Bottled Appetites

I'll spare you the full details, but it was similar insofar as I was looking after a friend who was incapacitated somehow, and somehow it led to me getting with a "very sexy, but insane" witch, and if you want to know anymore than that, you'll have to track me down and ask me yourself.

Anyway, disregarding my personal nightly affairs with witches, this episode is kind of a trade-off with the previous one. While there's not really any pointless stuff in this one, I also don't think it's as well directed as the last episode.

But in addition to there not being any pointless stuff in this episode, there's also nothing I didn't at least enjoy. Ciri's parts are kept to a minimum and are getting a little more interesting to me, and Geralt and Yennefer's plotlines converge for the first time here, and what ends up happening is pretty cool.

I guess I did find Jaskier a little annoying this time, and there was a part of a particular scene that honestly made me burst out laughing when it wasn't supposed to because the dialogue was really awkward, but it's still far better than the start of this series would have ever suggested.

This whole season so far does have the fault of just having side quest after side quest which isn't necessarily a fault of the writers of the show. The first season is based on the book The Last Wish which is a collection of short stories. That is why this show doesn't feel connected right now. Because it's based on short stories that aren't really connected. I assume they will not get to the actual books (Blood of Elves) until season 2 or 3. My hope is that one they get to adapting the actual books this series will get better and better and not have the fault of not feeling connected.

After being slightly let down by the last 2 or 3 episodes, this one deserves praise.

The dynamic between Geralt and Yennefer on screen is portrayed very well. The dialogue during the bath scene is probably the best we've seen so far. The story about the Djin is well done too and, at least for me, doesn't leave an awful lot to be desired. Ciri's story has been slightly stuck for the past two episodes or so without really progressing her or the characters around her. Good to see her story pick up again. Nice use of the doppler too, great to see.

My biggest critique is the same as I've had for the entirety of the series so far: pace. There has been little to no effort to establish the world, the stories or even the characters and make it into it's own, 'whole' thing. Especially the use of Geralt's short stories is all over the place and become extra confusing due to the fact that both Ciris' and Yenns' stories, on the contrary, are linear. I can only imagine the confusion if you haven't read the books.

I'll confess I'm softer on this show than I would be if I wasn't in love with the source-material, but the pacing really needs to be worked on for the second season.

The only reason this episode isnt perfect for me is because the climax/most intense scene drags on a little too long and starts to lose its drama.

I am still somewhat confused and there are so many plot holes. I was thinking I would read the book, so it could fill in the gaps, but that does not even interest me now. I am going to rough it out because of all the hype, but I am having a hard time finding any interest in the story or the characters. I suspect all the RAVE reviews are from book readers. They will love the show no matter what. As for going in cold turkey, enter at your own peril . Haha! ;-P