The new season of the Netflix series The witcher will premiere in December, but the platform is already trying to pique the interest of fans with a spin-off of the same universe. The Witcher: the wolf’s nightmare it is a deepening into the world of the monster hunter, but also an intelligent transit between two stories.
In fact, the main intention of the Netflix movie is to create a bridge between everything that we know about Geralt de Rivia and provide context. A much-needed one after several of the most recurring criticisms against the series concerned its fragmented timeline and use of magic.
Like any fantastic universe worth its salt, The witcher it has its own rules. But the problem with the Netflix series is that it must absorb both the literary saga and the well-known video game. The Witcher: the wolf’s nightmare is the most neat attempt ever to create an understandable timeline. Also to show the labyrinthine recesses of the story that surrounds the sorcerer as a character and support of the argument. And he does it through his teacher Vesemir. One of the new faces in the television plot that has caused the most expectation.
It is an independent narrative that also develops an intelligent conception of the world of magic. It raises its limitations, scope and presents a central character who will be of capital importance in the coming season.
‘The Witcher: the wolf’s nightmare’, a tour of unknown places
For the occasion, Vesemir is a sorcerer in trouble. Fans of the series and the video game will recognize the name immediately, but the show has the good sense of giving breadth to the character. He does this by creating a situation that only concerns Vesemir and that does not need the central Netflix show to understand itself.
The man who will train the most fearsome monster hunter has a context and problems of his own. It is appreciated that The Witcher: the wolf’s nightmare speculate on how witches they are more than curiosities in a larger story. In fact, Beau DeMayo’s script raises the notion of magic and the fantastic from the dark. Which connects with the Netflix series and explores what is narrated in books and video games.
This intelligent look at a great world full of creatures, men and women is full. The animator uses the best resources of the Powerhouse production company to create a sense of realistic restlessness.
In the series The witcher the action was divided into three parts and ran through the stories of its characters from the conviction of destiny. With Vesemir, things work completely different. He is a monster hunter who does his job, does not depend on anyone and much less relates to something other than himself.
That understanding of the mysterious becomes a kind of Western version of the fantastic. The usual lonely man in Sergio Leone films takes on the mantle of a creature hunter for hire. The tone and register of the series is skilled enough to intuitively narrate that perception.
If Henry Cavill’s Geralt of Rivia escapes his fate, Vesemir relishes his power. It is so much so that his work is a way to demonstrate his character. On The Witcher: the wolf’s nightmare the perception about the search for power is different to the human version of the work. And it is to be appreciated that difference, that destructive and colossal freedom that the series shows without any shame.
The new, the old and what awaits us
Kaedwen’s kingdom is in trouble. But he also has twisted ideas including how to control the power of warlocks. Or at least that is what the argument immediately raises. With his Monster of the Week scheme, the first scenario Vesemir must face is to reassert his reason for existence.
Vesemir is not a hero. Closer to a rogue with powers and a mysterious man, the movie Netflix posits that there is much more under the surface of the character. He does this by showing his story through flashback, but also with the journey of his training as a monster hunter. There is something of enormous interest in this line of men who inherit amazing abilities. But for that reason they are not less human or close to the notion of honor, fear and contempt.
The film offers more complexity than it seems and enjoy the journey through the world of The witcher with a lighthearted interest. For its last scenes it is evident that the script narrated a journey through more than the adventures of Vesemir. Actually, it is a look at an entire universe that begins to unfold. And do it, intuitively, enthusiastically and intelligently. A considerable achievement for an unpretentious Netflix animated movie.