‘The Witcher: The Origin of Blood’ covers too much according to early critics, who see it as rushed

On December 25, ‘The Witcher: The Origin of Blood’, the prequel to ‘The Witcher’, arrives on Netflix. This new adventure takes place chronologically 1,200 years before the events of the main series and tells us in four episodes the story of seven characters who unite to fight against a powerful empire. The project already has the first criticisms from the US media, who agree that the development of the story, the characters and the group needs more time than allowed by the series.

Being a series from the same universe as ‘The Witcher’, there was no shortage of comparisons between the two projects. Slashfilm explains that it is not difficult for those who enjoyed the series with Henry Cavill to enjoy ‘The Origin of Blood’, as it contains characteristic elements of ‘The Witcher’: “It includes many of the ingredients that make people love ‘The Witcher’: there are monsters and magic, tragic love stories, the occasional ‘fucking’ and more than a fair amount of blood and death.” As for the tone of the series, the medium explains that it is dark, but that several comedic moments and witty characters keep the series from becoming too dark. Continuing with the comparisons, IGN ensures that the special effects do not reach the level of the original series: “Speaking of graphics, the special effects shots, especially when it comes to monsters, aren’t quite as polished as what we saw in ‘The Witcher’.” In the positive section on the visual, IGN reveals that the use of the Icelandic landscape is “magnificent, transporting us to a fantastic land like no other.”

One of the big problems “The Origin of Blood” suffers from, according to various media, is the short duration of the series. Having only four chapters, several aspects of the project are negatively impacted, such as the ending: “Everything feels very rushed in the final episode. While I applaud the creators for not wanting to push the timing any further than necessary, ‘Rise of Blood’ could have taken a few more hours to bring the series to a satisfying conclusion.” As for the lack of time, Collider also agrees, noting that there’s little emotional weight in the series’ cast of lead characters due, in part, to its short length. Indicates that there isn’t much time to delve into most of the protagonists: “Of the seven main heroes of the series, the only characters we really delve into are Éile and Fjall. This is disappointing because the other five members of the group are much more convincing. It’s a shame because when the band is finally together, there is potential for great camaraderie. The Verge also talks about this wasted potential:“It’s an interesting group, but ‘Rise of Blood’ never gave me enough time to get to know them. With such a large cast, a short four-episode run is too short.”

As for the cast, Slashfilm believes that all the actors and actresses do justice to their role, but particularly highlights the performance of Michelle Yeoh and her character, Scian, the last of a nomadic tribe of elves. “I wish I had more screen time”supports Slashfilm. Collider reiterates the words of the previous medium making sure the story never delves into it, which he considers a disappointment considering that in his opinion Scian is the best in the series.

some easter eggs

“The Witcher: The Origin of Blood”, in the same way as the main series of this universe, is an adaptation that drinks from books and video games. For those who are fans of this fantasy saga through these formats, the series has more than one easter egg, cameos and references to important elements and names of the universe “The Wichter” as revealed by IGN.

* “The Witcher: Origin of Blood” arrives on Netflix on December 25th.