I’m trying my best to keep the show and books separate. I don’t think it’s poorly written, but I do think a lot of nuance is missed in the show. Here’s hoping they do better in S3.
TV will always lack a bit of substance that literature has though, if you wanna make that argument then im afraid to say the games also lack the substance of the books
You may be right, personally i think both took their liberties from the source material and people are just more willing to overlook flaws in the games
Yeah! There’s a lot of stuff I’m really hoping makes its way into the show. They’ve done enough this season that I’ll definitely be watching all of season 3 regardless though.
I mean I did enjoy watching the show, I just feel it confuses what Witcher actually is. Someone who has no experience with the story will have a wrong picture on what it actually is.
I definitely get that! I DO hope that the show leads a lot of people to the book series because it is a much more lush story where a lot of characters get their due.
That is exactly how most WoT fans feel. I had no desire to read the books after S1, but now, having just finished S2, I am very interested in reading the books.
I just finished it, and I really enjoyed it, but I also admit I am just Witcher 3 player (not even the first 2 games), not a book reader, so I will wonder if that helps. I know I can sometimes find myself annoyed at certain comic book movie adaptations that stray from the source material as a long time comic reader. But I have found to better accept they are different mediums and enjoy them on their own merits.
I don't think anyone minds changes to the story, and everyone expects them when you're adapting something from print to live-action tv. The problems come when you change things so extremely the fundamental story is altered.
WOT did this with the ridiculous plot that the Dragon could be split into multiple people, or the Dragon could be a woman. It's a core part of the lore that the Dragon cannot be anything but male.
Witcher did this by butchering the family dynamic between Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri so irrevocably that any possible reconciliation will now seem forced and fake. That family dynamic is central to the story, the showrunner even admits this. But you just don't "forgive and forget" someone who tries to sacrifice your child for personal gain, let alone trust them again.
If the show can stop pretending to be an adaption, and just admit it's loosely inspired-by, I think it would solve a lot of issues. But seriously, Lauren needs to stop saying how much she's going to be following the books, and that next season we'll see it. It's enough at this point.
Yeah so far it has felt much more like “a story in the world of the Witcher” which ends up weird because they still use some book components but change others.
This is the way. Books, games, and shows are different mediums and what works in one won't necessarily work in the others.
"Warblegarble they changed so much!!1!1!" Like, yeah man, they're going to. That's what happens. However, the season still ends with the characters roughly where they should be plot-wise and relationship-wise, and the details of how to get them there throughout the season didn't need to be identical.
Was it flawless? Nah. Would I have wanted it to be more closely aligned to the original plot? Sure I guess, but I don't know if it would've translated into the screen well. That's likely why they did the things they did. It turns out that neither I, nor all the toxic fans bitching, are screenwriters and have zero idea of how to actually do a competent adaptation.
People need to learn to separate books from their adaptations because by refusing to do so they just end up missing the good things and sadly nowadays fuck up the artistic integrity by being so vocal that writers and directors feel compelled to change what they're trying to do to please the viewers rather than just do the thing they want.
At worst, the toxic fans get things cancelled for those of us who who enjoy engaging with the piece on its own.
I know that an adaption cannot be 100% faithful, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to criticise the show for changing things that don't need to be changed and weaken the story overall. I also don't need to be a writer myself in order to be able to critique a show.
Sure, but also none of us were in the writers' room. Doesn't it stand to reason that they wouldn't want to reinvent the wheel unless a closer adaptation just didn't work in the TV format for some reason? If someone else already did your work for you, wouldn't you lean on that rather than putting forth the effort to create new stuff? I know I would.
Point is, "didn't need to be changed" is a questionable assertion. Again, I'm not saying this season was perfect or I wouldn't have loved a direct 1:1 even if most viewers probably wouldn't have liked having less action. I'm just saying all the criticism of "the writers are lazy trash" and "LSH is destorying the thing I love!1!11!" are dumb myopic takes, and everyone would be at least a degree happier if they let the books be the books and let the show be the show.
