The Witcher (TV Series) Rare Species (2019) User Reviews

Damnit Jaskier

[TheCorniestLemur · 7/10 · 25 December 2021]

I think most of what I had to say here was already covered by what I said about the previous episode: performances are all pretty great still, it's directed fine, there's some good dialogue (the bants are spicy here), and so far, I think this has one of my favourite little stories for any episode, on both Ciri and Geralt's fronts.

Because at long last, I feel like I'm actually being allowed inside the main character's head a little bit, and I like what is there. I also like his dynamic with Yennefer, I like the plot set up of a dragon hunt and the eventual reveal (kind of obvious plot hole of why the hell did the one with a secret bother taking them so far notwithstanding), and that "Damnit, Jaskier!" was pretty satisfying.

And the thing that Ciri gets up to here was also not too bad, with a little twist I didn't see coming, so while story-wise I still think the Cintra betrothal feast was the most interesting plotline, this episode kept my attention consistently the most.

So who knows, maybe Season 2 won't be as much of a slog as I was initially fearing. Still have to get to it though...

Well...

[matheuscmcarlos · 9/10 · 29 December 2019]

I understand that Geralt and Yennefer had to fight, and I understand that for her arc as a character she couldn't take lightly Geralt's last wish, but I would rather see "A Shard of Ice" at the screen rather than this rant at the end of this great episode.

And seriously, who is the one responsible for all dragons being portraited as Wyverns in media adaptation nowadays? And why??? Who said it was cooler? It's not. A Dragon is a mythical creature with four legs and two wings, a wyvern has two legs and the wings linked to what would be his front legs. Please just make a simple research and portrait a Dragon as a Dragon, a wyvern isn't even able to breathe fire!

Solid episode, but starting to lose its cinematic delivery

[whiteblade-1478 · 8/10 · 23 December 2019]

While the original script for the episode was probably very solid, the delivery of some elements were something I would expect to see from a lesser show.

A dragon hunt

[k_g_barreto · 8/10 · 29 December 2019]

Seeing some negative reviews, some from the Witcher book readers. I did enjoy the episode, as someone who didn't read the books and played the games, but I felt that something was missing here. I liked the design of the dragons, something lizardy, the CGI could be better, but I don't care much about it if's it's not really, really bad. We're finally seeing the relationship of Geralt and Yennefer, one of the enjoyable parts. The action scenes were weak, too much cuts, I didn't understand a thing of what was happening. It was a good episode, the perfomances are keeping the quality, the soundtrack is good as well. the bad guy of the season isn't convicing me unfortunetely, so I think they will develop him in season two, if they don't kill him in this one, that would be disappointing. Two more episodes to go, I expect that things escalate from now on.

The Dragon and the wolf

[pvsteijn · 9/10 · 21 December 2019]

One of the better episodes of this season. The chemistry between Geralt en Yenn was portrayed really well, again. I absoluty loved seeing the warrior women of Zerrekenia as well. Great combat scene at the end, followed up by some great acting (especially by Cavill) to end their part of the episode. Fantastic to see Ciri's story developing too. Her part had grown a bit stale but definitely not here.

One thing I'd say, and I've said it before, is that the writers haven't conveyed the different timelines very well. If you don't know the source-material, it'll be very unclear to follow what is linear and what isn't. That isn't a critique specifically for this episode, but seeing as Ciri's story has just continued in a linear way and both Geralts' and Yenns' stories have been a bit more... let's call it flexible when it comes to timelines, makes it hard to really invest in the characters and their journey.

Living for Geralt and Yennefer

[amandaritzmanz · 9/10 · 11 December 2020]

I for one am living for those sweet moments between Geralt and Yennefer. It's been a long time since I've loved a fictional couple as much as this. There's something so... I don't know. Star crossed lovers, perhaps.

The hunt

[cruise01 · 8/10 · 22 January 2020]

4 out of 5 stars.

