[Editor’s Note: The following article contains spoilers for “The Witcher” Season 3, Episodes 6-8, including the ending.]
For anyone reading this in advance of watching Season 3, fair warning: “The Witcher” does not give Henry Cavill a fitting send-off. It doesn’t give him a send-off at all, in fact. If you were a casual fan who only watches TV for fun — rather than searching for reviews, news, and analysis (like this!) before and after every season — then you’d have no idea you just saw the last of Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia.
Geralt will return in Season 4, he just won’t be played by Cavill. Liam Hemsworth (no, not that Hemsworth, or that other Hemsworth — this Hemsworth) will don the White Wolf’s white wig, in a bit of mid-series recasting that may or may not play out sans onscreen comment. (Apparently, events of the fifth “Witcher” book, “The Lady of the Lake,” will help explain Geralt’s softened eyes and shrunken jawline, though it’s unconfirmed if that transition will take place in-world.) The decision to switch Witchers came down late last year, soon after Cavill thought he was returning for more Superman movies. But now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are starting over with Clark Kent as a cub reporter, confusion over Cavill’s exit from his beloved Witcher-ing world lingers. Did he want out? Did producers want him out? Did Netflix want to save money on Season 4’s budget by hiring a new actor, instead of upping Cavill’s salary in accordance with his time served?
I do not have those answers, dear readers, but I have made a decision: “The Witcher” is over — for me, anyway. Season 3 forced my hand in more ways than one, but imagining a version of this show without Cavill’s swoll stewardship is to picture a series that’s impossible to enjoy. What Henry Cavill brought to “The Witcher” cannot be replaced, and since the series isn’t about to acknowledge as much, let’s act like Geralt and do it ourselves.
Part of what makes Cavill’s ending so egregious is that it runs in direct opposition to the actor’s strengths. Mainly, he’s an ideal onscreen warrior (obviously), yet he’s also an intriguing screen presence when static. Over three seasons, the Geralt we’ve come to know and love is a skilled warrior, devout defender, and emotional lump. He’s ready and willing to deploy his arsenal of attacks on misshapen monsters, but I don’t know if I’d argue he enjoys the struggle. It’s a job. It’s his job. He’s good at his job, but he’s not delighting in the endless parade of ugly beasts that have come to kill him. His rare flashes of happiness typically surface post-conquest — whether in the surly quips he deploys as the battle shifts in his favor, or in the tub later on, when he’s finally able to relax.
Season 3 starts with a few of these moments. His time roaming the countryside with Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Ciri (Freya Allan) sees Geralt letting people in — literally (into his room, for dinner) and figuratively (also for dinner) — while retaining his gruff brand of cautionary concern. Every time he starts to get comfortable with their makeshift family life, he senses danger and hurries them off to another not-so-discreet location. Their little dance starts over, as Geralt goes on hunting adventures with his de facto daughter and pines for his would-be wife from one room over.
These scenes are kind of fun — or, at least, they convey fun through easily recognizable depictions of comfort in a world filled with danger. Cavill doesn’t have all that much to do here, and yet the opening travel montage illustrates how vital he is to making the sequence work. His reactions to Yennefer’s notes typically give just enough away to convey Geralt’s feelings, without ever spelling them out — which works so well because Geralt is a subdued son of a gun. We need to see there’s depth to him, even when he doesn’t say a single word.
There’s a shot when Ciri, while practicing her powers, grows and fells a standing tree as Geralt watches from afar. The scene is only included to update us on her progress, but Cavill’s wistful stare conveys hope and worry in equal measure. When the latter slowly overtakes the former, it makes for the perfect transition to Geralt whisking the trio away to safer locale — but really, it’s a reminder that Cavill is just interesting to watch.
