It is not easy to become the number one trending series globally going into the second season of a convoluted, multi-faceted fantasy storyline, but Witcher's showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has managed to sustain and surpass the momentum of a fabulous inaugural season. Henry Cavill returns as the beleaguered, battle-hardened 'Witcher'-Geralt of Rivia, a biogenetically engineered warrior forever tasked with hunting down this magical realm's numerous monsters.

Our favorite ashen-haired brute is given the additional burden this time of acting as a father-figure to the exiled Princess Cirilla, played by an excellent Freya Allan. This unlikely pairing must travel the length of the continent, avoiding monsters as well as the agents of ambitious royals who will stop at nothing to eliminate the young royal.

The political machinations deepen in Season 2 as we see new players emerge with Graham McTavish reveling in his role as Djikstra, the chief advisor to the Redanian kingdom. Eamon Farren continues the same rich vein of devilishness as 'Cahir' that we saw in season 1 as we get to see more of the ambitions of Nilfgaard's hitherto unknown and ultra-secretive royals.

The CGI and intricate detailing of each fight sequence is top notch, and it is here that the Witcher scores above similar fantasy outings like Wheel of Time or Shadow and Bone. The scale, the sheer grandeur and largesse of this universe, is much more impactful and engaging for audiences. One even gets the feeling that you are watching a big budget film, just split across 6 episodes.

However, I felt that the life force of season 1, Anya Chalotra (Yennefer) was given a much more subdued role this time around and one hopes that her narrative will carry more weight in the next outing. And I wish the makers had included more hand-to-hand, duel-to-the-death type fight sequences that we so enjoyed in Season 1, with Henry Cavill in full flow.

As someone who doesnt follow the books that inspired the show, it is testament to the screenwriters and directors' abilities that they managed to distill the narrative from 6 novels and 15 short stories down to two action-packed seasons. With an unexpected, gargantuan twist at the climax, the Witcher leaves you hanging precipitously on the cliff of unrealistically large expectations for Season 3.

Season 2 of this worldwide phenomenon has clearly managed to match and surpass the standards expected by the ardent fans of the books as well as the video games. And for me, as a humble fan of just the TV series without having knowledge of the canon behind it all, it was still an enthralling visual as well as emotional experience.

Highly recommended!