User Reviews

The Good: Fight with Vilgefortz was amazing, and is hard seeing as it was reading the books how much of a beating Geralt takes. Vilgefortz is super OP and he finally showed it.

Tissaia lightning I don't remember from the books, but it was great. Francesca finally using magic too.

Ciri people tend to forget: She was trained by witchers and they above human physically and great sword fight. She had a really tough training with swords and magic that netflix failed hard to show, she is actually a monster fighting and has the potential to be the most powerful being in the witcher lore;

Bad: Radovid plot is a bad joke. I don't know that character, he can't be the Radovid we know, because LITERALLY the only thing they have in common is the name.

Killing Fillavrandrel in 1 sec was weird. He might be one of the most important elves from the lore and was killed like it was nothing, no drama, but they sure did a bit of drama with that old character that doesn't even exist in the books. See what netflix does? That does not make any sense.

Stregobor casting fire was very nice but WHO knows FALKA, only who read the books. And that is a very interesting plot.

What summons this episode is: could have been awesome but things don't have the weight they should. Some phrases from the books are said without meaning to someone who only sees the show. So it really suffers from the sins of what happened before. Sad.

This is one of the best episodes of the entire show, featuring epic battles and shocking twists. The episode covers the Thanedd coup, a pivotal event in the books that sees the Brotherhood of Sorcerers split into two factions and leads to a mage civil war. The episode also reveals the true villain behind the hunt for Ciri: Vilgefortz, a powerful and ambitious mage who betrays his mentor Tissaia and allies with Nilfgaard.

The episode is full of surprises and suspense, as we see familiar faces die or change sides in the chaos. Geralt, who refuses to choose a side in the conflict, finally confronts and kills Rience, the fire mage who has been pursuing him and Ciri since the beginning of the season. He also faces off with Stregobor, the cruel mage who wanted to kill Renfri in the first episode. Ciri, who is still learning to control her powers, unleashes a new and mysterious force that destroys the Tor Lara, the ancient elven tower where she was taken by Vilgefortz. Yennefer, who has regained her magic, helps Geralt and Ciri escape from Aretuza.

The episode is not only exciting, but also emotional, as we see how the characters are affected by the events. Tissaia is heartbroken by Vilgefortz's betrayal and the destruction of Aretuza, her home and school. Francesca is enraged by the death of her husband Filavandrel, who was killed by an explosive spell cast by Philippa, a Redanian mage. Jaskier is traumatized by his torture at the hands of Radovid, the king of Redania who wants to use him as a spy. The episode also sets up new challenges and dangers for the next episodes, as Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri are on the run from Nilfgaard, Redania and the Scoia'tael, an elven guerrilla group that wants to claim Ciri as their savior.

This episode is a masterpiece of storytelling, combining action, drama, humor and fantasy in a satisfying and compelling way. The episode showcases the excellent performances of Henry Cavill as Geralt, Freya Allan as Ciri, Anya Chalotra as Yennefer and Mahesh Jadu as Vilgefortz. The episode also features stunning visuals and effects, especially in the scenes involving magic and explosions. The episode is a must-watch for any fan of The Witcher or fantasy genre in general.

Spoilers!

This episode is a long waited conclusion to many questions, and a level up we have been waiting for, it is filled with great intensity, I have enjoyed every moment of it! What I especially liked is that they did a great job of showing some of the characters true powers when pushed to their limit!

And for most of them, how emotions plays a big part in getting to that limit.

Also showing us that Gerald can be defeated, even tho it is obvious that he could, it was important they proved that even he, is not protected by plot, and can lose a fight and die!

The reason I rate it 9 is because for me, there was not enough closure, I know this is not the season finale but for it to be a 10 it had to give us a little bit more by the end of the episode, especially based on how many things unfolded and went down during the episode.

Regardless, was worth the wait, amazing experience, great watch.

(669-word review) For novel readers, this episode could be one of the worst ones for reasons I can't relate to, having never read them; for TV show viewers, it could be one of the best ones somehow, or weak, as per usual with this show, for some - for me, it was in the latter territory to some degree but most significantly, it was goofy. So much is riding on you taking things seriously - well, everything is with a show like this and any TV show or film that isn't specifically a comedy - but there's so much goofiness at play; it's ridiculous.

Here are some examples (it's practically everything in the episode, so get your snacks): the dramatic zoom-in on Ciri as she turns and "looks at the camera," the on-the-nose armbands and Philippa's before-the-title-sequence 'a purge' line, Dijkstra and Geralt walking out of the room as if nothing is going on around them because the scene demands it, the weird inches-apart standoff between the mages and the Scoia'tael-Nilfgaardians duo (I get that fight sequences like that, magical or otherwise, that employ VFX elements, have difficulties impacting the execution, but that could've been done so much better - also, the baseball scene in Twilight did the 'inches-apart standoff' better), Filavandrel's explosive death, Fringilla's impactful appearance that was only preceded/set-up by her overhearing talk about boats going missing in the fourth episode, Artorius' death, Geralt's marvelous teleporting skills (on top of finding Ciri because "he'll find us; he always finds us," which also seems to apply to Yennefer finding her and her finding Yennefer - it must all be...what do you call it, plot convenience...sorry, Destiny, amirite?) behind Rience for dramatic entrance's sake despite the area being a clearing and Geralt nowhere to be seen before the magical moment, Gerhart of Aelle, "the oldest living sorcerer," dying of a heart attack, Triss getting arrowed in the chest out of nowhere, Mel Brooks-style (probably by a cameraman because the scene went on without it being that big of a deal, a prominent theme throughout the episode; I didn't mind how Tissaia was out of it, expression/reaction-wise, as it made some sense, but the overall scene was silly), Cahir's so-impactful embracing of death as penance at the hands of Ciri, only to backtrack immediately to fight off the Scoia'tael, with the final line, "I will find you," Stregobor's "I've been waiting for this moment," Geralt's stern order to Ciri, telling her to "Go," which is so well-written because we KNOW what he means and where he's telling her to go (...right?), and characters hugging, which happened three times.

