Welcome to Witcher watch from the racking Focus podcast to your Witcher overlay of Plenty whole valley of Plenty toss a coin to your Witcher whole valley of Plenty. Hey, welcome back to the rack and focus podcast. I'm Josiah blizzard, and I'm John Doyle and this is our Witcher watch your watch. That's what we're calling it. Yeah, we're going to spendNext couple of days watching the Pete episodes of Netflix With The Witcher and we're going to debrief each one day by day by day. So we hope you stay and join this journey with us. Yeah, and I'm in the middle of reading the books right now. And I think you started the first one here in the first one right now the Last Wish just about done the first book. Yas'm and not the first book of the actual books. But the first book of the beget more than the first book of the short stories right of the Last Wish and then sort of Destiny, which is almost just like a Feels like a big prologue to what is coming. I'm only I'm almost done the Blood of Elves, which is the third book with the actual start to not the short story version of geralt's Adventure. And neither of us have played the video game. You can play video games when I play them my brain just get out of my head and I get a mic right here. So I haven't I haven't played the games. Maybe I will I know I have all I have is a Nintendo switch. I feel like to actually play Witcher game deferred you need like a PS3 or Xbox or something like that. I'm just not willing to go out and spend the money on that or else I would be trapped in video game and land for anyone wants to buy one of those buy a PS3. I guess PS3. I guess it's PS4 and PS. Well, whatever PS they can get and that doesn't mean piece of it means the never mind PlayStation 2, you can certainly send that to the rack and focus podcast will do it will take donations on that, but we're going to start right off and we're just going to recap for you guys and talk about our opinions or thoughts on the episodes how they're relating to the books. Not how they're relating to the video game. We have no idea but and just generally what our thoughts are on on this piece of fantasy. You may hear a dog in the background whining. You might hear Stephanie join us for a moment with a comment. So if you hear my voice suddenly turn into an alto instead of a base. You'll know it's Steph. So so we're starting episode 1 the ends beginning and it's geralt fighting a Kimura. Right? Right, and and we were talking a little bit before when we saw the previews of okay. What was let's speculate here where they going to go with this and you pointed out like that. Looks like it could be the Camorra from the chapter lesser evil exactly in the Last Wish and sure enough. This poor dear gets gets his leg jumped on by a by kicking more and geralt comes rushing out of the water, which was what a great entrance for for our character, right? Yeah. Absolutely and you know, the kicking War battle isn't present in the books. It's just we just see it post that battle it starts with him like pulling the cart in right with him. Yeah with a dismal really gets us the opportunity to see some starting action a nice and Meaty array moment here diving in with the action taking place. I will say this he was underwater and extraordinary amount of times the weight room and he I don't know what his limits are, right? Yeah. Like I don't know how he didn't how he didn't get it how he avoided all these blows here, but thankfully reached for the sword and got him right in the head this and it starts off like going this is gonna be gruesome like this is going to be a rated R version of In happening, which you I feel like you can't do the Witcher if it's PG-13 right now, we're good as we get through this we're going to hit that pretty hard. I yeah, I think so. I think it just might get more and more bloody. But what a great moment what a good way to start off and and it's revealed with his black eyes that he's been taking these elixirs and these away if you haven't read the books if you don't know anything about The Witcher and I'm sure they'll cover this in a later episode. We should probably say this right now spoilers are words. The Witcher, yeah, if you didn't know that you haven't yeah, whoops. Hey, so he takes these electors and it makes him almost even more superhuman that he actually is he can move really fast you can see in the dark like it's I think in the books it's written that he can hear a cat three blocks over pouncing on something like he is superhuman Sobel in the individual different elixirs have some different effects on his manufactured by human body, right so and that That's very video game. Right every video game. I understand why the books were translated into video game before film and then we see him walking into a lava con but we do not know it's avocado first. It's just some random town. And first, I really thought that we were starting off with his introduction in The Last Wish where he cuts down those guys in the bar, right they well, they set it up and you know, there's a certain amount. Bracing of those short stories being manipulated around here. Yeah, and what we're getting in this first episode feels like a merging of three different books without spoiling anything in future episodes or in in the future books for you. The Lesser evil is obviously from that first book The Last Wish and then there's reference to the end of sort of Destiny and the beginning of Blood of Elves. There's like three different. And things being merged together and what we're seeing is like we're seeing sintra and the people in sintra referencing what is happening with geralt a bit and then we're seeing everybody in blah back on referencing sintra and they're kind of like