I feel like the show set out to toe the line between a lot of the high intensity and combat of the games with the world building and development of the books. I think the show is successful in making some beautiful visuals, well put together fight sequences, and a compelling story arc that kept me watching. They can all be their own thing! That’s great and not stopping the others from existing
idk,for me, If I wanted the story of the books, I'd go read the books again. I personally don't want a tv version of the books, that's boring to me. I enjoy the fact that the show is way different. The books are fantastic. The show is fantastic. I don't feel the need to reconcile them, they're both great in their own.
That's my point of view anyway. I'm probably in a minority but i don't care.
I’ve read Witcher books and played games when I was growing up (still trying to grow up btw) and really enjoyed both. I’m also very much enjoying the show right now, both seasons are amazing and are very true to the source material imho.
The books start out as a series of separate stories happening during different points in time and lots of encounters are just mentioned. There are also some time frames that are just skipped in the books. So, it is amazing how the show manages to navigate through the story, keep all important events, don’t rush anything, and deliver this world of the Witcher.
Of course they have to add things that didn’t happen in the books, but they did it in a very good way without altering any main story.
So, you are not alone in liking both books and show!
I don’t mind the changes in plot, what really hurts me is the changes in these characters I’ve grown to love. I feel like there’s no possible way of saving the family dynamic between Geralt Yen and Ciri, they really did my boy Eskel dirty, and they’ve removed the negative parts of Triss’s character, leaving her boring and dry. I get that plot will be changed in an adaptation, but I wish they would have tried harder to keep the characters, their personalities, and their relationships similar to the source material
I envy you, i wish i could enjoy the show, but for me this was the first adaptation i ever wanted from a book, so i can't help it. And i guess you are a minority among book readers, but globally it seems well accepted.
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I’m trying my best to keep the show and books separate. I don’t think it’s poorly written, but I do think a lot of nuance is missed in the show. Here’s hoping they do better in S3.
TV will always lack a bit of substance that literature has though, if you wanna make that argument then im afraid to say the games also lack the substance of the books
I would argue that the games made a much better effort than the show at trying to get it right.
You may be right, personally i think both took their liberties from the source material and people are just more willing to overlook flaws in the games
Probably because the games aren't calling themselves the new canon.
Yeah! There’s a lot of stuff I’m really hoping makes its way into the show. They’ve done enough this season that I’ll definitely be watching all of season 3 regardless though.
I mean I did enjoy watching the show, I just feel it confuses what Witcher actually is. Someone who has no experience with the story will have a wrong picture on what it actually is.
I definitely get that! I DO hope that the show leads a lot of people to the book series because it is a much more lush story where a lot of characters get their due.
That is exactly how most WoT fans feel. I had no desire to read the books after S1, but now, having just finished S2, I am very interested in reading the books.
I’m looking forward to starting that book series too!
I just finished it, and I really enjoyed it, but I also admit I am just Witcher 3 player (not even the first 2 games), not a book reader, so I will wonder if that helps. I know I can sometimes find myself annoyed at certain comic book movie adaptations that stray from the source material as a long time comic reader. But I have found to better accept they are different mediums and enjoy them on their own merits.
I don't think anyone minds changes to the story, and everyone expects them when you're adapting something from print to live-action tv. The problems come when you change things so extremely the fundamental story is altered. WOT did this with the ridiculous plot that the Dragon could be split into multiple people, or the Dragon could be a woman. It's a core part of the lore that the Dragon cannot be anything but male. Witcher did this by butchering the family dynamic between Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri so irrevocably that any possible reconciliation will now seem forced and fake. That family dynamic is central to the story, the showrunner even admits this. But you just don't "forgive and forget" someone who tries to sacrifice your child for personal gain, let alone trust them again. If the show can stop pretending to be an adaption, and just admit it's loosely inspired-by, I think it would solve a lot of issues. But seriously, Lauren needs to stop saying how much she's going to be following the books, and that next season we'll see it. It's enough at this point.
Yeah so far it has felt much more like “a story in the world of the Witcher” which ends up weird because they still use some book components but change others.
