The Witcher: Blood Origin (TV Mini Series) Of Ballads, Brawlers, and Bloodied Blades (2022) User Reviews

3.8! Are you serious?

[thefoochie · 7/10 · 28 December 2022]

I feel like I'm the only one who actually likes this show. I legitimately have no idea why it has a 3.8/10. To be honest, I don't have many complaints. The first episode did a great job at introducing the characters. Now it did seem a tiny bit rushed, but it's only 4 episodes so I understand why. On the plus side, even though it's a little rushed, at least there's so much stuff going on to keep it entertaining.

The two main characters are very likeable and I love their banter. The writers did a good job and making them work together while still having some tension. At first I thought they'd just forget their entire beef and just become best friends immediately. Instead they slowly begin to like each other more as the episode goes on, which is a sign of good writing. Michelle yeoh as scian is also a great addition to the cast. Like in everything everywhere all at once (which is one of my favorite movies), she is likeable and badass.

There's also some great action scenes. Scian vs éile and f'jall was cool. The beast was also terrifying. I love how it just completely evaporates all the clans in an instant. They don't even bleed or anything.

Overall, this was a very solid start to the series and it makes me want to watch more. I'd give this a 7/10, although it's a high 7.

Closer to the Witcher novels than the game or the TV series

[jerry-tracey33 · 7/10 · 19 February 2023]

I don't understand the low scores logged here, particularly regarding the script. The dialogue in this series has the same style and atmosphere as the original Witcher novels, much closer than either the TV series or the games. People who complain that CGI for the "dragon" obviously haven't read the books: it's a creature from Polish or Eastern European mythology, not a dragon. Long dialogues on subjects such as philosophy and politics run throughout the Witcher, as does the expositional style, so the writers have done a good job here. Production values are very high, and I would argue with those who claim there is a lot of overacting. I thought it was quite naturalistic, given the situations the characters are in. I also thought that the characters were fleshed out quickly and effectively given the time restrictions.

The Good (and interesting charecters), the Bad (plot) and the Ugly (CGI)

[Rok_S2001 · 5/10 · 26 December 2022]

The first episode has some good but also some very bad moments.

Firstly I would like to point out, that the actors portraying the main characters (Éile and Fjall) seem to be a very good casting decision, as they portray the classic and stereotypical "badass" warriors very good.

But there aren't very few positives from that point on, as the fight-scenes and the overall behaviour of all the characters in the episode is very questionable. Meaning that I don't believe people as a group (nations) and individuals (with their decisions and motives) would bahave like that in any way.

And lastly I would just like to point out the CGI of the monster that appears in the episode, which I believe is ridiculous and ruins the whole mood of the scene.

Three episodes condensed in one

[florianeaud · 3/10 · 27 December 2022]

I feel like the writers forgot about something with this first episode : your brainstorming session isn't a script.

So much happens in this, dozens of characters are introduced, most die before we can even remember their name, impactful decisions and character moments are almost immediately forgotten, the protagonists come to the right conclusions about their precarious situations with the thinnest clues possible so that we can move on to the next plot point... It's exhausting.

It feels like most of the actors tried to give it their all, but their character just isn't that good. Finest example of this is Merwyn. So she's supposed to be this brilliant princess who studies ancient history and has great aspirations right? Why is she so dumb then? Not going into any spoilers, but he comes across as monstrous and utterly delusional.

(SPOILER : killing your own brother, a genuine good guy by the looks of it who wants to bring an end to what sounded like a century old conflict? All that because he needed you to do your duty as a princess, marrying a king, and because you didn't believe his peace would last? I bet your two co-conspirators who murdered their liege, the clans and a bunch of mages who didn't want to follow them will maintain order. Definitely. Don't worry about it. What a poor excuse of an antagonist.)

The lack of budget is awfully felt in nearly every scene, be it with CGI scenery coming straight from a 90s movie, the bland costumes or the poor choreography of any fight scene (taking a page from Kenobi with the shaky cam aren't you? Cause that show was great for sure...)

Overall it's a really poor start from what appears as a generic low-budget fantasy show. Cause it's certainly not The Witcher. The lore gets torn down on several occasion, again, and the world building gets thrown by the window with all these people of different origins just living together even a small island in the middle of nowhere, AGAIN. But at least it reflects the world we live in today and it's adapted to modern audience, because that's exactly what we search in any work of FANTASY.