ping-pong back and forth and there's mention of nilfgaard and all this stuff this opening scene where we you know work in the bar. Those are it does remind me of the earlier sequence in the book, but one of Of the things it does really nicely. Is it establishes that the witcher's a disliked character? Right? It does that work while still introducing us to characters. We're going to need to know later. So we don't even know who they are. So, you know, we have we've got these guys who are threatening towards him, right? We don't know what story were inconsistent is hated by these people essentially they could be they could be townspeople for all the Practical purpose to yeah. No. Yeah and then we meet this young girl, right? Well first we get a couple of drinks, right? So we But the potential of romance I guess there is romance. Yeah, if Garrett doesn't sleep with somebody in every episode I will be a little bit shocked. Yeah that may be part of the contract that that Henry Henry Cavill made to be on this show you need to pay for my weightlifting and women very good. That sounds horrible. That sounds like he's gonna get fired. Yeah now he's a better guy than that. Yeah, I think so. So so what? Of the things, you know referencing the books is that after this initial these initial moments here in this fascinating beer drinking and multiple kinds of glasses. We we end up meeting another character who's a young girl who takes him up to this Wizards Tower and if you've read the books, we know that that would be the ultimate instead who has some long term like longer relationship with Carol. Yeah, and this town is a place that he is has been able to I'm to before that there's some there's some connection with this Alderman but that character doesn't appear and it's just as young girl and you know, it was a lovely way to help us engage and get sympathy in this world really quickly. Yeah, you know the way the pompous Alderman is a who cares right the young girl to who's clever and kills a rat and is similar to him sets us up. They certainly need to I think they're just moving things along and I don't remember in the books if he meets this. This woman in the are you know, like he just kind of there's a moment in the books where he where she climbs into his like Hut right be mad at yourself for that. Yes. I don't know how they met but there's things there's substituting moments obviously to it comes off a little bit better on film if we do it this way rather than this way, but then there's times where they're literally sucking lines straight from know there's dial straight from the book that I like brightness seen. That's that's their dialogue back and forth. Thing I want to say about these first two scenes that I thought was really interesting is we open in the most extraordinary League re-washed scene, like if that was dinner, it would be dinner. That would have no vitamins for you. Like there's no health value to that tan and gray world and then we get inside this bar and skin tone start to develop we start to see a whole lot more richness to color and tone which I thought was an interesting choice and I thought you were going to stick in that gray throughout and they did not yeah. There's a nice. Contrast of warm and cold with in that bar scene and even just in the in the color palette in general. There's a lot of you know warmth versus coldness and I don't know if that's a conflict for garel internally of how do I act because I mean it there is a moment in the show where our wizard character says that witcher's don't feel and you can't have a protagonist who doesn't feel right like the movie would the movie Show would not work. If a protagonist does not feel anything if there's no internal conflict for them to work through and so you can expect that girl. Yes, he does feel things and it's just a matter of what choice do I make do I make the right choice potentially being the warm side of this color palette that we're seeing represented or are we going to choose the cold and dark the dark path and just choose the wrong answer? Like I don't have a plays a lot of the dialogue real flatten this and I'm not sure it works or not yet. I'm not sure it works or not. I think we're going to see that advance. But I think it has to be a baseline. Yes, this feels like a pilot and so much of of the way I you know, you're approached it. I love the fact that there's pool of blood on the ground under the key Kimura that's going to be a nice, you know plant essentially for the payoff of the same kind of puddle of blood at the end when we when we reach the end of it. I thought that was really interesting visually. I love the scene with the Alderman's daughter and geralt. I felt that Walk along we were so there's some great little dialogue that's written and and it might feel like a lot of these scenes are slow-paced and almost throw away. Like I was thinking like man this how long is this episode and it's a full hour-long like this is one hour one minute and there are moments. I was like, they probably could have skipped right over that but they're just I think they're just choosing to tell the story the way they want to tell it and Netflix is just allowing them free rein to do it, which is really awesome. But I wonder if it affects space at all because for me I was I caught myself thinking there is a whole lot more talking in this episode than I expected. I almost expected the opening scene to be a little bit more adult drawn-out fight scene. You know, I really thought we were going to start with his battle against the striker or however, you say that that monster from the last wish that yeah, and I thought we were going to go there we went with lesser evil, which is a wonderful story. So this