I had no knowledge of the Witcher franchises; books, video games or about this show when I started watching this series. I write this review for viewers like me.

First episode was very frustrating for someone like me who didn't know anything about "The Witcher" beforehand. I guess because of its medieval theme, the word choices here were not easy to digest, it's not like our modern daily conversation although they sometimes use F-word (there was one scene which was quite funny when the Witcher spit the word at the princess of Cintra's wedding).

For novice viewers, if you don't focus, you can easily miss basic information. You get confused with character names and they have nicknames of some sort as well. You don't know who's going to be the recurring characters and also their relationship to each other. In addition to those proper nouns thrown in your face, there are names of each regions, monsters etc. At first, I couldn't tell if the characters are talking about a country or someone. For example, Striga is a monster, not a person's name. For avid fans, this must be a very much primary knowledge, but not to me. You realize these things as stories moving forward. This show will tests your memory, you need to match faces and names very well, and need to remember the nouns accompanying characters' stories, otherwise you'll be left behind. It's all because this show doesn't explain any of the characters' background at all, you are thrown into the story from the very beginning. I am normally pretty good at comprehending stories with said type of approach, but at the same time I don't watch GoT kind of show either so I had a bit of a hard time with the first few episodes.

The other reason why it was hard to follow in the beginning is the timelines. In my opinion, there are three main characters, the Witcher: Geralt of Rivia, Yennefer the mage, the princess Cirilla. This show doesn't explain the order of their timelines. You just assume all the events are happening at the same time, but sooner or later you'll notice the story seems to be rewinding, showing the events that occurred in the past. It's a bit confusing, but once you figure it out, you're on track.

I will tell you though, eventually your patience pays off. You start seeing same faces, understands who's from where and who's on who's (what country's) side. In the end, all the storylines meet in one place.

I still don't know what part of this show really kept my attention, but I watched it through till the end. I was frustrated and couldn't believe the high ratings in the early episodes. At the same time, I couldn't stop watching because I wanted to witness the characters fate. All in all, I have to say I was entertained.

Additional note; I felt there is too much nudity to my taste, it was distracting and made me feel uncomfortable. If they try to gain viewers attention by it, I think it's unnecessary. This show has enough charm to hold audience's interest.

7/10 hoping it's going to be less confusing in next season.