‘The Witcher’ review: A riveting show, but falls just short of being truly great

Polish author, Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy novels about the adventures of a solitary monster hunter, a witcher, Geralt of Rivia gained worldwide fame after the action role-playing game developed by CD Projekt Red. Episodes: 8 Run time: 60 minutes Starring: Henry Cavill, Freya Allan, Anya Chalotra, Jodhi May, Björn Hlynur Haraldsson, Adam Levy, MyAnna Buring, Mimi Ndiweni, Therica Wilson-Read, Joey Batey Show runner: Lauren Schmidt Hissrich The eight-episode show which dropped on Netflix on December 20, however, has used the books as source materials to the extent of even reproducing lines of dialogue including Yennefer telling Geralt on their first meeting to have a bath as she can tell the age and colour of his horse from the smell! The five episodes that were made available as advance screeners, is almost completely based on Sapkowski’s The Last Wish a collection of seven short stories where a Witcher, Geralt, is recuperating from the wounds inflicted by a monster. Beauty and the Beast, Cinderella — Geralt wryly talks of a prince who wants his help in finding a maiden who ran away leaving behind a shoe, Snow White, the genie and three wishes and princesses locked in towers, all get a reboot as does the fascinating “Law of surprise.” These are stories we have read or heard in various forms from time immemorial and to see them re-purposed and realigned, looked through another prism is to see the stories as completely different beasts.