The first question The Witcher: Blood Origin had to answer was – is this a story worth telling? Because as much as fans have embraced The Continent, and the world of The Witcher, they’ve done so because of the already-established characters. Can it all work without Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri? Would we care about a story set thousands of years before?
Very early on, The Witcher: Blood Origin provides an answer. Not because of the fleeting appearance of Jaskier, framing the story for us – as much as we enjoy our now second favorite bard – but because of the new characters who very quickly find a way into our hearts. A ragtag group of heroes coming together to fight a common enemy is, indeed, a story we’ve heard before. But The Witcher: Blood Origin still manages to provide us with not just a worthwhile story, but a truly engaging one.
The first spark between Éile and Fjall sets the stage for a story that isn’t all that surprising, but that is still interesting despite the fact that we can see most of the big story beats coming. Most of that is on the strength of the characters and the performances, but some of it is also in the way the show fills in some of the blanks of The Witcher universe. It’s very gratifying to fall in love with new characters, but it’s also great to get answers to long-standing questions, even if they are not full ones.
Unsurprisingly, The Witcher: Blood Origin works because it knows what story it wants to tell, and it never shies away from being what it is – a conduit to a bigger story. In this regard, it feels like there are many other stories to tell within the world of The Continent, and that the larger universe of The Witcher would probably benefit from them, especially considering The Witcher itself is about to undergo a big change as it moves from Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth.
But on a smaller scale, the show also works because the characters work, because Éile is a believable, likable character, and because the romance between her and Fjall feels like the right kind of enemies-to-lovers. There’s a spark there from the beginning, but by the time they come together, you not only see it and feel it, you want it. Fantasy doesn’t need ships to work, but ships never hurt, and the fact that The Witcher: Blood Origin has a superior one can be nothing but a positive.
All the credit to Sophia Brown, who carries the show with quiet grace and confidence. Audiences put unfair expectations on female characters, particularly in fantasy, but Brown’s Éile manages to shine in a way that defies even those lofty expectations. She isn’t just strong and inspiring, kind and loving, she’s also lost and stubborn. She makes mistakes, she stumbles, she gets up, and she inspires others to do the same.
Laurence O’Fuarain’s Fjall, on the other hand, is more than just a stubborn hardass – even when he is that. Geralt has already set the standard for our battle-hardened heroes to be more than just grumpy, unemotional beings, but O’Fuarain does a great job at taking a hero that could, in some ways, be considered to have the same emotional range as Geralt, and turning him into an intriguing character.
The rest of the cast around them doesn’t get as much to do – but do their best with each of their moments. In fact, for a show that was originally meant to be six episodes, and was cut down to four, the most ironic thing is that it feels like we don’t get enough time with the characters, particularly because the show takes a bit to build up to the team-up. Michelle Yeoh is a particular standout, even if she inhabits a role that feels way too familiar, and a bit stereotypical. There’s joy in watching her as Scían, but even that joy is tempered by the notion that we have seen Yeoh play this same kind of character before, and that as good as she is at it, she should also get the chance to excel at something else.
In the end, The Witcher: Blood Origin works because those three, plus Francesca Mills – cast her in anything and everything – Huw Novelli, Zach Wyatt and Lizzie Annis make us believe that this group of people who have nothing in common can indeed change the world in more ways than one, despite the rushed and uneven path the show takes to the end. Well, that and because this limited series leaves us wanting to jump straight back into The Witcher, or hoping Season 3 would come out tomorrow. A spinoff, of whatever kind, always has a high bar to clear. The Witcher: Blood Origin might not be the neatest story, but fans of the universe will find that, for them, it doesn’t just achieve that, it leaves them wanting much, much more.
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The Witcher: Blood Origin will be available to stream on Netflix on Christmas Day, December 25th.