Witcher Books vs Netflix Adaptation - Differences and Similarities

With the new season of Netflix’s The Witcher on June 29, fans wonder what to expect from the production. We say – to learn the future, it’s best to dig into the past.

Adaptations — especially TV series — are unpredictable. But in the case of The Witcher season 3, everyone understands that some threads come straight out of the book, and others depend on the creators’ imagination. We already know about Dandelion’s confirmed romance with Radowid, which is quite a bold withdrawal from Andrzej Sapkowski’s books. And it will be the last performance of Henry Cavill, who made this production genuinely alive.

So many dramatic changes! But we know very well that waiting for the new season is hard. That’s why we prepared a brief The Witcher Show vs Books guide on similarities and differences. Perhaps the past events will help you foresee what will bring season 3!

The Order of Events

The show’s timeline proved challenging to understand, as the various characters’ stories took place simultaneously but at different periods. So Netflix shared a simple chart on Twitter to make things a little easier. It is one of the key similarities between the books and the show because the sequence of events in Sapkowski’s source was far from any order – the first books were collections of short stories, and a saga appeared later.

Let’s start with the first contrast – in the book, all events happen from Geralt’s point of view. But there are different perspectives in the series until the three leading characters (Ciri, Yen, and Geralt) find something in common to work on – and this is the reason for their partnership. But in both forms, only one reason indicated why all this happens – destiny. The Witcher’s last wish merged his fate with Yen’s life (who wasn’t too happy about it), and the law of surprise after saving Duny linked his future with Ciri, who became his daughter. In the series and the books, this leading theme remained the same. Except that the Yennefer from the show had some trouble building a relationship with Ciri. But enough of the basic facts, let’s get straight to the most important distinctions regarding the order of events and main plot points.

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Novel Ciri does not have such apparent powers, and this information is vital. In the series, her magic gets the plot going, and soon she becomes something of a miracle child running around casting spells – and that’s why everyone is trying to hunt her down. The powers of the original Ciri were not so clear to the world, revealed rather subtly, although some guessed she might be the Child of Destiny. It looks similar to another part of the story – Ciri and Geralt’s trip to Kaer Morhen after their first meeting. Book Geralt didn’t know what to do with a female child and didn’t want to take care of her, so he took Ciri to other witchers. Then he left, the girl stayed, and since the other witchers also didn’t know what to do, they decided to teach her how to use a sword and engage in all sorts of “manly” activities. Until the arrival of Triss Merigold — her first book appearance — who decided all these men had gone mad and the girl should develop like a girl. But in the series, we got a leshy, monsters, no redhead sorceress, and all sorts of treatments to make the plot more interesting. Like Vesemir wanting to make new witchers out of Ciri’s blood – that never really happened in the book description.

Let’s also talk about the Battle of Sodden Hill, which caused some confusion among The Witcher fans. As it turns out, this epic conflict between Nilfgaard Empire and the Northern Kingdoms from the season 1 finale was not part of the book’s active plot. Yes, it happened at some point, but we know about it mainly from the Something More story – where Geralt goes to the place to confirm if the list of the dead does not include Yennefer. It does feature Triss as the fourteenth to die in battle, and the whole theme is in the show, but with a little plot twist – the fourteenth is Yen.

Character Development and Arcs

So we already know the books and the show plots evolve around following our little overpowered family as they fight many obstacles, trying to reach the desired peace. But this story features a few minor changes existing in the series. Let’s take Jaskier – although given the English-language name Dandelion, he became one of the most authentic characters of the Netflix production. As a born womanizer and seducer, he proved himself perfectly as a friend of the gloomy Witcher. However, the show creators did not introduce his character as someone working with Dijkstra and the Redanian Intelligence – he became more of a comic relief made for romance.