Part of it is his size. He’s big and broad in a way that’s innately cinematic, like his shoulders were meant for a 16:9 canvas. But he also makes endearing choices while playing the paternal grump. He lets out little grunts at random — not when Geralt hoists a dead hog onto the carving table, but when he reaches for a bowl of yams over dinner. He darts his eyes across the sky, staring angrily at nothing whatsoever. He smiles without his teeth, as if the muscles in the corners of his mouth are the only ones that have gone underdeveloped.
“The Witcher” needs this kind of screen presence to maintain our attention. Not every scene can be an action scene, and so many fight-free scenes are filled with heavy, often ludicrous, exposition. Viewers need a break from all that mind-boggling jargon about magic. We need to be able to see what’s onscreen and immediately understand it. We need to make an instinctual connection as much as an intellectual one. Cavill delivers on all fronts — a master brooder, among TV’s many greats — and he’s often the only one able to do so.
Henry Cavill in “The Witcher”Courtesy of Susan Allnutt / Netflix
Which brings us to the battles. What the fuck is happening with these Season 3 battles? “The Witcher’s” most recent episodes feature their version of an “epic” showdown — throughout Episode 6, “Everybody Has a Plan ’til They Get Punched in the Face” — but it too often feels like stranger after stranger is tossing CGI bubbles at each other. Too many deaths are random. Too many victories come down to who’s angriest. It’s not so much a grand battle as an arbitrary, overlong bloodbath. But the thing is… most fights not involving Geralt aren’t great. While much of the credit goes to the choreographers and stunt teams who orchestrate the mayhem (shout-out to 2022 Emmy nominee for Stunt Coordination, Adam Horton), considering the drop-off in compelling punching when Cavill isn’t throwing fists, one has to give the actor a smidge of extra credit here, too.
Just look at his final throwdown. Pissed at the border guard’s gruff discrimination and eager to prove he’s recovered from an earlier beating, Cavill takes on a squad of soldiers all by his lonesome. (Unless you count Jaskier, but no one counts Jaskier.) The first strike is brutal, breaking his opponent’s nose with a burst of blood. The second is graceful, a smooth swing knocking the target’s helmet sideways. His assault continues apace — one moment workmanlike, the next balletic — all with a studied perseverance and unrelenting destruction.
The sequence, directed by Bola Ogun, is a little too choppy for my taste. Shots transition without a clear perspective or much consideration for geography, but the individual components are so, so satisfying. Geralt holds two guards at bay with an axe and sword in each hand, then slices them down with a dancer’s jump turn. Many of the best moments illustrate his sheer might, like when Geralt hits a guard with the butt of his axe and the impact sends him careening into a tree stump hard enough to draw blood. Or when he pushes his sword through two pieces of armor before grabbing the impaled man and giving one extra shove for good measure.
These visceral beats have always been part of “The Witcher’s” appeal, and one could argue giving Cavill a closing battle makes for a proper send-off. But the context all but nullifies the gesture, if it even qualifies as one. Geralt is only proving himself a capable fighter because he suffered the worst defeat of his life a few episodes earlier. Due to that embarrassment, he’s been largely MIA from the final two episodes, and since he won’t be back for Season 4, Cavill’s Geralt will never get a chance to topple his greatest adversary. Given the series has to go on without him, while telling its best story, I could allow such implied impudence… but these final hours are so full of hot air and so lacking in Cavill’s charms it’s impossible to see them as the promised “heroic send-off.”
Cavill carried “The Witcher” on his ample shoulders for three seasons, and the series couldn’t even be bothered to craft a proper in-character goodbye. Write him a winking closing line, or let him deliver one last knowing stare just left of camera. The phrase “end of an era” gets tossed around too often these days, but “The Witcher” must know it’s entering uncharted territory in Season 4. Very few elements of the series without Cavill are working, and expecting another actor to step in and deliver the same raw charisma while replacing a fan-favorite is too tall an order. Maybe I’ll tune in to see what the replacement attempt looks like, but odds are I’ve tossed my last coin to “The Witcher” — and it belongs in Cavill’s pocket.
“The Witcher” Seasons 1-3 are available on Netflix. Season 4 has already been ordered.