Episode continues strong with its storytelling. Geralt and Yennefer being in a dragon hunt. Some twists and surprises. It is slow with its direction but the epic storytelling is awesome.

good job

[Kirpianuscus · 19 January 2020]

The virtues of episode - to define a convincing Geralt in very significant details and the conclusion than Henry Cavill did a real good job. Anya Chandra got each nuance for the realistic Yennefer and the dragon story is well crafted. So , ignoring the not easy problem of time lines between Ciri adventure and Geralt movements, a decent episode, a not bad adaptation.

Best episode yet

[moviesfilmsreviewsinc · 10/10 · 1 January 2022]

As The Witcher enters the final third of its first season, we're treated to one of the fantasy genre's greatest treasures: dragons. Not only that, but episode 6 is about as classic a Geralt story as can be told; a contract to kill a terrifying beast, with a moral dilemma right at the centre of it. "Rare Species" evolves the nuances in Geralt's Witcher code, revealing that not every monster is considered fair game. His discussion with the delightfully named Borch Three Jackdaws reveals a sense of kinship with fantasy's favourite beast, drawing parallels between them and the shunned Witchers. With a hunting party made up of boisterous dwarves, overly-proud knights, a dark mage, and an incessant bard, this is The Hobbit as re-told by a team of tabletop roleplayers. This is never more evident than in the dialogue, which is packed with sub-par banter and bad regional accents. Once again off-hand dialogue is used to reveal that many years have passed since he and Yennefer battled with the djinn, but now the show's timelines have been more concretely established this approach feels significantly more logical. While the spark between them doesn't feel fully genuine, there's definitely emotion here. It feels like a significant step beyond their last on-screen encounter. This helps set up the most pivotal scene of the episode, and of Geralt's story so far: the revelation that the Witcher and Yennefer have only been so deeply entwined because of Geralt's last wish to the djinn. It sets up genuine intrigue for future episodes, although the impact of it all is lessened due to the show's uneven pace.

One of my favourite episodes so far

[DVD_Connoisseur · 10/10 · 30 December 2019]

I really enjoyed "Rare Species", it's a very entertaining episode with a sense of scale.

Geralt and Jaskier bump into Yennefer and embark on a perilous mission to locate and slay a dragon. This chapter has dwarves, strange beasties, action and humour.

Jordan Renzo plays the hopeless Eyck of Denesle, a traditional knight from folklore who is eager to impress Yennefer with his strong morals. One of the funniest scenes involves his encounter with a random creature whilst his travelling party make their way to the dragon's lair.

10 out of 10.

Mages, anyone?

[brkykmsz · 6/10 · 23 December 2019]

When you have one of the most powerful mage in the continent by your side, but can't pull a falling man up.

Surprising!!

[amindostiari · 10/10 · 24 January 2021]

This episode was really surprising, especially the last scenes. I predicted a battle between Geralt and the dragon, but I was really surprised. I do not like the story of Ciri very much

For me the worst episode of the season, still with lots of positives

[guilhermelopes-86916 · 6/10 · 23 December 2019]

First the negatives. Oh my godness, how can Netflix let CGI like that on screen. That was some Syfy/CW stuff. I know the show can do better because ive seen it on episodes 1,2,3,4 and 5. I dont know wtf happened here but someone did this show wrong, like very wrong. Second negative goes to the director. So many dull, flat and boring shots. This should be the most cinematic episode and it looks like it was filmed in the woods with an iPhone. Third negative is the twist with the Dragon. I just find it too silly. I dont care if its in the novels.

Now the positives. The performances remain great. Geralt, Yen, Ciri, jaskier. I love their scenes together, the dialogue, the interactions. I find all the major characters very interesting. Im not really into romances, but Geralt and Yen kissing was some great stuff. Also Geralt unloading on Jaskier at the end was my favourite part of the episode.

If this was a finale i would be fuming but it aint and they keeped the characters interesting, thats enough for me keep watching, but gods the dragon looked like trash.

Good show bad episode.

