I'm starting to really wonder at this point, why studios are even bothering to adapt popular series that are loved across the world. It really doesn't make sense to me. You'd think the studio would want to adapt something because they want to bring in the already built audience that is attached to the other mediums, you'd think they'd want the word of mouth advertising that fans of that medium can bring with them to grow an audience. You'd think that adapting a story that is already written, proofread and tested with audiences would be easier than coming up with something brand new on your own. You'd think all of these things right? This is why studios choose to adapt fantasy novels right?

So then why, would Netflix allow people like the ones in charge of the Witcher, to do to this show what they have been allowed to do?

This series had the potential to be Netflix's answer to Game of Thrones (a series that was faithfully adapted up until the show went past the published material just by the way) it's a dark and gritty fantasy series that tackles serious moral questions with real adult relationships and loads of political intrigue. It is widely considered by lovers of fantasy as one of the finest dark fantasy stories available right now.

It was this love of the series that brought in Cavill, who championed the series as its face and title character. His passion for the series was evident from the very beginning with the way he portrays Geralt on screen. When the series first introduces you to him, fans delight in how much he looks and sounds the part of the iconic stoic Witcher from the books and the first episode which faithfully resembles chapters from The Last Wish gets fans excited to see what is next for the character in the series.

Unfortunately, that first episode is the peak of what this show has to offer. It's all downhill from there. It has a fantastic first episode that while the obvious directing problems (more on that later) did show themselves the primary story of Renfri and Stregabor in the first episode was so well done that it could be ignored. The budget seemed like it would be enough to allow the show to do the series justice, and then later in the series it just wasn't. There's a very steep drop off in production value from the first episode onward which impacts very important events like the Battle of Sodden Hill later on. The costume design feels very low budget, the cast other than Cavill is a bunch of actors making their first speaking roll credit anywhere. The budget became a noticeable problem the further into Season 1 that you went. But you know what? There was enough positive in the first season that you could look past its flaws and hope for improvement in Season 2, that if the show could pick up steam it might be able to truly go somewhere.

Then season 2 happened, and fans hopes of anything positive coming out of this series was completely massacred like the henchmen of Blaviken. Inexplicably the show starts to just go on WILD tangeants that have no bearing whatsoever to the source material. Completely ruining and wasting important character relationships with one another, killing off characters that are known to be alive much later, COMPLETELY rewriting one of the core story arcs of one of the main characters (Ciri) in a totally stupid and ridiculous way only for it to go absolutely nowhere.

What was a mediocre but painfully budget adaptation turns into something that barely resembles anything to do with the Witcher at all in just one season. What the hell happened here? Suddenly you're not able to look past the glaring problems with direction, pacing and time management that were present in the first season because now the series has wasted the good faith the audience had in cheering for its success. You can't ignore the jerking around of various timelines and plot threads in disjointed fashion as though the series was trying to rush towards the big events of the later books and completely skipping over the quieter scenes of Geralt just being a Witcher (that everyone wanted to see) because it crash lands into a field of pure show original garbage that no one asked for. How did we end up here? How did Cavill who is supposed to be as big of a Witcher fan as the rest of us let any of this happen?

Ladies and gentlemen we come now to where we are today. To where Henry Cavill has walked away from the series, and none of us can blame him, because as it turns out, Cavill was as frustrated with how quickly this show fell apart as much as we are. His refusal to continue to take part in what is such an obvious bait and switch from lackluster and dishonest showrunners is a validation in the fanbase's love of him as a spokesman of the series.

The show is scheduled to continue with Cavill as Geralt through Season 3, but this particular fan wasn't planning on watching Season 3 with or without Henry Cavill anyway because that's how horrifically bad Season 2 was. With Cavill now leaving the show for good at the end of the season, I can safely say without any hyperbole that the last reason for anyone to care anything about this show is gone for good.

The show at its best, was a messy, low budget almost amateurish adaptation of the books that happened to have the perfect casting of its main character (and to be fair as Jaskier/Dandelion also) driving it, and at its worst it was a total misrepresentation of what the Witcher was, that was just horrible in every way.

So much for being Netflix's answer to Game of Thrones. This series has more in common with Netflix's live action anime adaptations. It's such a shame too because the Witcher really had the potential to be an amazing TV show. Maybe next time, the right people will be at the helm of it.