we get to this Tower and I just want him about it the gray palette much more strongly and I want to mention to hear. This is a point we're going to talk about this later is special the G becomes significant in this story there and some places it works really well some places it works less. Well. Yeah, but there is a lot of CG did the Integrations pretty good to this magic bit at the door work for you. I mean were you convinced? Yeah, Steph is shaking her business. Yeah. Good. Thanks, though. Okay, good. Thanks. So. Yeah, I it was nice. And then of course, we walked into the space and stuff made a grown when she saw the days because they give women and stuff is like but that establishes the mature tonin in the books are doing the same thing right there saying this is not a children's fantasy story, but I don't fantasy. Yeah 100% And we meet our wizard here and he pretty much kicks off Hey Garrett. This is what I need you to do for the rest of the episode and he has to make the choice between who is the Lesser evil in This moment again line for line straight from the book in this scene. And this was a long scene with a lot of dialogue. I thought it was really interesting is they could have really cut this down, but I also think one of the battles that this shows going to have to deal with and it's a battle. I think that Game of Thrones survived early admirably in its first season was is getting people who read the books and play the game to buy in so by doing some of those peas dialogue, yes, it makes there there. There may be a lot of fan service early on right Especially in this first season just to give the already fans of The Witcher reason to say hey friends, you don't you have never read The Witcher, you've never played The Witcher video game, but you need to go watch this show and we can Bond over over the over geralt of Rivia in film form. So I think that's good for here. Let's skip ahead. I think to Sentra a little bit. I think that's great. So so we you know, we find out here we've planted the story line. We have a lot of exposition getting us into the position where we know what's going Three we've got to figure out yeah, there's a lot of world-building to do but they don't have time to world because they have story building to do as well. There's a lot happening in this opening dialogue to get us into a place, you know, this this entire episode feels again, like a just like a prologue to the actual story that's going to take place. This this feels like hey, we're just setting the stage for what's going to happen from episode 2 to 8, everything that's happening in sintra as far as I'm concerned is and know is that this wasn't written in The books this is not Source material at all. This is simply just hey, they're dancing. They're having some kind of feast and party and there's a reference to Queen clients daughter pavetta and and her husband and that's a whole nother story within the The Last Wish book but there's a there's a reference to that. Yeah. So there's there's little those little nods and Easter eggs and references that but we're seeing with them watching these people danced before. Guard attacks. I haven't read anywhere in the books. And I don't know if there's any Source material for that. So they're coming up with ways to merge everything together just on a fast track right to get us to get us started as I'm watching this scene and it's going to be very difficult for I think fans of the show to not compare this to Game of Thrones, right? This is coming off the heels. This is like it's less than when a Game of Thrones and it was this year was last year. Yeah. It's been less than two years since Game of Thrones ended and so that's it's still fresh in the and right we want something that is still going to satisfy that fantasy genre craving that Game of Thrones gave us for six seasons and then slowly trailed off but there's something about the production design and the lighting and the camera work that just feels far more novice to me than Game of Thrones and it might be budget. It might be crew. It might you know what I mean? Like there might just be limitations that Netflix has for the show, but they're and they're certain camera moves are certain. Some like that's a that's a great shot. But there's there's something about it. Like there's a look, you know what I mean? Like do they look looks like Television, right? And yeah shot flat and often. There's it's like a real flat shooting and the other thing is about the CG background. So there's a lot of CG backgrounds right now. Are they honest? What are they? They are really there in screenings together. There's a scene later. I'll talk about it more specifically, but I feel like you know, we see fire in the background sometimes in that fire feels wild the artificial and those things do it. But and that means the lighting on people Doesn't match the lighting in the universe around them that may change as they get their feet under them right but for right now we're moving pretty quickly or in a lot of settings. I thought this little dance number that they do, you know, when as the princess dances was charming and adorable and I like her a little bit right because she's a little standoffish when you first meet see recent recent rilla centrally cirilla cirilo cirilla, and and we find at the end of this. Seen that know if guard is actually just outside their door step, essentially. Yeah, this is the party before the storm. Yeah. Sure. They didn't know the storm was coming. No Absolution makes me really wonder how they've survived for so long without being attacked. Do you know you mean like there's if you're a queen and you run this little kingdom here, you better know what's coming like she's being