For anyone reading this in advance of watching Season 3, fair warning: “The Witcher” does not give Henry Cavill a fitting send-off. It doesn’t give him a send-off at all, in fact. If you were a casual fan who only watches TV for fun — rather than searching for reviews, news, and analysis (like this!) before and after every season — then you’d have no idea you just saw the last of Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia.
Geralt will return in Season 4, he just won’t be played by Cavill. Liam Hemsworth (no, not that Hemsworth, or that other Hemsworth — this Hemsworth) will don the White Wolf’s white wig, in a bit of mid-series recasting that may or may not play out sans onscreen comment. (Apparently, events of the fifth “Witcher” book, “The Lady of the Lake,” will help explain Geralt’s softened eyes and shrunken jawline, though it’s unconfirmed if that transition will take place in-world.) The decision to switch Witchers came down late last year, soon after Cavill thought he was returning for more Superman movies. But now that James Gunn and Peter Safran are starting over with Clark Kent as a cub reporter, confusion over Cavill’s exit from his beloved Witcher-ing world lingers. Did he want out? Did producers want him out? Did Netflix want to save money on Season 4’s budget by hiring a new actor, instead of upping Cavill’s salary in accordance with his time served?
I do not have those answers, dear readers, but I have made a decision: “The Witcher” is over — for me, anyway. Season 3 forced my hand in more ways than one, but imagining a version of this show without Cavill’s swoll stewardship is to picture a series that’s impossible to enjoy. What Henry Cavill brought to “The Witcher” cannot be replaced, and since the series isn’t about to acknowledge as much, let’s act like Geralt and do it ourselves.
Part of what makes Cavill’s ending so egregious is that it runs in direct opposition to the actor’s strengths. Mainly, he’s an ideal onscreen warrior (obviously), yet he’s also an intriguing screen presence when static. Over three seasons, the Geralt we’ve come to know and love is a skilled warrior, devout defender, and emotional lump. He’s ready and willing to deploy his arsenal of attacks on misshapen monsters, but I don’t know if I’d argue he enjoys the struggle. It’s a job. It’s his job. He’s good at his job, but he’s not delighting in the endless parade of ugly beasts that have come to kill him. His rare flashes of happiness typically surface post-conquest — whether in the surly quips he deploys as the battle shifts in his favor, or in the tub later on, when he’s finally able to relax.
Season 3 starts with a few of these moments. His time roaming the countryside with Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) and Ciri (Freya Allan) sees Geralt letting people in — literally (into his room, for dinner) and figuratively (also for dinner) — while retaining his gruff brand of cautionary concern. Every time he starts to get comfortable with their makeshift family life, he senses danger and hurries them off to another not-so-discreet location. Their little dance starts over, as Geralt goes on hunting adventures with his de facto daughter and pines for his would-be wife from one room over.
These scenes are kind of fun — or, at least, they convey fun through easily recognizable depictions of comfort in a world filled with danger. Cavill doesn’t have all that much to do here, and yet the opening travel montage illustrates how vital he is to making the sequence work. His reactions to Yennefer’s notes typically give just enough away to convey Geralt’s feelings, without ever spelling them out — which works so well because Geralt is a subdued son of a gun. We need to see there’s depth to him, even when he doesn’t say a single word.
There’s a shot when Ciri, while practicing her powers, grows and fells a standing tree as Geralt watches from afar. The scene is only included to update us on her progress, but Cavill’s wistful stare conveys hope and worry in equal measure. When the latter slowly overtakes the former, it makes for the perfect transition to Geralt whisking the trio away to safer locale — but really, it’s a reminder that Cavill is just interesting to watch.
Part of it is his size. He’s big and broad in a way that’s innately cinematic, like his shoulders were meant for a 16:9 canvas. But he also makes endearing choices while playing the paternal grump. He lets out little grunts at random — not when Geralt hoists a dead hog onto the carving table, but when he reaches for a bowl of yams over dinner. He darts his eyes across the sky, staring angrily at nothing whatsoever. He smiles without his teeth, as if the muscles in the corners of his mouth are the only ones that have gone underdeveloped.