Unsatisfying

[jamiejack-00545 · 3/10 · 4 January 2023]

Have just watch the last episode of this series and the series was ok show but not great one. I think this was just made to cash in on the popularity of the Witcher. The script didn't make much sense caused it to be very long and drawn out. The CGI wasn't great although some of the fight sequences were well choreographed and the actors did try and give it a go. You have to ask whether this series was needed as I'm not into the law of the Witcher as not played the games or read the books only real came to it from the Netflix series I think for people who are into all that sort of stuff there going to be unhappy. This series never really answered any question I had as it set to far back from the original Witcher series so it didn't feel like you were watching anything to do with the Witcher. I think the problem with this series is it not the Witcher which I think a lot of people will be hoping for so will leave people unsatisfied.

Better than the reviews

[jgroves3625 · 8/10 · 26 December 2022]

I thought this was a good start to a limited series. Felt rushed at times as if some scenes were meant to be longer, but enjoyed the characters and the fight choreography was solid.

I think I understand the rush to hate this. I read some articles, wherein, a show runner was interviewed. Seemed like a great amount of arrogance about filming for six episodes, but cutting it down for a feeling of two feature length films. I certainly did not understand that attitude. Nothing goes far without some character development and creating a feeling of caring and ownership in the characters plight.

On to episode two ....

Sigh,

[micwilli · 2/10 · 26 December 2022]

When will Directors and Writers understand their audience, this show would have been considerably better if they cut about a third of the dialogue. The target audience is not stupid, exposition dumbs down the production and bores the watchers. Leave the audience with questions and they will return. However, the look is good, wardrobe, props & sets are not over the top which is brilliant and real. Some scenes show considerable over acting, but others are fully pulled back, I hope they balance that in the coming episodes.

As for the story, lots of information to build on, I would have hoped that they focused more on less characters and spent a couple of episodes introducing more of the theme as apposed to rushing in and checking off all the boxes. Audiences want to be taken on a journey of exploration and understanding. Interestingly, the Witcher did that much better, but then there is much more source material.

Even though I gave this a 2, I will continue to watch and see where the directors lead us. I've worked on too many pilots and episodes 101's to understand that there is a lot of chefs in that kitchen and it takes an episode or two for them to get cleared out.

One last thing, unless singing is a major plot point, dump it. It never works and always feels awkward even if the performer is a pro. Did we not learn anything from Ed Sheeran's disastrous Game of Thrones experiment?

Great beginning to a new fantasy show

[mariam_najafi · 10/10 · 1 January 2023]

I love that they've created a new witcher story with an overarching plot. I'm sad to find out it seems to be a limited series, as I'd love to have more of this show. And hope they at least make other spin offs.

This first episode had a great set up for a classic fantasy plot, interesting characters, really well acted. I was excited to see both Michelle Yeoh and Lenny Henry. And to top it off the costumes were brilliant with a special mention for everything Merwyn wears.

I really enjoyed the beginning of the episode, and loved that they found a way to include Jaskier.

Tldr; ignore the review bombers and give the show a go.

Netflix Resident Evil levels of writing

[jhoelmvillarroel · 2/10 · 30 December 2022]

I thought resident evil had a convoluted story and contrivances. This first episode is even worse which doesn't bode well for the other episodes. I love the Witcher in large part due to the writing in the Witcher 3. So for this script to be all over the place and for the characters to be unlikable is inexcusable. At one point the protagonists sit next to a group of peasants who must have CNN because they know exactly what's going on on the other side the world. It's like they were in the writers room. It's so ham fisted and lazy writing. And that sort of thing happens often. Everyone that's not a main character is immediately forgettable. I just wanted it and I can't remember any of them. This is reaching "so bad it's good" territory but right now it's just low grade mediocre.

Like the start of a good D&D campaign

[devincolborn · 8/10 · 30 December 2022]

Let's get the bad stuff out of the way first: -The CGI of the dragon is honestly terrible. I'm hoping it was just a matter of rushed development and neglecting to polish a relatively short scene. Hopefully next time we see that beast it will look better.

-I don't know too much about Witcher Lore, so I don't know how "accurate" or "faithful" this is to the books. But from what I've heard, mega-fans of the Witcher will probably be just as disappointed by this miniseries as they were with the mainline Netflix series.

With all that out of the way, I've gotta say I honestly don't understand why this show has such a poor rating! The main characters are interesting, the plot seems to be a straightforward "rag-tag band of heroes takes on the empire" story that we all know and love--and to be honest I think it will be a nice change of pace from the convoluted mess of a story the mainline series was in S1--the fight scenes were well-choreographed and didn't use too many jump-cuts. The prologue moved itself along quickly and didn't overstay its welcome. It introduced us to the plot, the characters, and their motivation and set us off towards the coming adventure.

To me, this feels very much like a D&D campaign, and I mean that in a very positive way. The heroes are all badasses, the action scenes and frequent and bloody, and I was never bored once while watching it.