The Witcher Season 3 has been out for over a week now and fans are beginning to share their unfiltered thoughts on social media. Of course, the season had a lot to live up to since fans knew it would be the last one where Henry Cavill plays Geralt of Rivia. Unsurprisingly, many commenters feel it fell short. Fair warning: there are spoilers for The Witcher Season 3 ahead!
The Witcher Saga is unique among fantasy franchises for many reasons, all of which play a part in its active fandom and the kinds of critiques it gets online. The story began as an epic fantasy novel series written in Polish and was not translated into English until years later when it became a successful video game franchise as well. The Netflix original series takes some creative liberties, diverting from both the source material and the games. Many fans condemn it for making changes, and Cavill has sometimes criticized it himself.
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That has clearly colored the way fans feel about this new season and led to some presumptions about how the show is made. For many, Cavill was the heart and soul of the show and it will never be the same without him. Even for a show taking less criticism than this one, recasting the lead role after three seasons would be a difficult task.
Still, it’s worth keeping in mind that all adaptations make changes from the source material in one way or another, and The Witcher is not the first to disappoint a vocal fanbase. With that in mind, here’s a look at how this particular conversation has played out in the last week or so.
Random
Some fans felt that Cavill left the story in an inauspicious place, with a seemingly tertiary scuffle with random soldiers as his final scene on the show. However, many commenters pointed out that this part of the show is very faithful to the books, and if anything was altered to give Geralt’s arc more substance in light Cavill’s departure.
Unlucky
First off, many posts referenced both The Witcher and the DC Extended Universe where Cavill played Superman up until recently. Fans felt bad for the actor losing his role as a superhero shortly after giving up his role as a fantasy hero.
Valid Critiques
Some fans acknowledged that there are many valid critiques of The Witcher Season 3 but said that it does not inspire good criticism online because so many outspoken voices take issue with the fact that a woman is the showrunner and that there are non-white people in the cast.
Squandered Potential
Many fans thought that the show was missing out on a lot of potential by losing Cavill. Many feel that this should have been the role he was best known for in the long run.
Unique
Fans praised Cavill’s performance for the things that made it unique and seemed doubtful that Liam Hemsworth will be able to bring the same things to the table.
Other Roles
This week saw another surge of fan-casting ideas for Cavill in everything from superhero movies to fantasy shows, and even live-action adaptations of cartoons. Right now, it’s not clear what comes next for the actor.
Cavill
Finally, some fans targeted their posts as Cavill specifically, hoping he would get a sense of how many viewers would miss him. The Witcher Season 3 is streaming now on Netflix.