“The Witcher” needs this kind of screen presence to maintain our attention. Not every scene can be an action scene, and so many fight-free scenes are filled with heavy, often ludicrous, exposition. Viewers need a break from all that mind-boggling jargon about magic. We need to be able to see what’s onscreen and immediately understand it. We need to make an instinctual connection as much as an intellectual one. Cavill delivers on all fronts — a master brooder, among TV’s many greats — and he’s often the only one able to do so.
Henry Cavill in “The Witcher”Courtesy of Susan Allnutt / Netflix
Which brings us to the battles. What the fuck is happening with these Season 3 battles? “The Witcher’s” most recent episodes feature their version of an “epic” showdown — throughout Episode 6, “Everybody Has a Plan ’til They Get Punched in the Face” — but it too often feels like stranger after stranger is tossing CGI bubbles at each other. Too many deaths are random. Too many victories come down to who’s angriest. It’s not so much a grand battle as an arbitrary, overlong bloodbath. But the thing is… most fights not involving Geralt aren’t great. While much of the credit goes to the choreographers and stunt teams who orchestrate the mayhem (shout-out to 2022 Emmy nominee for Stunt Coordination, Adam Horton), considering the drop-off in compelling punching when Cavill isn’t throwing fists, one has to give the actor a smidge of extra credit here, too.
Just look at his final throwdown. Pissed at the border guard’s gruff discrimination and eager to prove he’s recovered from an earlier beating, Cavill takes on a squad of soldiers all by his lonesome. (Unless you count Jaskier, but no one counts Jaskier.) The first strike is brutal, breaking his opponent’s nose with a burst of blood. The second is graceful, a smooth swing knocking the target’s helmet sideways. His assault continues apace — one moment workmanlike, the next balletic — all with a studied perseverance and unrelenting destruction.
The sequence, directed by Bola Ogun, is a little too choppy for my taste. Shots transition without a clear perspective or much consideration for geography, but the individual components are so, so satisfying. Geralt holds two guards at bay with an axe and sword in each hand, then slices them down with a dancer’s jump turn. Many of the best moments illustrate his sheer might, like when Geralt hits a guard with the butt of his axe and the impact sends him careening into a tree stump hard enough to draw blood. Or when he pushes his sword through two pieces of armor before grabbing the impaled man and giving one extra shove for good measure.
These visceral beats have always been part of “The Witcher’s” appeal, and one could argue giving Cavill a closing battle makes for a proper send-off. But the context all but nullifies the gesture, if it even qualifies as one. Geralt is only proving himself a capable fighter because he suffered the worst defeat of his life a few episodes earlier. Due to that embarrassment, he’s been largely MIA from the final two episodes, and since he won’t be back for Season 4, Cavill’s Geralt will never get a chance to topple his greatest adversary. Given the series has to go on without him, while telling its best story, I could allow such implied impudence… but these final hours are so full of hot air and so lacking in Cavill’s charms it’s impossible to see them as the promised “heroic send-off.”
Cavill carried “The Witcher” on his ample shoulders for three seasons, and the series couldn’t even be bothered to craft a proper in-character goodbye. Write him a winking closing line, or let him deliver one last knowing stare just left of camera. The phrase “end of an era” gets tossed around too often these days, but “The Witcher” must know it’s entering uncharted territory in Season 4. Very few elements of the series without Cavill are working, and expecting another actor to step in and deliver the same raw charisma while replacing a fan-favorite is too tall an order. Maybe I’ll tune in to see what the replacement attempt looks like, but odds are I’ve tossed my last coin to “The Witcher” — and it belongs in Cavill’s pocket.
“The Witcher” Seasons 1-3 are available on Netflix. Season 4 has already been ordered.