I’m Glad The Witcher Season 5 Is The Last One After Seeing What’s Happened To Other Major Fantasy Shows

The Witcher is set to end after five seasons, and that ending will be coming quickly. Though other fantasy TV shows have had massive gaps between seasons, and The Witcher helped to start that trend, the final two seasons were filmed back-to-back to ensure that the show maintains its momentum. The new seasons will star Liam Hemsworth as Geralt of Rivia, taking over for Man of Steel actor Henry Cavill. The Witcher season 4 is coming in 2025, while season 5 is expected to have a 2026 release date.

Despite easing the tension of its conclusion by ensuring a quicker release schedule, The Witcher coming to an end is still disappointing. After all, though it faced some criticism about its uncertain timeline and lack of faithfulness to the original books, it is still one of the best fantasy shows on TV. The series has maintained a strong production quality, excellent performances, and fantastic world-building. Unfortunately, the ending means that it will not have the opportunity to see its full story realized, but it could still be a good decision by Netflix and the showrunners.

A Lot Of Fantasy Shows End Up Canceled Too Soon

Shadow And Bone & The Wheel Of Time Have Non-Endings

Fantasy TV is extremely expensive. These shows demand high budgets, significant audience investment, and frequently a multi-season plan that can make streaming giants nervous. Some of these shows are successful enough to achieve a planned ending, such as HBO’s world-renowned Game of Thrones, but even those series can see turmoil when actors seek an exit. After all, the production process is far more arduous than other shows. Even The Witcher saw Henry Cavill leave the series for unclear reasons.

Because of their enormous cost, streaming platforms have been forced to cancel many fantasy TV shows too soon. Lucifer was a Fox show that was canceled after three seasons, though it was saved by Netflix. Other shows were not so lucky, as Netflix decided to end Chilling Adventures of Sabrina after just four seasons, largely because of production issues that stemmed from the COVID-19 pandemic. Prime Video even canceled My Lady Jane after just one season, despite receiving constant praise from critics.

Netflix’s Shadow and Bone season 3 also seems to not be happening; the series earned rave reviews but was canceled after just two seasons, much to the disappointment of viewers. Even a dedicated fan campaign was not enough to save it. Another campaign helped to save a different show, as Netflix agreed to bring Warrior Nun back when audiences revolted after its abrupt ending. However, the planned film trilogy revival has not moved forward in years.

Prime Video’s The Wheel of Time is the latest disappointment, as it was axed after a three-season run that saw an increase in quality with every passing season. Based on the Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson books, the show was once Prime’s most-watched series premiere of 2021, only to see a gradual loss in viewership. With shrinking returns, Amazon eventually decided to let the show die, despite the outcry that came with the announcement. It remains a worrying sign for the genre.

The Witcher Season 5 Plan Means It Will Have A Complete Story

Netflix Will Avoid Another Unresolved Cliffhanger

Thus, it is easy to imagine a world where The Witcher gets a cancellation of its own. While the original plan was to see seven seasons of The Witcher with Henry Cavill as the leading man throughout its run, adapting to the times was the smartest decision that Netflix could have made. Instead of risking a cliffhanger ending to a beloved show that audiences have followed for years, the cast and crew will be able to execute a proper finale. Compared to an abrupt conclusion, that is worth having.

With this strategy, there is no chance that this show will be left entirely unfinished, which was always a risk. If the writers attempted to push for more episodes and future seasons, audiences may never have been able to see a conclusion at all, especially after Cavill chose to walk away from The Witcher. The show could have been unceremoniously scrapped, which would have been worse for the story. Ending after five seasons means there will be a complete story, even if it is not the original story that showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich might have originally intended to have.

How Will The Witcher End?

The Witcher May End With Geralt’s Death

For Netflix’s final season of The Witcher, the TV show is looking to adapt Andrzej Sapkowski’s Baptism of Fire, The Tower of the Swallow, and Lady of the Lake. As the final book in the saga, Lady of the Lake finishes Geralt of Rivia’s story, and the show will likely bring him to the same conclusion. After suffering an injury in a riot, Geralt succumbs to his wounds and passes on to the afterlife, to be joined by Yennefer. It is a curious ending for such a legendary character, given that his actual death is presented somewhat vaguely.

However, though it was fitting for the book’s character to find some sense of peace after his death, it would be risky for the show to make his ending as open and vague as the books did. TV audiences generally expect to see characters have grand fates, which are conclusive endings to their story. As much as Lady of the Lake seemingly sees Geralt dead, it is not an obvious death and focuses more on implication than outright saying what happened to the star.

Even Ciri’s ending is ambiguous, as she agrees to make her way to Camelot without Sapkowski describing what happens to her there. That type of open ending could work on TV, and it could even pave the way for a Witcher sequel show, if Netflix ever resurrects the franchise. Losing Geralt and Yennefer of Vengerberg would be disappointing, but it does seem to be the direction that the show is taking. If The Witcher hopes to prove itself faithful to its source material, then it may end with a definitive death for two of its biggest stars.