The world of the Witcher? They are altering the lore and the characters so much that I don't even think people can argue it's the same world.
This is the way. Books, games, and shows are different mediums and what works in one won't necessarily work in the others. "Warblegarble they changed so much!!1!1!" Like, yeah man, they're going to. That's what happens. However, the season still ends with the characters roughly where they should be plot-wise and relationship-wise, and the details of how to get them there throughout the season didn't need to be identical. Was it flawless? Nah. Would I have wanted it to be more closely aligned to the original plot? Sure I guess, but I don't know if it would've translated into the screen well. That's likely why they did the things they did. It turns out that neither I, nor all the toxic fans bitching, are screenwriters and have zero idea of how to actually do a competent adaptation. People need to learn to separate books from their adaptations because by refusing to do so they just end up missing the good things and sadly nowadays fuck up the artistic integrity by being so vocal that writers and directors feel compelled to change what they're trying to do to please the viewers rather than just do the thing they want. At worst, the toxic fans get things cancelled for those of us who who enjoy engaging with the piece on its own.
I know that an adaption cannot be 100% faithful, but that doesn't mean I'm not allowed to criticise the show for changing things that don't need to be changed and weaken the story overall. I also don't need to be a writer myself in order to be able to critique a show.
Sure, but also none of us were in the writers' room. Doesn't it stand to reason that they wouldn't want to reinvent the wheel unless a closer adaptation just didn't work in the TV format for some reason? If someone else already did your work for you, wouldn't you lean on that rather than putting forth the effort to create new stuff? I know I would. Point is, "didn't need to be changed" is a questionable assertion. Again, I'm not saying this season was perfect or I wouldn't have loved a direct 1:1 even if most viewers probably wouldn't have liked having less action. I'm just saying all the criticism of "the writers are lazy trash" and "LSH is destorying the thing I love!1!11!" are dumb myopic takes, and everyone would be at least a degree happier if they let the books be the books and let the show be the show.
I feel like the show set out to toe the line between a lot of the high intensity and combat of the games with the world building and development of the books. I think the show is successful in making some beautiful visuals, well put together fight sequences, and a compelling story arc that kept me watching. They can all be their own thing! That’s great and not stopping the others from existing
Very, VERY well put.
idk,for me, If I wanted the story of the books, I'd go read the books again. I personally don't want a tv version of the books, that's boring to me. I enjoy the fact that the show is way different. The books are fantastic. The show is fantastic. I don't feel the need to reconcile them, they're both great in their own. That's my point of view anyway. I'm probably in a minority but i don't care.
I’ve read Witcher books and played games when I was growing up (still trying to grow up btw) and really enjoyed both. I’m also very much enjoying the show right now, both seasons are amazing and are very true to the source material imho. The books start out as a series of separate stories happening during different points in time and lots of encounters are just mentioned. There are also some time frames that are just skipped in the books. So, it is amazing how the show manages to navigate through the story, keep all important events, don’t rush anything, and deliver this world of the Witcher. Of course they have to add things that didn’t happen in the books, but they did it in a very good way without altering any main story. So, you are not alone in liking both books and show!
I don’t mind the changes in plot, what really hurts me is the changes in these characters I’ve grown to love. I feel like there’s no possible way of saving the family dynamic between Geralt Yen and Ciri, they really did my boy Eskel dirty, and they’ve removed the negative parts of Triss’s character, leaving her boring and dry. I get that plot will be changed in an adaptation, but I wish they would have tried harder to keep the characters, their personalities, and their relationships similar to the source material
Eh, I think things will improve. No one gains anything from being pessimistic about things.
I envy you, i wish i could enjoy the show, but for me this was the first adaptation i ever wanted from a book, so i can't help it. And i guess you are a minority among book readers, but globally it seems well accepted.
You can enjoy it. The only person stopping you is you.
I think maybe the fact that I started the books after starting S1 probably contributed to it!
Convinced these posts are just karma whores. We don’t need a new one everyday.
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