The Witcher Juggles Fun and Frustration In Its Shaky Third Season
It’s a weird, uncertain time for streaming; it feels like the bloom’s come off the rose a bit as audiences grow wise to building loyalty for shows that might just get canceled two or three seasons in (and/or get wiped from existence all together to cushion an executive’s balance sheet). Yet here comes the third season of “The Witcher,” one of Netflix’s last big hits, to remind us there used to be such thing as a true streaming blockbuster that wasn’t called “Stranger Things.” Indeed, much like Netflix’s other big genre hit, this third season is cleaved in twain as if by Geralt of Rivia’s (Henry Cavill) girthy blade. You see, Netflix has just released the first five episodes of the season, with the other half to come a month later. It’s an okay middle ground between the binge model that Netflix pioneered and To its benefit (and detriment), showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich maintains the more straightforward structure of Season Two, chucking the chronology-hoppin...