warned at dinner like by her husband that hey no guard had just took. Took the river right like all this stuff. Well, we'll be fine. No, they're like, they're right here. Like they're obviously moving towards you you should absolutely have scouts out that are letting you know that hey there are seven days away there two days away. Do you know you mean like a so that's something that I just didn't really enjoy seeing like there's like she's a warrior Queen right by me as a warrior queen of Grandmama, right? There's where Mommy yeah that that that seems like it's an important thing for us to know and yet she's Not all that prepared for the battle. She should be more prepared as that's how at least how I feel and so I didn't necessarily love the way that they had no card attack almost like it was out of nowhere which in the book, I believe it really does come out of nowhere, but I think they could have done it differently in the show and maybe it again this Hall doesn't matter then they're just trying to get us to the actual storyline, right, you know when we get back to rent free. Here in this scene where it looks like our Witcher, you know, the the next scene is that is making some kind of chemical material that he's going to be able to use your phone similar right there. So it's in terms doing that work we get this really, you know this second conversation about the lesser of two evils and I love TV show or a movie that likes to ask questions about ethics. Yeah. I'm not sure there's a good answer here. But certainly there's a there's a great. Questions being asked. Yeah, absolutely. I mean the without getting too far into politics. I mean, the lesser of two evils is often comes up in political conversations, right? And in this case, it's not necessarily political but for which are you geralt specifically wants to remain neutral in his stance on almost everything he all he wants is to get paid to hunt monsters and if that's all he could do then perfect, but we know that Garrett takes he just takes Jobs, that's pretty much it. He'll take any job that comes to him as long as it doesn't disagree or go against his moral compass and we're going to see that come up. I'm sure in future episodes. But yeah this conversation right here with about lesser evil and and rent freeze backstory and I think because we met the wizard first actually we met him second, but we're getting his story first about the entire situation. You almost want to side with the wizard at first and say maybe you should just maybe you should just get rid of this girl who Is going to cause chaos to the entire world or whatever whatever the stakes were, but then you hear her story and you're like maybe you should get rid of the wizard. Like I don't know maybe just get rid of both of them. I don't know who's who's worse, you know, that's and when you know, will it is a it's a hard question especially because there is obviously some chemistry here between rent-free and geralt that we get are, you know, they work together as actors pretty well as well if they feel comfortable the dialogues really, you know rips. Either they do nothing here that I think is interesting. You know, one of the things I've said about the books to you Josiah. Is there sort of this interesting play on fairy tales right read constantly referencing fairytale, especially in these the book that I'm in and finishing and they stripped the fairy tale right out of this one, right? So we don't get any of the sense that this is a Snow White story, right? You know that gets Justice or seven dwarves or writing or religious Warriors, right the that whole conversation here we strip that away so that we can get to the point. So they're taking Out some of the material that may be fun in the books, but doesn't serve the movement for the plot they get to two people trying to figure out who they are right the monster who's not the monster that questions asked right here in this the scene in the woods and then we're going to revisit it at the end when they get together. Yeah, and we get a there's a romantic bleach charge scene coming up here and I don't I can't actually tell if they did they'd actually Sleep together or did she trick him in some way? Did she like she seems to be a she's immune to Magic right? And so does she have magical ability herself? I can't remember if we have to make that decision about her. Yeah. No, and I think they want to keep us unknowingly knowing this guy's as garel is unknowing. Alright of what it is. And I know he has this Medallion that you see around his neck and that is supposed to respond to Magic in some way. But I know ever see it was he bailed at what ya did it won't be touches it like a check. Yeah, but we don't see it. So the next sequence we go. After this sort of moment in the woods and new statement about what the lesser of two evils his is we move into the battlefield. Yeah in what is a very sad and pitiful moment for yes intra. He's about to get them and you know, they're going to get demolished when that second form of troops. Get over the hill. Yeah everyone we all made an audible. Yeah. We should let's look for that and all I could all I could hear was Obi-Wan Kenobi from Revenge. To the Seth saying I have The High Ground is like it's over and it getting like oh my God, it's Center has done for this is it and it costs to a wide shot of there are two armies and sintra just looks completely outnumbered. I don't even know how Queen collapse got away with without being shot down, especially because of where we leave her. Yeah. When as this battle progresses at this point we knew we were in for violence very rated R of very rated R show, you know, Steph begin began to Make grunting noises as swords went into different