5 Worst Book Changes in The Witcher Season 3 That Basically Doomed It
These changes may seem minor, but they're totally out of sync with the tone of the books.
The second part of The Witcher Season 3 finally hit the screens on July 27. But while Andrzej Sapkowski's original books and video game adaptations continue to bask in their glory, the Netflix show, produced by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, has come under increasing criticism.
The main reason why the new season has been received coldly is the mediocre script. Fans note that, just as in the case of Season 2, the writers took too much liberty with the source material and failed to convey Sapkowski's original vision in their show. Here's a list of five worst changes that ultimately ruined The Witcher Season 3.
5. The death of three assassins
Andrzej Sapkowski described the trio — Ralf Blunden aka The Professor, Little Yaxa, and Heimo Kantor — as far more sinister. They are powerful swordsmen, so their hunt for Ciri and duel with Geralt gives the reader a real sense of danger.
In the series, however, Geralt chopped them up pretty quickly. The scene was powerful in terms of action but unfortunately lacked the emotional component it needed.
4. The fate of Rience
In Sapkowski's novels, Rience is a much more complex character who lasted a longer time and finally got a well-deserved death. In the Netflix show, he was killed by Geralt during the Thanedd coup. Boring!
In the book saga, the sorcerer dies much later, in The Tower of the Swallows, drowned in a frozen lake thanks to the efforts of Ciri, who finally takes revenge on him.
3. The death of Aplegatt
Messenger Applegatt was the subject of a whole parable about how every action driven by prejudice leads to irreparably destructive consequences. He was killed by a group of Scoia'tael, indirectly becoming the catalyst for war between the North and Nilfgaard.
Unfortunately, his death happens so quickly and so inconsequentially in the show that the viewer simply does not get the moral message implied in the original story.
2. The music Valdo Marx plays
Valdo Marx, Jaskier's main rival, didn't play such a significant role in the books, but his addition to the series was not a bad one. The problem, however, is the modern style of Marx's music, which seems very out of place and detracts from the overall dark medieval atmosphere.
1. The purpose of Thanedd ball
In the show, the purpose of the ball is to unite the sorcerers against Nilfgaard. While this is one of the goals in the books as well, it's used merely as a maneuver by Vilgefortz in the overall series of intrigues that both mages and politicians weave around. Sapkowski was well aware that his setting was not a world of pathos and unity, but a world of cunning, betrayal, and the devaluation of human life.