The Witcher 1x03: Betrayer Moon
Jan. 18th, 2020 07:31 pm![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
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tori_reviewsThe Witcher 1x03: Betrayer Moon
One thing I can say about this show is that it seems to be answering my issues between episodes. First time out I complained about desturation and then color arrived. Last time I complain about Gerhalt not seeming to have much character and I get this episode that actually does the work of establishing him.
I don't know that I have a big complaint this time out, though I guess I'm hoping to soon get this timeline ironed out. This episode clearly clarifies my question about whether these events were happening at the same time with a resounding no. Obviously Gerhalt is at least a generation after Yinnifer (screw it, I'm sticking with it this season), and I think I picked up enough references in the meeting to say that Ciri is in his time if not later (they seem to be in the same season now, but there may be time to go in either plot before they connect). I suspect we're going to get the details filled in about how the past story/stories influences the later one/s, that has the potential to be a driving force of the narrative, but a back-of-the-book timeline I could refer to would be fine too.
I guess my other complaint in this one would be that it's a bit too boob focused. Kind of like the desaturation, there can be narrative/aesthetic reason to include those shots, but it struck me as just trying to be Game of Thrones, and early GoT was definitely going overboard with the nudity for my tastes. I think it did mellow a bit later, but I remember how overdone it was in s1 especially.
As for the furthering of Gerhalt's story, this is the kind of episodic tale I was referencing last time when I talked about how his solo story could work. We do learn more about him, about his values and priorities, and about what exists in this fantasy world. He's the lone hero, coming in and out of other people's stories, fighting monsters and solving problems and mysteries, projecting strength and individual will; it's an old archetype that finally gelled for me here. And now that it's fully established they can hopefully do more with it, because archetypes are fine if you do something with it.
I don't really know what to say about Yinnifer's story here. I'm invested in it, and interested in seeing where it goes, but I don't know how I feel about it yet. In some ways I feel like we're a long way into her story, and in other I feel like we're still in the setup portion. I don't think last episode did that good a job setting her up as a prodigy, but we're told (and to some extent shown) here that she supposedly is. We've been more introduced to her willingness and grit and desire for power, but less so her actual ability and how it's any better than others'. She wants it more than anyone and is prepared to endure great hardships to get it, though I'm not entirely sure I know what it is, and I don't think she entirely does either. Right now I understand her story more from a cautionary tale perspective, as boyfriend (or at least fuck-buddy) puts it, attaining power and beauty won't make her more loved, and what she sacrifices for them will make her less so. I don't know if that will the final verdict of this plot, but it seems to be what they're setting up.
As I write these reviews I'm not sure what pace I'll release them at, but I'm writing them fairly quickly. I'm not sure how well this show would sustain my interest week to week, but as it was clearly designed for the more binging crowd, I guess it didn't need to be structured for the episodic side.
One thing I can say about this show is that it seems to be answering my issues between episodes. First time out I complained about desturation and then color arrived. Last time I complain about Gerhalt not seeming to have much character and I get this episode that actually does the work of establishing him.
I don't know that I have a big complaint this time out, though I guess I'm hoping to soon get this timeline ironed out. This episode clearly clarifies my question about whether these events were happening at the same time with a resounding no. Obviously Gerhalt is at least a generation after Yinnifer (screw it, I'm sticking with it this season), and I think I picked up enough references in the meeting to say that Ciri is in his time if not later (they seem to be in the same season now, but there may be time to go in either plot before they connect). I suspect we're going to get the details filled in about how the past story/stories influences the later one/s, that has the potential to be a driving force of the narrative, but a back-of-the-book timeline I could refer to would be fine too.
I guess my other complaint in this one would be that it's a bit too boob focused. Kind of like the desaturation, there can be narrative/aesthetic reason to include those shots, but it struck me as just trying to be Game of Thrones, and early GoT was definitely going overboard with the nudity for my tastes. I think it did mellow a bit later, but I remember how overdone it was in s1 especially.
As for the furthering of Gerhalt's story, this is the kind of episodic tale I was referencing last time when I talked about how his solo story could work. We do learn more about him, about his values and priorities, and about what exists in this fantasy world. He's the lone hero, coming in and out of other people's stories, fighting monsters and solving problems and mysteries, projecting strength and individual will; it's an old archetype that finally gelled for me here. And now that it's fully established they can hopefully do more with it, because archetypes are fine if you do something with it.
I don't really know what to say about Yinnifer's story here. I'm invested in it, and interested in seeing where it goes, but I don't know how I feel about it yet. In some ways I feel like we're a long way into her story, and in other I feel like we're still in the setup portion. I don't think last episode did that good a job setting her up as a prodigy, but we're told (and to some extent shown) here that she supposedly is. We've been more introduced to her willingness and grit and desire for power, but less so her actual ability and how it's any better than others'. She wants it more than anyone and is prepared to endure great hardships to get it, though I'm not entirely sure I know what it is, and I don't think she entirely does either. Right now I understand her story more from a cautionary tale perspective, as boyfriend (or at least fuck-buddy) puts it, attaining power and beauty won't make her more loved, and what she sacrifices for them will make her less so. I don't know if that will the final verdict of this plot, but it seems to be what they're setting up.
As I write these reviews I'm not sure what pace I'll release them at, but I'm writing them fairly quickly. I'm not sure how well this show would sustain my interest week to week, but as it was clearly designed for the more binging crowd, I guess it didn't need to be structured for the episodic side.
