At this point, if you're even hitting this episode, you have enough patience to take the flaws of the Witcher for what they are. So, with the caveat that this is still a flawed episode, it's still perhaps the best episode of the season.
More 'plot' happens in the first twenty minutes of this episode than in the entire preceding episode. Some of the 1-on-1 fights feel like the choreographers were actually having fun. And some of the high intensity moments do feel like they have some weight, moreso than almost anything else this season.
Is it still a heavily flawed episode? Yes. The 'level' of magic feels completely inconsistent between episodes, characters constantly are stepping in to sacrifice themselves to 'buy time' even when a different character made the same sacrifice in the EXACT PRECEDING SCENE, and how many times will we have Ciri running through the wilderness juxtaposed with people killing each other?
All those points in mind this is still clearly among the best of the witcher and certainly the best this season is probably going to manage. Does it justify the preceding season? No not really, but it's an action-packed, plot-dense episode with some fun fights, and one eloquently wicked burn from Joey Batey's Jaskier.
More 'plot' happens in the first twenty minutes of this episode than in the entire preceding episode. Some of the 1-on-1 fights feel like the choreographers were actually having fun. And some of the high intensity moments do feel like they have some weight, moreso than almost anything else this season.
Is it still a heavily flawed episode? Yes. The 'level' of magic feels completely inconsistent between episodes, characters constantly are stepping in to sacrifice themselves to 'buy time' even when a different character made the same sacrifice in the EXACT PRECEDING SCENE, and how many times will we have Ciri running through the wilderness juxtaposed with people killing each other?
All those points in mind this is still clearly among the best of the witcher and certainly the best this season is probably going to manage. Does it justify the preceding season? No not really, but it's an action-packed, plot-dense episode with some fun fights, and one eloquently wicked burn from Joey Batey's Jaskier.