[filologaki · 5/10 · 23 December 2019]

I can understand small differences in the story like with the striga or Renfri prophesising about Ciri.I can almost accept that they killed Mousesack and introduced a doppelganger,or the black dryads and so on. But in this episode they took one of the best short stories from the first book and literally butchered it. The real story: The king himself comes to the dragon hunt (he wants to be known as a dragon slayer and win a princess ) and Yen is with him. Eyck of Denesle is a virtuous, flawless, and spotless knight but highly prejudiced against witchers, sorcerers and non-humans, who has killed manticores and griffins in the past, as well as dragons. Yen is a witch.Enough said.Eyck tries to solo the dragon and gets wasted. There is constant intrigue between the 4 different groups constantly betraying one another (and Yennefer is mad at Geralt so they don't even talk ,so not even close to having sex) which results in Geralt,Yen and Jasker ending up tied up in a wagon and the golden dragon suddenly attacking the Reavers and the dwarves.The dragon easily defeats all of them but then the local militia arrives and the dragon is overwhelmed and trapped. Geralt frees Yennefer and she attacks the militia turning them into toads and destroying their carts (using magic you know as a witch and not swords...) saving the dragon and the newly hatched dragon baby.

What we got: Yennefer is in the company of Eyck of Denesle (the one who despises witches) who is presented as an imbecile who is murdered while he was in restroom. No fights with the dragons at all (maybe low budget?).No intrigue between the groups but just immature insults. And finally a fight between Geralt-Yen and the Reavers where Yennefer probably forgets that she is a witch and suddenly starts using a sword (when and why she is so well trained as to kill proffesional monster hunters i can never guess but maybe no budget for magic tricks again).

So instead of an epic story with dragons fighting and magic spells turning humans into toads we get Yennefer having sex again and fighting with a sword. I won't even get into the Ciri story.Mousesack dead? Doppelgangers?Black dryads with crossbows?Ciri leaving Brokillon where Geralt was supposed to meet her? I am ok with minor changes since it is an adaptation of the books but why change so many things and essentialy present a different story when the original is so good i cannot understand.

This show has one problem

[amine-2010 · 8/10 · 25 December 2019]

Yes it's CGI for monsters and this episode was very good till the scenes with Dragons it was not good for me.. Game of thrones they use like hundreds of effect for just baby dragons in first season ..the crew if this show should know everyone now Watching in good quality 4k and stuff ..everything every details we can see it bad or good and it's fantasy bigger world not drama or actions and has many monster so they should put some good money in future and bring something great ..or they should call for crews who works in game of thrones.. They are majestic in special effects ..

Solid episode

[chrisokram · 8/10 · 27 December 2019]

Couldn't quite keep up with the episodes before. It felt more like a hiking trip without much tension. Still there were some Highlights making the episode worth watching.

Geralt companion singing guy is sooo anoying

[stanka985 · 8/10 · 18 January 2020]

I love the show. Could be lot better, by that I mean more action for sure, too much of blah blah. But I belive next season will be stunning. Singing companion is annoying as hell, I can't stand the guy.

Meh

[aboalhyjaa · 9/10 · 22 December 2019]

Didn't really liked it. This episode is the kinda of episodes that aren't really with a point to the show

This great story is really well written and acted but

[natsia-02356 · 10/10 · 26 December 2019]

Its needs better fx, common netflix just use the cash

Odd choices abound

[targaid · 7/10 · 14 July 2021]

Never having read the books I'm not more than mildly interested in how they differ from this script. So, as an episode of TV I found this entertaining, if hardly original. Not even the 'twist' was any kind of surprise.

What does surprise me is that a show about characters with supernaturally endowed characters seems so reluctant to show the characters using them. Yen fights with a sword, Geralt seems uninterested in using signs. It's a very odd decision from the production team to minimise these powers and miss out on a big part of what makes the characters stand out from the crowd.

Besides that, the show is stunningly shot in impressive locations and mostly very well acted. Anya Chalotra is a revelation, poised, strong and yet able to show great vulnerability and subtlety whilst Henry Cavill is the best brooding stranger-type since Clint Eastwood; impressive and charismatic. This episode is, unfortunately, afflicted with one of the worst fake Scottish accents in tv history from Jeremy Crawford who not only can't do the accent he's attempting but delivers every single line as if he's in the middle of a 'roid rage. He really is very jarring in this episode shattering the atmosphere in every scene he appears in. Pity the RSAMD didn't teach him that anger like that is rarely interesting to watch, is a poor character trait and just puts viewers off. I guess he also didn't watch the scenes where Cavill and Chalotra use justified anger to great effect. I really hope he can calm down a bit for his next appearance and makes some visits to an accent coach.

