| The Witcher: Blood Origin | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Genre | |
| Created by | |
| Based on | The Witcher byAndrzej Sapkowski |
| Showrunner | Declan de Barra |
| Starring | |
| Narrated by | Minnie Driver |
| Composer | Bear McCreary |
| Country of origin |
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| Original language | English |
| No. of episodes | 4 |
| Production | |
| Executive producers |
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| Running time | 43–64 minutes |
| Production companies |
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| Original release | |
| Network | Netflix |
| Release | December 25, 2022 (2022-12-25) |
| Related | |
| The Witcher | |
The Witcher: Blood Origin is afantasy televisionminiseries created byDeclan de Barra andLauren Schmidt Hissrich and loosely adapted from theWitcher book series byAndrzej Sapkowski.[1] It serves as a prequel toThe Witcher. The series premiered onNetflix on December 25, 2022, and consists of four episodes.[2] It received largely negative reviews from critics, although the action sequences did receive some praise.
Set 1,200 years before the events ofThe Witcher television series,Blood Origin depicts the creation of the first Witcher, as well as the events leading to the "Conjunction of the Spheres".[3] It also explores the ancient Elven civilization Xin'trea before its demise.[4]Geralt of Rivia's bard ally Jaskier is saved from a war by the mysterious elf Seanchai where she has him write down the untold legend of seven warriors who went up against the forces of Xin'trea following itscoup d'état.
| No. | Title | Directed by | Written by | Original release date | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | "Of Ballads, Brawlers, and Bloodied Blades" | Sarah O'Gorman Vicky Jewson | Declan de Barra | December 25, 2022 (2022-12-25) | |
Jaskier is about to be killed in battle when time freezes around him and Seanchai appears to tell him the story of seven heroes against an empire, during which humans and monsters came into the world and the first witcher was created. First to be introduced is Eile, a bard who sings of the lowborn elves rebelling against their masters. Second is Fjall, a royal guard who is exiled for having sex with Princess Merwyn of Xin'trea (later Cintra). Merwyn's brother King Alvidir hopes to marry her off to the ruler of a rival kingdom to forestall war, but his advisor Balor summons a monster to the peace meeting to kill both leaders. Balor had hoped to treat Merwyn as a puppet empress of the newly combined kingdoms, but she's resistant to his direction. Eile and Fjall's rival clans are no more, and they come together to avenge the old order. Third of the seven to be introduced is Scian, who speaks of a poisoned king and a sacred sword. | |||||
| 2 | "Of Dreams, Defiance, and Desperate Deeds" | Vicky Jewson | Alex Meenehan and Aaron Stewart-Ahn | December 25, 2022 (2022-12-25) | |
Eile, Fjall, and Scian attempt to rob a bank, but it's an ambush and Scian's wounded by a poisoned blade. The three flee to the woods where they meet Callan, or Brother Death, a reformed killer who joins them and leads them to the healer Zacare and mystic Syndril, who worked with Balor to raise the monoliths that permit monsters to enter the world but who escaped and now explains that they must destroy the master monolith in Xin’trea to save the world. The six try to use a monolith to reach Xin'trea but end up on another world fighting a gigantic centipede-like monster. Meanwhile, Merwyn's saved by the scholar Avallac'h from an assassination attempt and holds on to him as an ally not beholden to Balor. She then leaves the castle to disguise to learn that the people are starving and Balor’s co-conspirator Eredin has a secret lower-class lover, which Balor would not allow, permitting Merwyn to bring Eredin to her side to steal Balor’s book to operate the monolith. Separately, dwarf Meldof kills an elf for raping and murdering her lover Gwen, and names her hammer Gwen. | |||||
| 3 | "Of Warriors, Wakes, and Wondrous Worlds" | Vicky Jewson Sarah O'Gorman | Tania Lotia and Kiersten Van Horne | December 25, 2022 (2022-12-25) | |
