It just keeps getting worse.

Somehow, while Netflix is famous for diversifying their cast, they managed to erase the whole culture the original story was based in, its mythology, its look and its sound, by making a bland western product set in medieval times. Whatever bits of mystical creatures we have gotten - it felt like the showrunners went to Simple English article on Wikipedia and wrote based on that, rather than use a perfectly authentical piece of literature that they are so eager to criticize. Instead, they could hire a research team, who could make a huge impact on how to incorporate Polish/eastern European folk elements into show design. I can't emphasize enough how painful it is to watch something so devoid of character, that was written into the fabric of the story. I was looking forward to something new and engaging.

Score in s2 is atrocious - it felt like we were in some cheap hero action movie. I am a huge fan of season 1 soundtrack, I think it added the character to this show that it's now severely lacking.

As for story itself, I can see it being interesting for someone who hasn't read the books, and I can appreciate that, but after s2 I have a feeling that people are encouraged to not read books at all, because why would someone put so much effort into creating a show that is poorly written, when we could have a much more interesting experience when reading. By watching the show people are actively robbing themselves of a better experience. When I re-watched s1 with my partner, cause they were interested, we skipped all but a few Ciri parts, and 0 context were lost.

One of the biggest things that is missing from the context is that the story is set during a race war, and we have yet to see anything other than just casual xenophobia towards Witchers.

Positive things: I love Anya Chalotra as Yennefer, although s2 made her do things extremely out of character. Henry Cavill grew on me pretty quickly, but Geralt sure is lacking the wit and charisma of the original Geralt. Queen Calanthe was cast perfectly. S2 ep1 was the only episode worth watching.