Cavill's Exit Just Made The Witcher Season 3 Worst Rated Season in Series History

The writer and actor strikes, coupled with regular postponements and conflicts, made the summer of 2023 a season of few releases. That meant that whatever shows got released came under intense public scrutiny.

One might think that fewer releases mean less competition and higher ratings, and there is some truth to that.

There is one major downside, though: every show that's out there now is being picked apart and found fault with in minute detail. The second part of The Witcher Season 3 came out on 27 July and immediately came in for sharp criticism. Fans are accusing it of being mediocre at best, and Henry Cavill is, of course, at the centre of the controversy.

The bone of contention is not that Cavil botched the role of Geralt of Rivia: fans continue to commend the actor for being far more dedicated to the source material than the show's writers. The problem is that he's leaving the project, and it so happens that Henry Cavill in the lead role has so far been the only thing that has been compelling many fans to keep watching the series.

'This is the finale episode we will see of Henry and I'm glad he's leaving, especially if this series is going to keep this kind of quality,' a fan wrote in their review on IMDb.

Speaking of IMDb, Season 3 is the lowest-rated The Witcher season on there. Thus, while the first season finale got a respectable 8.8 score based on 21,000 votes, making it the highest-rated episode, the season 3 finale received an embarrassingly low score of just 5.3 based on 2000 votes. And the episode that preceded it did even worse, earning a score of just 4.3.

'I became more of a fan of Cavill as Geralt rather than the show itself,' another reviewer shared, revealing that the only thing many people were attracted to in the show was the lead actor.

Many fans were disappointed to see Geralt relegated to a supporting role this season, causing them to lose interest in the series. The show's creators probably wanted to soften the blow of the changeover from Cavill to Liam Hemsworth, but whatever the case may have been, the end result is still very much below par.

Netflix still believes in the show, seeing how it has already confirmed Seasons 4 and 5, as well as the spin-offs, The Rats and Sirens of the Deep. So we're keeping our fingers crossed that with Henry Cavil out of the picture, the show will manage to remain at least watchable, if not a masterpiece.

Source: IMDb.