep Ciri safe as she contains so much chaos - the most difficult force to control, she’s also being pursued by multiple factions all over the Continent. This season we see their emotional bond grow stronger than ever, as trust becomes one of the central themes of the season. 

Freya Allan Season 3 Netflix/ Susie Allnutt

The series feels much more emotionally effective than it ever has before as the first part of the season explores the “found family” dynamic between Geralt, Yenn, and Ciri, with them living in a secluded cottage, where Ciri gets her daily training. Geralt decides that Ciri is finally ready and takes it upon himself to train her the ways of a Witcher. He also has to rely on his on-again, off-again lover Yennefer despite her previous betrayal. 

Yenn who typically has a stubborn exterior plays more of a mother figure this time around as she grows a tight bond with Ciri teaching her how to wield her chaos. She becomes the mother figure that Tissaia was for her, as she sees a lot of herself in Ciri, and knew she would be the best qualified. As she tries to convince Geralt to forgive her, she takes Ciri under her wing.

However, their domestic bliss will abruptly halt when they are once again spotted. This time around the focus of neutrality also takes a major focus as Geralt learns he can longer handle everything on his own. Monster slayer Geralt of Rivia has spent years in The Witcher claiming neutrality. As he says in the Season 3 trailer, “Neutrality — it won’t get a statue, but it’ll certainly help in keeping you alive.” 

We finally see the lone wolf display some feelings, after two seasons of his tough-guy demeanor. Ciri brings out a more tender side of the lone wolf, and gives Cavill the opportunity to show more range rather than just grunt, and repeat the word “f#k.” It also offers some laughs with Geralt’s dad attempts.

As creator Lauren Schmidt Hissrich explained to Tudum in April, “For years, Geralt has claimed neutrality, shunned politics and publicly asserted that witchers don’t have emotions — all to make his life as a killer easier to navigate. We’ve seen him battle monsters and monstrous humans; we’ve watched as he’s hardened himself in order to survive. This season, he can no longer do that.”

Geralt shows a true moment of growth as he lets Ciri plan a trap to draw out the fire mage Rience (Sam Woolf) even though it involved using herself as bait. This is where the family themes really stand out as he shows he can trust Ciri enough to handle things acknowledging her skills and perseverance. When Rience proves to continue to be a problem, Geralt goes after the fire mage alone, while entrusting Yennefer to take Ciri to Aretuza. Once again showing major growth in Geralt as he is still learning to trust Yenn again - who constantly reminds Geralt she is a friend and not an enemy. 

Speaking of trusted friends, the family wouldn’t be complete without Geralt's frequent travel companion Jaskier, who makes a jovial return as he unites on his quest to protect Ciri. He is once again a notorious seducer Jaskier (Joey Batey) plays a little more of a prominent role this time around in securing the safety off Ciri, and even getting into some sword fighting himself. We see a little more depth to his character and he even embarks on a surprising new love interest.

Henry Cavill & Joey Batey Season 3 Netflix/ Susie Allnutt

Although this season was lackluster in terms of action, there were noticeable tweaks in structure and tone. It strays from the typical “monster of the week” format that shaped most of the show's storylines before.

Although Cavill spends a lot of screen time hunting horrible creatures such as the shocking resident evil- looking monster of flesh in episode two, this season is more focused on the alliances, betrayals and overall intricate plans to capture Ciri. It feels much more on par with game of thrones this season with heavily connected story arcs crossing paths. I suggest brushing up on the previous Witcher seasons to keep track of all the oddly named characters, places, artifacts and legencies.

Another Game of Thrones reference they conveniently Fast travel - it was convenient for the narrative to arrive in Aretuza way quicker than previous seasons.

The narrative arc is much cleaner, with everyone on the same timeline. The timeline is also much easier to follow without gaps or major time jumps. The characters are also better explained, including key supporting players like King Vizimir, the ruler of Redania and his conniving head of intelligence Sigismund Dijkstra. Phillippa & Dijkstra are busy plotting schemes to get Vizimir in line. Phillippa is a power player this season constructing plans behind the scenes, proving to be one of the most influential Sorcerers, and notably the best dressed.

(Dijkstra. Phillippa) Season 3 Netflix/ Susie Allnutt

Meanwhile, other allegiances are partaking as Franchesca has some difficult decisions to make in terms of who she can trust. The now Emperor of Nilfgaard who goes by the name of Emhyr var Emreis, may soon be the biggest antagonist, yet we don’t know his true intentions for Ciri.

He poses a major threat to the livelihood of the dwindling elven population. Emhyr seeks to test not just Fringilla's loyalty but to test Cahir, another returning character taking matters into his own hands. Cahir finally made his way back to Cintra, where he continued to scheme his way into Emhyr’s good graces. We soon learn he’s not the only one betraying his friends.

Things start to get really interesting towards the final episodes as plans are put into motion as Yennefer pitched an idea to unite the Brotherhood. Regaining the trust of Tissaia, Vilgefortz and the board of mages was not an easy feat. During the night before the Mages conclave there is a lavish ball where most of the drama unfolds and secrets are revealed.

The final episode of part one featured a really creative way of displaying the night full of revelations and tricks. As the same events were transpiring and different conversations were happening simultaneously they were shown from different angles repeating the same scene with each conversation. There is a tremendous reveal at the very last minute as Yennefer and Geralt come to the realization that it was not Stregobor who was the mastermind, revealing a surprising twist and new antagonist to fear.

This season comes as a heroic end for Cavill who first played Geralt back in 2019 introducing the infamous book/game character to even more audiences. The announcement that he was leaving the project crushed fans of the popular Netflix series. In season four he will be replaced by Liam Hemsworth.

Cavill's portrayal of Geralt has been the heart of the franchise's success, and it's hard to imagine the series without him. It’s not only his performance but his well-known passion for the Witcher universe and lore that makes his role so iconic.

In a recent interview with Entertainment Weekly, showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich promised that Cavill would at least receive “the most heroic sendoff” once he leaves the epic fantasy drama.

Let’s hope the final three episodes, raise up the angst and give Cavill the epic sendoff he deserves.

Overall,

Season 3 is lackluster in terms of action, but what it lacks in violence it delivers in character growth and relationships, and overall standout performances.