Netflix’s popular series The Witcher came out with a fabulous Season 2. The new chapter skillfully maneuvered a major issue that hurt the final seasons of Game of Thrones. And in its attempts at doing so, the season subtly mocked HBO’s legacy. Both the shows have gained massive admiration in the fantasy genre and have created a monumental presence in the past few years.
However, Game of Thrones received a huge amount of criticism towards its finale. Along with this, fans picked at several mistakes and thoroughly examined every arc in the story. And there is one particular issue that the Netflix series’ second season has used as mockery.
Game Of Thrones’ Controversial Ending
Game of Thrones first aired on streaming network HBO in 2011. The series gradually became a worldwide success. This is because the adaptation stuck to its fantastical portrayal, and unexpected plot twists. As well as respectfully applying to George R.R. Martin’s work to good use. However, fans saw a steep deviation in all of this during the show’s final years. Particularly the eighth season.
Game of Thrones Season 8 received heavy backlash due to its hasty storytelling. Also, viewers and critics were disappointed with questionable character developments. Overall, the conclusion of one of the most remarkable shows in the history of the fantasy genre was more than just a dismay. At the end of the day, after having won people over with several outstanding years, Game of Thrones’ ending walked all over the series’ triumph.
Now streaming giant Netflix has come out with yet another fantasy show to mark the mantle left over from Game of Thrones. The Witcher has so far premiered two superb seasons. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has revealed her plans for the franchise to stay in business for seven long seasons. Also, Andrzej Sapkowski’s The Witcher novels are complete. Which means that the show will not have to face the same problems as Game of Thrones to properly end the journey. In fact, The Witcher Season 2 is already acknowledging how it aims to forgo this problem. Which looks like a problem with teleporting its characters.
Also Read : The Witcher’s Mystical Lore Continues Geralt’s Adventures In The Graphic Novels
One Of The Biggest Issues In Game Of Thrones
The beginning seasons of Game of Thrones see a lot of travel significant to the overall plot. According to so many episodes, we realized that it took the characters at least a few episodes, or sometimes the whole season, to reach a definitive point in the narrative. But that’s not the case with the last two seasons. Towards the end, the characters speak of going somewhere, and they reach the said location within the same episode. And the episode does not provide any elaborate explanation on how it happened.
In one scene, Jon Snow sends Gendry back to the Wall. He asks him to have a raven sent to Game of Thrones’ Daenerys in Dragonstone so that she and her dragons could come to help Jon. All of these scenarios take place over the span of the same episode. This rebuffs the show’s predetermined rules of travel when compared to previous seasons.
How The Witcher Avoids Travel Time Issues
In contrast, in The Witcher Season 2, traveling from one destination to another takes time. And the scenes portray the journey very well. This scenario is obvious when Geralt and Ciri are traveling together. And also when the pair arrives at Cintra, Yennefer and Istredd must locate the monolith that Ciri toppled. Moreover, when certain characters travel to a place faster, it is through a portal.
In that aspect, The Witcher sends a fun jab at the issue with Game of Thrones. When Jaskier is speaking to Geralt of the time he left the bard on the mountain, he says it took him ages to get down. Clearly, The Witcher is not trying to mock Game of Thrones. But it is interesting how the Netflix series is taking notes from the latter, and making sure to not make the same mistakes.