parts of people's bodies and we're switching back and forth between the princess and the war and we're hearing back story with the princess and her guards. Yeah, and we're getting the battle on the battlefield. Yeah, and you this is our introduction. We still don't know a hundred percent who these wizard guy is but it is Mao sack. And so that's that's a character from the book says, well who's who I really have enjoyed reading about but But we're going back and forth. And I mean really here is just like she seems like she wants Adventure right? She's been introduced as this almost like this tomboy character, right? She's out in the dirt playing gambling all mostly guys, right these guys and doesn't want to be within the court right? It doesn't want to be within the castle. She wants to be out in the streets with everybody else living a normal life and we see that reflected here a little bit and we're this is what this is. This was the moment that House act talks about what the wizard were geralt is locking children in towers and experimenting on them and then killing them directly relating to the conversation geralt has with rent-free and it gives us information that girl doesn't have so we can have a sense that this guy may not be on the up and up but girl still has to make the decision to just forget that yeah evidence and I mean even at the end, right the question is posed like did you you'll never know if you made the right choice or not? And that's just something you have to you. Have to live with so yeah, so this whole conversation happens. Yeah the wizard and then we the wizard has that conversation. We me. I love the wizards costume. I want to say and I thought that that scene in that room was one of the better shot scenes when it comes to background. We definitely was the costuming is actually I really enjoy the the costume design. And what did you think of these fight scenes? Was it did it? Hold up for you? Like I know there was some reviewers going around but I got an early glimpse of the show and we're saying that it puts Game of Thrones to shame. We're obviously watching episode 1 there is still a whole lot more fighting to happen. But so one of the things I'll say about it is there they do a really good job at shocking us with violence right like her. Yeah, the my biggest issue with it is there's so much CGI blood. Yeah and that takes away from being blood splatter have blood for your happening. It's not necessary, but we do get you know heads chopped off blades through people's bodies. And yeah, I mean an arrow in the eye that ultimately then puts us in the position of an obvious he sense of loss and our Queen has has to absolutely Sue who sees our enemy like we get this foot like there's the Real Enemy up on the hill and now we know what the battle is between. Yeah, but but this I thought that the one issue I had was that we have a lot of duplicated CG bodies in the wide shots. Yes. Yeah. It's a lot of things our budget May grow as this show progresses a little bit and hopefully by season 2 will will really have a budget in place now that they know that people are interested in the show. There's so Man on the hill who shot Quick Glance husband. I don't even know her know his name. But is this the same? I'm assuming this is the same guy who carries cirilla off later, right? Yeah, man with the feathers of another this helmet and it's spoken about look. I'm just I didn't know if they all if they all had hats on with feathers. I didn't that's what I mean. I'm just confirming for our listeners here. That is this think I don't crucify me. Can't hear my wife off camera baby. He's scolding me a little bit in the books at the beginning of Blood of Elves. There's a recap about cirilla being dragged off or chased by the man with the in the black with the feathers. And that's who we had and that's exactly who we have. There's things that are happening Lancel getting shot in the neck while she's riding. I there is there's the visuals that are presented in the book. I wish were translated more. We because we're getting things from a character's point of view in the book. And I don't feel like we're getting enough in side of Princess surrealist head here. Like I want to feel what she's feeling and I don't feel that all that much. Do you do you agree with that? Do you disagree? You haven't read that part in the book yet. So you can't just because we don't know I'm not responding to that. I I actually she's pretty engaging to me. I think she's interesting. I like her. She obviously is feeling stuff and yeah, you know No. Oh, no doubt. I will say this the one of the things in this weird asking about TV these sets that were on throughout this process in this kingdom are all we never get establishing shots. We never get wide and that's one of the reasons it feels like TV and not like them like said, right and then something I mean again going back to Game of Thrones you get those wides pretty often, you know, and it comes down to I think it just comes down to budget just get wilderness. Blind people to every imaginable place in the globe to shoot things. They're shooting a soundstage similar Greg. Yeah, there are moments that aren't but there's a lot of this it is and so we're in tight so that we're limiting the amount of set we have to expose. Yeah, but we're still able to get some depth in the shots. Yeah. And so, you know, there's there's this lovely moment between grandmother and granddaughter full of mystery, but also an opportunity for us to see people carrying I love her like night the black guy. Who's heard night? He gets a nice bow a couple of times here even as he passes out the poison and pours a suicide that folks are going to be taking on. Yeah, and we