The Witcher: Blood Origin

[Drunk Monk]

The Witcher: Blood Origin Dec 25

A prequel!

The Witcher: Blood Origin

Well, Michelle Yeoh's sword fight looked good.

There are only 4 eps, each about an hour, so this is doable. It begins with the bard, then sets it up as a prequel. It’s scenic with panoramic landscapes and lavish costumes. The main characters don’t grab me yet - not nearly as charismatic as Geralt & Yennifer, but at least Michelle is cast as the most kickass swordsperson (or sellsword as they call it) so that works. She has cool contacts and facial tattoos and gets the finale fight of ep 1 which is the best right. There are a lot of sword fights, all middling to okay; but far from great so far, and yet, still watchable. 

The quest squad is only half assembled by the end of e1 so the jury is still out on this. Only one monster at this point and it was a cgi mess - reminded me of a euro dragon take on King Ghidorah and not in a good homage way, more like Marco Polo describing a giraffe. 

It’s all elves so it’s reminding me of a Hollywood take on Ice Fantasy. Note to self - my next cosplay need Vulcan ears. 

The only thing holding me here is Michelle. The story has yet to grab me but it’s bigger in scope than Willow and I’m still watching that.

[Drunk Monk]

Well, that was amusing, although I feel it’s a story that could’ve been told in 2/3rds the time.

E2 assembles the quest squad. Four more join the dog & raven clan cast outs and Michelle - sibling wizards that are not quite developed as characters, another sell sword who is also underdeveloped, and a female dwarf who is awesome - she’s the most interesting character beyond Michelle. There’s also a gay nod which is so perfunctory it’s distracting. There’s a nice fight and for a moment I thought Michelle was going to pull a Georgiou but she doesn’t. They wisely arm her with a dao-like sword.

E3 is the penultimate ep and lines up the inevitable finale. The set up for the origin for Witchers is outlined in a predictably clunky way. The romances are set up. There’s some random hallucinations that are somewhat amusing. 

E4 is the finale confrontations and it’s okay. The empress fulfills her villainy as does the evil sorcerer. There’s some running about and fighting. The monster is cool. 

There was a potential time flaw in how the witchers originate and the way humans enter in was dumb. At least it ends relatively conclusively but ultimately it’s a half baked origin story. It never gets near the relationships and characters in the Witcher. If a comparison is to be made, this falls way short.

There is an excessive amount of F bombs. It’s as of the dialog writers had a limited vocabulary. In contrast, the dwarf has a lot of funny lines. She adds much needed comic relief and bad assery.

On the plus side, it’s stunningly scenic. The costumes are good (not great). Michelle and the dwarf are good - I’d watch a series just based on them. 

Not going to give the a D00M recommendation unless you’re really into the Witcher, and then, just to soften the blow of the next season which will surely disappoint with the Geralt swap.

[Greg]

Ep02 I applaud their use of fire to solve a problem. Who does the empresses hair? It must take forever. The dwarf hasn't quite joined the team but she was introduced and I do like her. Although she carries her mighty hammer as if it is made out of plastic. And why doesn't the dog clan guy have a holder for his axe? It must be a pain to hike all that way with it over his shoulder. And why don't they have backpacks or satchels to carry food and supplies when they are out traipsing over the wilderness?

Enjoying this more than Willow.

[Drunk Monk]

Who does the empresses hair? 

Elves. They are magical as hairdressers. They still are...

The dwarf hasn't quite joined the team but she was introduced and I do like her. Although she carries her mighty hammer as if it is made out of plastic. 

Mithril is light. But her hammer is made from... oh wait, that's a spoiler. You'll get there. 

And why doesn't the dog clan guy have a holder for his axe? 

Mithril is light.

And why don't they have backpacks or satchels to carry food and supplies when they are out traipsing over the wilderness?

Lembas cakes. 

Man, don't you know anything about elf and dwarf culture?

[Greg]

Obviously not.

[Drunk Monk]

Typical human-centric privilege. 

[Greg]

I'm feeling under represented on this show.

[Greg]

And done. Sad that my favorite character got ripped in half, but those are the breaks. I felt I could only understand the dwarf about half the time. And how cool was it that were able to find armor that fit her for the raid on the city. It was like a Christmas miracle. The Minnie Driver VO got to be annoying. I really didn't like the empress or her armor. All and all very messy. Michelle Yeoh was under utilized.

But at least there were peaches in the kitchen.