Having come off the recent end of GoT I think most of us are looking to find something to scratch that itch. If you want something exactly the same, you will likely be disappointed because the underlying formula is different. GoT was a first and foremost a character driven show with an overarching plot to set the background with minor fantasy elements that only develop later in the seasons. The witcher on the other hand is primarily a story driven show with fantasy elements being the bigger drivers of the story.

With that being said lets talk about what makes the show great and its shortcomings. The show has a wealth of material to draw on and this is translated well on screen with a variety of unique locations, characters and lore that for the most part is done very well. The overall story while initially hard to follow, however it does tie together in a satisfying manner and is compelling enough that it will leave you hungry for more after you breeze through the 8 episodes, good thing the show is renewed of a second season. The casting ranges to excellent to serviceable and overall I feel like the biggest struggle of the show to match the quality we have come to expect after GoT which is why I cannot justify a higher score despite how much I enjoyed the show. The main cast did an excellent job in particular the roles of Ciri and Gerald while Yennefers performance while excellent at some parts, failed to really convey the characters development throughout the season; with that said I do think Anya showed great potential and I hope she will improve with experience gained from the role in future seasons. The supporting cast is more of a mixed bag. We had some outstanding performance from Jodhi May as Queen Calanthe, Emma Appleton as Renfri and Joey Batey as Jaskier while others simply fell flat like Mimi Ndiweni as Fringilla. The swordplay is top notch with the majority of swings carrying weight while flowing into each other in a satisfying manner. The CGI is serviceable, although leaves something to be desired and lets pretend the whole talking dragon scene did not occur.

Overall its very good show that has exceeded my expectations and has showed that it is capable of delivering very high quality. If they can improve on the dialog and brush off some of the rough edges the show can be truly excellent, for now it deserves an 8.5/10.