The six caught on the other world escape through the portal and close it to cut the creature in half, after which Meldof makes six into seven. The seven decide to use elixirs, magic, and herbs with the corpse of the centipede creature to empower one of them to fight Balor’s creature. Eile insists it should be her, and asks for a wake in advance. Eile and Fjall make love afterward. Eile awakens to find that Fjall has already taken the concoction that has made him the first witcher. Meanwhile, Avallac’h fails to draw upon the power of the monolith, so Merwyn frees Balor on condition he help her. Scian offers to betray Eile and Fjall to Merwyn, who gives her troops to bring them in but whom Scian leads into the seven’s ambush so that they will have Xin’trean armor to get past the gates, after which they plan to incite a grain riot to produce enough chaos for them to destroy the monolith and stop Merwyn. | |||||
| 4 | "Of Mages, Malice, and Monstrous Mayhem" | Sarah O'Gorman | Declan de Barra &Tasha Huo | December 25, 2022 (2022-12-25) | |
Merwyn is now using the monoliths to invade other worlds to find food for her empire, but Balor soon unsurprisingly betrays her to absorb chaos magic to empower himself. Eile raises the commoners with song. Fjall fights Balor’s monster using his witcher abilities. Eile confronts Merwyn, who may have wanted to wipe out the kingdoms and clans but who is now, per Eile, “just another boot looking for more necks,” and kills her. Fjall defeats the monster but can’t restrain himself from attacking Brother Death, and Eile’s forced to kill him. Syndril stops Balor by magical means, destroying the monolith and unleashing the Conjunction of the Spheres. Eile is pregnant with Fjall’s baby, whom the prophet Ithlinne says will have a descendent who will “sing the last”. | |||||
It was announced in July 2020 thatNetflix had green-lit a six-part miniseries prequel to itstelevision series adaptation of theAndrzej Sapkowski novels.Declan de Barra was hired to serve as showrunner.[12] In January 2021,Jodie Turner-Smith was cast to star in the series.[13] Laurence O’Fuarain would join the cast in March,[14] but by April, Turner-Smith had to exit due to scheduling conflicts.[15] In July,Michelle Yeoh was added,[16] withSophia Brown taking over the role vacated by Turner-Smith.[17]
Filming on the series began in August 2021 in theUnited Kingdom, with additional castings including Lenny Henry, Mirren Mack,Nathaniel Curtis and Dylan Moran announced.[5] De Bara announced it had finished filming and went intopost-production in November 2021.[18]
On thereview aggregator websiteRotten Tomatoes, 28% of 39 critics' reviews are positive, with an average rating of 5.2/10. The website's consensus reads: "A shallow excavation of ancient lore from Andrzej Sapkowski's fantasy series,Blood Origin shares ancestral DNA withThe Witcher but little of what makes the mothership series memorable."[19] OnMetacritic, which uses a weighted average, the series has received a score of 45 out of 100 based on 15 critic reviews, indicating "mixed or average reviews".[20]
David Griffin reviewing it forIGN praised it for special effects, action scenes, and the "engaging band of misfits" as protagonists, but noted that the story villains were not very interesting.[21] Zosha Millman reviewing the series forPolygon criticized it for being mundane, writing that the show "has no time for consideration of what makes the Witcher universe unique or meaningful at all, leaving it as just a muddled, reckless attempt to get more Witcher stuff out the door".[22] Andrew Webster writing forThe Verge likewise argued that without the titular Witcher (Geralt of Rivia) or another memorable lead, the series lacks something special to make it stand on its own.[23] Therese Lacson writing for theCollider criticized the series for its "slapdash storylines" and "half-baked" villains, and noted that too often the show "slips into either complete camp, cringe, or melodrama".[24] Darren Mooney reviewing the show forThe Escapist called it a "bloody mess" and a "spectacular misfire", criticizing its characters as uninteresting, and "editorial tinkering" as clumsy and ineffective.[25] InSlant Magazine, Niv M. Sultan wrote that "the series proves too hurried and scattered to penetrate much beyond the surface of its universe and characters."[26] Vicky Jessop in theLondon Evening Standard said that "it's hard to feel invested in the fate of the characters".[27] David Opie writing forDigital Spy likewise criticized the cast, noting that "Most of these characters, and therefore Blood Origin itself, remain frustratingly limited".[28]
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