While the first season of “The Witcher” was a smash hit with audiences on Netflix, critics were less enthused.
Complaints were high about the needlessly convoluted structure with multiple timelines and time jumps, along with a relatively slow start.
Critics reviews are now out for the second season and from the sounds of it, the follow-up is being seen as an improvement on every front. Time jumps are essentially gone and the story is both more linear and more evenly paced, while the scope is grander.
On Rotten Tomatoes, the show’s second season has pulled in a 95% score compared to the 68% of the first season. The same is true of Metacritic where the 53 of the first season has been replaced with a 75 for the second. Here’s a sampling of reviews:
“The Witcher’s second season is vastly more confident about leaning into the high fantasy and higher stakes of Sapkowski’s lore.” – Jarrod Jones, AV Club
“The Witcher Season 2 is the best kind of adaptation. It takes something known and creates something wholly unique while always respecting its source material.” – Kayla Cobb, Decider
“The pace of the series’ second season allows for a more rewarding sophomore arc as it shifts focus to its characters instead of its continuity.” – Rick Marshall, Digital Trends
“For all that the acting and writing is frequently ropey… it has the pleasantly self-effacing air of a show that knows its first season wasn’t a home run” – Nick Holton, The Independent
“Season two is a resounding success, expanding on what we love about this world while also improving everything that held the first season back from greatness.” – David Opie, Digital Spy
The second season of “The Witcher” will premiere in full this coming Friday December 17th.