Here's Exactly What's Wrong with The Witcher Fandom

The Witcher Season 3 proved to be the worst in the show's history. Developing on (or trying to rescue) the ridiculous liberties taken in the previous installments, the season continued to contradict the essence of many beloved characters from the Andrzej Sapkowski epic book series. The season also felt overly inconsistent, the costumes and visuals got worse, and some brilliant characters turned out to be far dumber than in the novels.

Was Season 3 good? Obviously not. But did it deserve such a massive backlash? We also think not! Fandoms are diverse groups whose members' opinions can differ drastically, but unfortunately, they can also be too stubborn, clinging to their interpretations of the plot and their own headcanons.

Fans' opinions on The Witcher have always varied greatly, depending on how people first perceived the story: through the original book saga or the video games by CD Project Red.

Speaking of the games, they are also essentially fanfiction. Even Sapkowski himself was not always flattering about the plot developed by the Polish studio, as he did not consider it to be canonical.

Notably, the video game Geralt is very different from the books. Besides being more charismatic and handsome, he is also less neutral to his world's political turmoil.

Or take Triss, for example, whose version in the Netflix show is much closer to the books, actually. Her relationship with Geralt is more friendly than romantic, although the two have had flings in the past. The games position Triss as more romantically interested in Geralt, and she even keeps his fate a secret from her friend Yen, keeping the Witcher for herself.

Despite these major deviations, few people criticize the video games that have already become a part of The Witcher canon, directing their backlash at the Netflix series instead. There are even complaints rooted in the racist discourse, with some fans claiming that actors of color shouldn't have been cast to play (supposedly) white characters.

Also, some express their frustration that the show features too little Eastern European aesthetics from the games, even though Sapkowski has repeatedly stated that his universe is not necessarily tied to medieval Poland.

Here's one thing we need to point out in conclusion. In the finale of The Lady of the Lake, Geralt meets his end: Sapkowski sends the Witcher and Yennefer to Avalon. However, this wouldn't have happened if the angry human peasants hadn't gone on a xenophobic rampage and attacked the dwarves.

Prejudice and lack of grounded opinion leads to blind rage and terrible consequences, and those who are aware of it (think Vilgefortz) can make use of it to manipulate the crowd. This is one of the central ideas in Andrzej Sapkowski's story, and we should respect it by being more open to other people's interpretations.