get a moment here and potentially the most important moment in this scene other than like her saying goodbye to her grandmother her screaming and the cups shaking and that is definitely I mean it comes back again when she is on the horse and she screams in the man and the feathers Off the horse and then this whole pillar falls and somehow splits the Earth to bit and that could have been due to her screaming as well the Earth splitting. So this girl has power right there is some kind of internal magical ability of some sort that she that she has that I'm expecting to come up big time. As far as the story goes for the next couple of episodes, especially as we're talking about Destiny, right? It has to build you have to that your hashtag. Yeah, the stakes have to get hard that comes up. Over and over right is Destiny Destiny. I mean the second book is called sword of Destiny and she talks about it. Right we go find geralt of Rivia it like I don't know if she outright says he's your decigram mother says he's your destiny because because the same thing is said by rent-free Rhett this girl in what would is your destiny? And so there is a sense that the the show's telling us these two are going to come together and that's what we should be watching for. Yeah. I thought the grandmother was going to die. Maybe nine times. Yeah, she continually does not die. Yeah, that's why it's great. But I knew she wasn't only because of the reference that she said about if I'm gonna go out it's going to be much more dramatic than this waiting for her to fall out that window which I because I read the book. I knew that that was what she and they only alluded to it. It wasn't an actual scene from the book that they that they wrote about. It was just like an ongoing Cliff jumped out of her window and Everybody committed suicide in the castle. Like that's why I think you the suicide stuff. They treat pretty well, especially the bazzara Steph said, why do you do that? The self next stabbing which is a hard way to go. Yeah. Well, that's that's that's my question. Is he dead he took to write he gave it to his son and his wife. I wonder if it's an honor thing and if it's like a there's people fighting for sintra and I'm not one of those people and so I can't go out the easy way. I need to go out and the same guy about blade that all My brethren in a way are going out and you know going out and saying why so you get to see that wizard do some real magic which was great. Like it was good to see ya. Yeah, whatever is the castle in like this bubble or at least the front of the castle, right? And so that's the the magic system that is going to come into play here. Hopefully, they don't break any rules right with with the magic system. I don't know how they how they would Would I don't know what specifically but they need to set up deficits. We have to set some girls up about this magic system. When the Magic in the book feels very much. Like it has an organic nature and a non organic nature and we see if they've sort of play that out and there's certain people who have magical abilities and who don't I love the girl talks with horse. I think it's fantastic. You know, you get a guy he's lonely. He's on the road alone. Who do you talk to you talk to your horse after horse and since much of the book feels like it's narration almost it's not really first person, but it feels like That narration is great. It's great to say. Oh, yeah, he was probably talking to his. Yeah and his horse's name is roach. Actually all of his horses names are rowboat. He just names his horses the same name and we get this error who breaks through right? Right we go back to the castle and the arrows broken through we know things are going south and in comes this massive Army of actual human beings for a brief period in China has no guards whatsoever. Like they had no Army like they did they'd literally take right. Do they take everybody? Shout out to the battlefield and just like all right, I'm gonna shove what's that the suicide bomb except for him because there's nobody like defending there's like four people who are defending the city, it feels like and I mean, they just walk right in and they start pillaging and plundering and getting another one of those moments where we see. I mean, there's some really interesting violence, but it is contained in these small areas where it's one person killing one person which is part of that sort of efficiency of actor and action taking place certainly. Yeah, it's I mean there's some moments that just make me concerned. I'm like, I wish there was a little bit more attention to detail placed into you know, I know Mouse act would have said hey, we probably should have these set up in case no card attacks like you need some new advisors. I think we can clamp because for your City to well. Yes, she's dead now, but for your City to be overrun that quickly and you having no idea, I don't know. I'm just having a hard time getting past her not even knowing that nofe guard was Right outside your these blokes turned out her corner. There's I'm so concerned politically and it is because of it is because of Game of Thrones. I think, you know, we've been set this level of expectation for what show can be and what and how a how a kingdom operates and how all the you know, all the pieces all the moving pieces. And so maybe my expectations going into the show was like, oh it's going to be similar to that and it's different it's not bad. Just it makes me question the storytelling a little bit behind it and how strong these characters actually are how smart they are, you know, so so there's an attempt to get the princess out and The Wizard who's name is what some other thing now sack Mouse actually excited