The Witcher’s non-linear timeline left fans confused.
Netflix’s new fantasy drama, The Witcher, which got released on Friday, 20/12/2019 is a visual adaptation of the book series by the same name by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski. The show stars Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan in the lead roles.
The show has a novel and interesting way of narration which is the non-linear i.e. not continuous timeline. The show juggles between the different timelines as it traces the lives of three titular characters, Geralt, Yennefer and Princess Cirilla. It could have been something epic if done right and would have made tying together of episodes exemplary. But, sadly, in against the show, we don’t realize till late that there is a difference in the timeline till much later. This difference comes in view only when we see Geralt being hired to kill a monster in Temeria.
Picture: Netflix
The lives of the three characters do not intermingle until after the fifth episode but it’s only Geralt and Yennefer whose lives coincide by then. In the episodes that follow, Geralt’s past intertwines with Yennefer’s which complicates the story line and confuses the fans more.
Despite the maker’s brilliant technique, they quite lagged in putting that idea on screen as the transitions aren’t smooth. It takes a couple of episodes to understand that the show is following different timelines. The chronological order of the show is quite a tedious task for viewers to comprehend before even proceeding to understand the characters and story line.
According to showrunner Lauren S. Hissrich, the non-linear timeline wasn’t just an attempt to keep viewers watching and guessing. The Witcher’s timelines were important to keep all its main characters onscreen. She told a daily news portal that they had to play with the time to keep things going simultaneously.
We are not sure how much change in timeline supported the storytelling or if it could enhance the viewing experience because it didn’t for us.