Netflix’s The Witcher has been on a downward trend ever since its second season, and now, season 4 is the series’ last chance to get it right.
Amidst the many controversies of The Witcher season 3, one fact that is often forgotten but should now be made abundantly clear is that The Witcher season 4 is the show’s last chance to end a three-season downward trend. Although The Witcher has been fortunate enough to continue for three seasons on Netflix, with a fourth on the way, the series hasn’t always seen the most positive reactions. In fact, over the course of three seasons, critic’s and audience’s views of The Witcher have only grown worse. Ultimately, that is where the fourth season must come in and shine.
The Witcher is a fantasy series based on novels by Polish author Andrej Sapkowski. The story follows a monster hunter named Geralt, as his life intertwines with those of the sorcereess Yennefer and a princess called Ciri. The series garnered acclaim in its first season for its epic fights and overall successful adaptation of a well-loved fantasy story, however, this generally positive reaction hasn’t lasted throughout the consequent seasons. Plus, the latest season, The Witcher season 3, was steeped in controversy as the lead actor, Henry Cavill, made his exit. In this way, The Witcher season 4 has plenty of catching up to do.
The Witcher Reviews Have Gotten Worse With Each Season
While everyone has their own subjective opinion about The Witcher, the fact of the matter is that every season of the series garners worse and worse reviews. The Rotten Tomatoes scores of each season are a prime indication of this downhill trend. The Witcher season 1 earned a 68% critics score and an 89% audience score, which is a solid, positive rating overall. The, The Witcher season 2 saw a strong rise from critics to a 95% score, but a stark decrease for audiences, who scored it at a measly 55%. Finally, The Witcher season 3 saw its worse decline yet, with critics ranking it 78% and audiences giving a shocking 19%.
Although The Witcher’s critics scores are fairly high, the low audience scores are incredibly eye-opening. Clearly, the series is doing something wrong if audiences are reacting so negatively with each new season. For the most part, complaints about The Witcher seem to surround the show’s accuracy to the source material and new storylines. Viewers have always been strict about The Witcher’s closeness to the books and video games, and the further the show strays, the more upset audiences get. Furthermore, season 3 being the last of The Witcher with Henry Cavill as Geralt almost certainly had an effect on fan’s feelings for the show.
The Future Of The Netflix Franchise Depends On The Witcher Season 4
Considering the plummeting Rotten Tomatoes scores of The Witcher, this next season is going to make or break the show. If The Witcher season 4 continues on the same track as its predecessors, disappointing viewers with its lack of accuracy and seeing intense drops in ratings, then it seems likely that the series will come to a quick ending. However, if The Witcher season 4 can manage to persuade audiences to love it again, even with Liam Hemsworth at the helm, then there’s a chance that the series will continue on as happily as it did in the very first season.
This fact is especially true given how liberally Netflix cancels its shows. Although The Witcher is a major name for the streaming service, it likely wouldn’t hesitate to cancel the series if ratings weren’t just right. This has been a notable trend for Netflix, especially concerning fantasy or supernatural series, series targeted towards younger audiences, and adapted series. Therefore, with unhappy audiences and money-savvy Netflix breathing down their necks, The Witcher season 4 will have to turn it around or risk a tragic end.
How The Witcher Can Turn Its 3-Season Negative Review Trend Around
It will be hard for The Witcher season 4 to fix the franchise’s failures but not impossible. The most important issue that the series should sort out is its accuracy. Though it’s easy for on-screen adaptations to make their own rules and storylines, it’s clear that most The Witcher fans don’t want this, and as a result, the showrunners must tone down their new additions and avoidance of the source material. If the series does a better job of sticking to the books, there’s a good chance that audiences will be persuaded. Also, handling the Liam Hemsworth transition with care will also be a gamechanger when it comes to raising The Witcher’s ratings.
Overall, The Witcher has entered a fairly dark phase in its run. Ratings and reviews are low, and after the disaster that was the Witcher season 3, things are not looking bright. However, it isn’t impossible for the series to be saved, and so, showrunners must do everything in their power to get audiences back on their side so that the show can continue. If The Witcher creators don’t make some serious changes, Netflix’s very own Game of Thrones might get cut before it reaches its true ending.