In other words, mostly everything (supposed to be) significant came across goofy. But through the presentation on how to do comedy, there was a beacon of hope: the production value. This (and possibly the final two episodes of the season) was where that budget, rivaling the budget of Game of Thrones, a proudly proclaimed statement by many, went. A smaller budget could've achieved the same result, but we can forget (more like ignore) that; many HAVE.

The only noteworthy parts here were the fight sequence between Geralt and Vilgefortz (which I, even as a non-novel reader, know wasn't as good as the potential for it laid out - Geralt also got destroyed way more intimately in the novels from the few details I know - but it managed to stand out regardless, likely assisted by the goofiness of other things: including the dialogue between them, despite the writers' attempt through Vilgefortz's iconic line about mistaking the stars reflected on a pond at night for the sky from the novels being used at the end to make you forget or ignore that their dialogue writing has been mediocre; Mahesh Jadu's delivery was also unconvincing) and the fact that the smoke-show that is Tissaia de Vries/MyAnna Buring will now be further so with her new white-haired look.

TL;DR: Geralt and Vilgefortz's fight sequence and the goddess, Tissaia de Vries' (MyAnna Buring), new white-haired look stood out amongst prominent goofiness.

What an incredible episode...I've never experienced such a feeling. I spent 40 minutes laughing in front of the screen at every character choice.

Choices that make no logical sense. Some characters die in the most random way possible, others petrify in front of the battle, as if in stasis from the ugliness of this episode, still others ask for forgiveness and then leave the scene, or decide to go places for no reason other than the choice of the directors/screenwriters.

The few battles are also good to see, although, as usual, the good guys are left alive by the bad guys for no reason (Geralt...he was just better off disappearing for good from a series that does not deserve him).

Let's not even talk about Stregobor, who attacks enemies and then...does nothing? The same enemies come out of a cave in the next scene and he disappears into thin air (figuratively...we are not explained what happens to him).

From this episode I was left with...a good feeling strangely enough! The series has collapsed, and I take it as pure comedy. It's the only way to go on and see the last moments of Geralt, the authentic one.

This episode was awful to say the least. The only bit I enjoyed was Geralt and vilgefortz fighting(that fight alone is 7/10). And that alone shift it from 1 to 3 out of 10 for me. Its done so badly, how the elven king dies, The battle at artuza, every mage has a shield, how easily Yennefer, Geralt and ciri reunion with each other anywhere and split up. Its just dumb. The way the fire-caster died. Where did geralt come from? This continent feels so small, and I assume not everyone has a teleport spell. I guess the worst part about this show that things happen very fast, and the unrealism in fighting, events, appearances and relationships makes it lower than average quality TV show.

This episode supposed to be a turning point in Witcher saga, however, they made it more like a trashy soap opera family reunion. Firstly, CGI is terrible and acting is not much better. Secondly, things make no sense at all, at least on the screen. Mages are fighting and killing all the time, number of the enemies is the same. Of course, Francesca and Fringila do not die, just like every other main character, regardless where they are. Even Stregobor's tempering with fire magic does nothing, similar to Tissaia and her spell. Everyone tends to find each other all the time and cross huge distances extremely quickly on foot. Also, Ciri is fighting experienced Nilfgaardian general, while Geralt is just watching... Terrible episode.

This episode is a disaster. Right now i am watching just for the sake of completing the season and not enjoying the story. Ridiculous fight scene where suddenly witches vs elves out of nowhere and bunch of them throwing spells and arrows. Why do that? Dont they understand battle tactics? Are they just standing and waiting to get shot by arrows/spells? Tessaia just stand there while looking at Vilgefortz opening door and just waltzed through after that? Then the elves just come in while the socerer/witch also come to the room randomly? I just dont get it. The script writer should be fired for ruining the show.

Boy was that hard to watch. I can honestly say that I was completely lost throughout the episode as characters just kept showing up and disappearing when and where the plot needed them to. The plot itself was impossible to follow, the decisions characters made were random and largely nonsensical... Oftentimes producing little to no discernible effect. What did Tissaia's lightening accomplish besides ramping up the CGI budget? Where the hell did Stragabor come from? What did his fire accomplish? Where the hell did he go afterwards?

Contrivances galore. This show has gone off the rails completely. What should have been epic ended up a confusing ridiculous mess.

The visuals were impressive at times, that is about it.