really good name, the wizard goes to defend and get rid of some people feeling like he's going to go to his death. We don't see his body. So I guess he's not but maybe and then the young guy who's traveling with her gets an arrow in his throat. Another big moment right Steph and she the horse goes down and she's left alone. And we see her placed in a position where she's going to be captured and we jump on that Cliffhanger back to loving times like lovey-dovey times for rent-free and aren't we have an interesting piece of editing here that happens which makes me wonder if they actually had any sort of relations in the woods at all, you know. I mean like well there was ahead. But yeah, it's the guy at the end. So after. sorry, I was not close enough after all of the killing. He says she got you too. So that's what makes me think that it wasn't actually they didn't actually do anything. It was all her manipulating. Yeah, right. There's this big kiss by the fire. I don't know. He pulls the string on her corset. Yeah. It was very rough. Yeah the hair flip. There's some ecstasy Sarah happening, you know it whether it's real or not. Somebody had ecstasy I guess. We get what we're back to the gray world and one of those things again where we are in this process rights this warmth and cold and yeah, it is what we're seeing with the romance only happening within geralt's head. Right has she hypnotized him in some way that she is because she is speaking over him right like she could be. Yeah. I don't know if she's like hypnotizing. I'm transferring him or yeah, but you know, No. Yeah, but it's definitely he wakes up one morning. I like the wood. I mean she could have just left him right like one-night-stand sort of thing. Like well, it's some reason we buggy sex. If it wasn't I got to be honest. There's a lot little dirty. I mean, I'm not sure but those leaves and then we get to the scene. All right. The reason that Darrell gets his name the Butcher of lava Khan and weary meet those guys he met in the bar and now we understand that their rent freeze crew. Yeah and The couple great accent moments which are right at the bottom there full almost really good half Scottish something that it's crazy and he's guys look great. This moment looks really good. There's a lot of extra business in the background. I love the weapons and we immediately discover something new and that is that The Witcher can fight. We have not seen that yet. Right? No. I mean he knocks down that Arrow right away, right? He's fast like the man is doing is really fast camera was changes. Oh, yeah, it goes to I mean it's not a Steadicam. It looks handheld but line goes from slow to what really fabric following fighting like we're actually following a series of this is the fighting. I like to see like a One-Shot take like, you know, they're doing the work in the acting and it's very very gruesome and we get to the last guy right the guy who caused them trouble in the in the beginning. I think this might be a loop system. Oops, or was you this is now this was the assistant. Yeah. Yeah. There he is. He gets stabbed in the chest and then put up. The wall and whoop off goes the head bam. You don't let things go again, you know a well-used camera move to cover. What is a digital shot taking place, right? So yeah, but this is the place where there's a way right is the head goes off and we get the we get the a little bit of a payoff though, right when he walks away in the background. There's a there's a body double in a way or it's a stunt. I don't know what they're called right like a fake guy. I don't you a dummy there. It's like anything. I'm the dummy. Hear that meaning thank you. He's pinned to the door and it like it's just it's great. And we get this this moment between rent-free and our Witcher again and they start with a little dialogue but they go right in the battle and it is a lovely little fight. This is where the choreography is. Really this is where the Koreans me really paid off this whole sequence, you know, she's talented because he cut through all those other guys like it was butter and we're constantly ban. She's great. Yeah and her expression. She's a great actress. Have we seen her somewhere before? I've seen her somewhere. I don't know where we'll have to look that up later and reference in the second half. There's a lot of bloodletting. There's people getting stabbed. There's all the violence that happens and then you know, we get to that end sequence and she gets her throat slit after he tries to let her off right gives you the option heated. He really makes the effort to try and be the neutral character to take his high road and he can yeah, but he turns his own he turns the killing of the self-defense or only that her blade. That does the work right and that's important. She's made that choice and I think that that really plays for the story. There's a lot of Dutch angle shots in this. Yeah, there were a lot of which I'm very particular about my Dutch angle shot. I know you're a big fan of the Dutch angle. Well, I like it in documentary work. Yeah. This is not documentary work if it was we should be concerned and but to me I Dutch angle sometimes screams. I don't know how to make an interesting composition. And so I'm just going to return to a crooked camera where a guy as a wedding photographer. I see it all of the time welcome gets away. You salvaging a problem of space and environment that's in front of you. And so you change the shots. You can fit all the image you want in so we should work our way to wrapping up. I think we're running long. So let's just talk about death and stoning and running away. Yeah. I mean you you learn very quickly that it's easy to turn the crowd against a Witcher and