I'm on my second watch of this series and I'm following it much better this time, partly because I'm playing the game and I have a better grasp on the world but mostly because I'm not thrown by trying to fit the stories together. It took us too long to realise that the stories we were watching are spread all over the timeline on the first viewing and there really isn't enough effort made to make this clear. It's a much better watch with that in mind. I think they assumed most viewers would come to it with foreknowledge of the world and characters, too, as there seems to be an assumption that the politics and conflicts don't need to be explained much. Whilst I don't need the depth the game gives it would have helped to have a little more world building to guide us along the path.

Still, I don't watch this for War & Peace so all-in-all it's a good episode of a very enjoyable series. Well-paced, with very interesting leads.

The One with the Dragon

[nazirkulovb · 7/10 · 20 December 2019]

Its 2 am here, it's raining and I am sitting here, writing this review instead of taking my beauty sleep (I don't think it will make me prettier, either, Yarpen). How does one feel when their most beloved story is put into screen? I am biased now, I can tell you that, thus you can take my review not too serious but this particual episode brought tears into my eyes. Incredibale casting (I'm looking at you, Yarpen). You just believe in this world, you feel it in your bones whilst watching. Perfect banter and the perfect dragon boil into the perfect storm. Cons in short: +Borch +Three +Jackdaws

My only complaint is the work of VFX production team. They should be fired for what they did to season 1. I hope they have been already. I hope the show gets a better budget from now on

Who approved this ugly episode?

[gustavo-de-francesco · 1/10 · 24 December 2019]

This is bad, really bad, not because I'm a huge game fan, but because it's ugly, very poorly written, bad acting, incredible bad dialog, it makes no sense at all. A knight that it looks like the one from Monty Python, Dwarfes that seems taken from Jackass, an old man falls, no one helps him and then revives as a poorly designed 3D gold dragon. WTF!!!!!!!

Weeding Out the Non-Book Reading People

[silvertonguedevil3 · 7/10 · 23 December 2019]

Wow, so I can only assume the bad reviews are from 1) people who haven't read the books or 2) people that only know the video game. There could be a third option, and that's people hoping for a GoT type show. Guess what? You're not gonna get it here. This is a very "by the book" show and it's coming together beautifully. My only reason for not giving it 10/10 is the somewhat wimpy CGI. I get the dragons are dying off and not as powerful, but it looked a bit campy.

Sy Fy movie effects almost ruin a decent episode

[larosaj-26666 · 6/10 · 3 January 2020]

Most of this show has been a convoluted mess barely making sense but this ep with a quest was more of what this series should be. Funny that many complained here that it was far removed from the source material which I know nothing of. But the effects for the dragons were laughable. I'm usually forgiving for a low budget show but this is not one so.........anyway nice twist. Didn't see that coming.

What the hell have I just watched..

[ethannodder · 2/10 · 23 December 2019]

For what has been a brilliant and enjoyable show to watch, this episode was literally shocking! I can't believe that this episode was part of the same show I've been binge watching from the start? Everything about this was rushed from start to finish. First of all, Gerald and Yennefer only met each other in the previous episode and now they're declaring love for each other, cringe. Gerald's been portrayed as having no feelings and emotional attachment throughout the entire series and then he falls in love with a girl in the space of 60 minutes.. makes no sense at all. Secondly the extras in this had the acting ability of a brick wall. The acting and script was that laughably pathetic it could've been classed as a comedy. Cinematic scenes seem to have faded dramatically, they must have been low on budget towards this point because they were awful. Introducing characters to simply kill them off 30 seconds later, I mean who cares? Lastly don't even get me started on how that man turned into a dragon, I mean what on earth? He disappears after 10 minutes in what was possibly The most pointless and pathetic death yet to then return 20 minutes later as a talking dragon who's mouth doesn't move when it speaks. Absolutely atrocity from start to finish.. if this next episode is anything like the one I just watched I won't even bother watching the season finale.