this crowd is easily manipulated by the the violence. They've seen and The Wizard That comes into the into the courtyard in a way and just manipulates them to hate this Witcher, you know, whether he's doing that by magic or not that the story lets us look and make it. I don't think he is. Yes feels like it's an easy thing to do. Yeah and and they begin to Stone him and that's I think really sets up our our world nicely. Well not for for geralt here, but we know what what to expect when a Witcher comes to town right? You're going to get an Angry Crowd. Of the people who really dislike him almost as if the Witcher is the equivalent of a leper or something, right? Yeah. I thought the reveal of the dead bodies on the ground was great. I thought that really worked they it did look like a massacre and while we're in a battle because it's that one shot. We don't get a sense of the massacre nature. We're just watching the pile of piece of single combat, but I and we see this expanse of dead bodies and people have a reason to respond. This is maybe not a guy you want in your town? Yeah and The last thing we really see from girl's perspective is the only person in the town who really was a friend to him. Tell him to leave and never return it and maybe for his safety or for the town Safety or it may be out of dislike for geralt from from her right? Like I don't I yeah and I really feel that's what I mean. I think that that ambiguity is exactly what the story wants us to do. Yeah to make our own choices. Well, yes again for us not to know because girl doesn't know right way. Yeah, and we're Can't be in his head the way we are in the books or at least it from his perspective like you are in the books. And so here we get the opportunity to be in that perspective by having information withheld from us and then the girl who is his Destiny who we've heard about and she's the you know, rent-free says it even in her last moments. The girl in the woods is is your destiny. We see princess Cirillo running off into end are literally running in the same walking in the same direction supposed to exit their seen two respective scenes are going in the same direction. Yeah. I do want to mention again that blood pool under Sorella are under rent-free is a mimic of that monster killing Manhattan to the beginning of thought. That was a clever. Yeah moment. Yeah. What do you think overall? I'm very excited for the rest of the season very excited for the next episode. And I mean, I'm just excited overall. I mean, I've been reading these books the last few weeks and it's nice to see them come to life. I think Henry Henry Cavill is doing a wonderful job as geralt's. I mean, it's it's Much you I am envisioning how he's sounding in person is how I'm reading him in the books. So, you know, I'm going to say the television nature of it is a thing I worry about and I'm hoping that they can be more expansive and maybe that's a thought you save your money for the big set pieces. You need to build later or run later. But otherwise, I mean I'd like most of the interaction between the actors and I thought the close-up fighting was great. I worry a little bit about CG and I I hope that they don't rely too much on CG. Although it is based on a video game and that's what this whole maybe CG is a route. They made deliberately. Yeah, and and you know, there's CG and shows that bother me far more than the CG and this show The Great and and Netflix and Netflix knows Netflix knows I mean talking about another Netflix show for just a second stranger things. I have such an issue with the demo Gorgons design and texture and the way it looks on screen, but the way they kick him or a look. Your and some of the some of the CGA set-pieces didn't really bother me good great, you know, so I'm excited to see what they do see if things progress and if this really is a pilot if the pilot is kind of the lower budget version of what what is to come if you're watching we want to make sure that you want to find more information about what we do. We normally do a film podcast. We watch movies every week. We post a review of a new film that's coming out. You can find us on Apple podcasts or Spotify. You can find us on anchor FM and so you want to go to our website at At racking focus podcast.com and at that website. There's a link to the Witcher watch but you can also look at our regular material. You can listen right there online or you can click a link and subscribe which is what we'd like you to do. 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SPOILERS - John and Josiah take a detour from the movies and begin a journey with Geralt of Rivia through the dangerous and magic filled world of the Witcher. Witcher Watch episodes contain a review and recap of two episodes of Netflix's The Witcher in each Racking Focus Podcast Special Episode. The first season will include four episodes, which our intrepid podcasting duo and a few friends geek out at the Video Game/Novel phenomenon of The Witcher. Episode 1: John And Josiah consider The End's Beginning, which references the beginning of book three of the Witcher series and the short story, "the Lesser of Two Evils" where -  SPOILERS -  Geralt gets his nickname and "Four Marks" where we meet several main characters from the Witcher cannon. Episode 1 Recap Begins Immediately Episode 2 Recap Begins at 43:55  Send in a voice message, question, or request here: https://anchor.fm/racking-focus-podcast/message Remember to write us a review at Apple Podcasts and to email us at rackingfocuspod@gmail.com with comments, suggestions and films you have for us to review. Visit our NEW website: http://www.rackingfocuspodcast.com Follow us on Instagram at Rackingfocuspodcast and join us on Facebook. 