Everyone knows one of the crucial distinctions is telling Yennefer’s backstory in the series. This theme emerged as a minor bit of character development in the books. But the show decided to reveal her beginnings from scratch. Also, in the book Yen didn’t lose her powers, and she never wanted to sacrifice Ciri to get them back. In the series, she played the maternal figure well in Geralt’s presence to take the girl to Voleth Meir – Deathless Mother, who never existed in the source. However, she quickly decided the whole mission wasn’t worth it and offered herself and restored her powers. Thankfully, now we can expect real mother-daughter bonding in season 3.

Let’s also save a word for two other heroes who turned out radically different than in Sapkowski’s creations. For example – Cahir. Initially, this hero never collaborated with Yen and did not employ a Doppler to capture Ciri. In the series, he used this supernatural creature to transform himself into one of Ciri’s most trustworthy people – Mousesack. His task was to lure the heroine out of the Brokilon forest, where the girl could be too safe and unreachable. Another massive change concerns Eskel – one of the witchers in Kaer Morhen and Geralt’s best friend. While in the books he just enjoyed his relatively happy life, the series infected him with leshen magic and turned him into a tree monster. Which — surprisingly for many — was eventually killed.

Interpretation of The Continent

Although the image of the entire Continent looks quite similar in both forms, it also did not avoid a few minor changes in the series. One is Nilfgaard and its strong motivation to conquer all available and inaccessible territories.

• In the books, the entire conflict between the empire in the south and the Northern Kingdoms developed around the latter’s racism toward elves and other races.
• The adaptation, however, shows us the Nilfgaardians more as religious fanatics, with Emhyr as their deity obsessing over prophecy.

Magic and Combat

The entire Henry Cavill persona perfectly portrays Geralt of Rivia’s character – and this is a fact. But it gets even more satisfying when combat and magic look so similar in both forms. Although the series Witcher uses fewer signs than in the book, we can still enjoy scenes of realistic battles and Aard dealing at every opportunity. Plus, the weapons and outfits look absolutely fantastic.

Image credit: Netflix

Relationships and Romances

There is no Witcher without complex relationships and romances. Oh wait, there is! In books and video games, Geralt was known for enjoying numerous opportunities for occasional sex, and his long list of conquests included personalities like Yennefer, Triss, Renfi, Shani, Fringilla, and many more. To the disappointment of many, the show Witcher is much more reserved and follows a relationship with only one woman – Yen. Funny as this particular heroine got a much more elaborate relationship with Istredd that initially only appeared in A Shard of Ice story. In the series, he is Yen’s prominently vital romance interest. But in the book, she only mentions a past irrelevant fling to Geralt, who later defeats Istredd in a duel.

The Role of Monsters

They are one of the most important themes of all Witcher creations. The original Geralt lived for and from killing monsters. They were the essential driving force of the plot, sometimes even its center (like a Striga or a golden dragon), and were the motivation for numerous journeys and getting entangled in subsequent intrigues. The Witcher was a born monster-killing machine created for no other purpose. This pattern weakened in the main saga, where political themes and people became the focus – but there were still monsters. In the show, they’re more of an interlude than an actual reason for the story to unfold. Aside from the significant cases like the dragon and Striga mentioned above, all the rest of the monsters connect to the thread about ancient monoliths – which did not exist in the book.

source: https://www.cinesite.com/

The Impact of Game Elements

As you might expect, the show creators borrowed some elements from CD Projekt Red’s successful video games, as even the title’s showrunner admitted that they were crucial in designing the overall look. The stunning video game visuals inspired Lauren Hissrich before starting work on the Netflix series. But the games contributed even more! As Hissrich says, it’s full of easter eggs made for players, and some will notice that many actors try to depict the mannerisms of our favorite NPCs.

Fans’ Reactions and Expectations

The Witcher divided the fanbase into total enthusiasts, die-hard critics, and those just curious about what will happen next. Some views come from those who have read the books and completely disagree with the producers’ decisions. Other from people who enjoy another fantasy show have the opportunity to discover the story of this famous Geralt – especially if they are not gamers. However, all of that (including controversial contrasts) was lost in the face of news about Henry Cavill’s exit from the show, as season three will be his final run. Especially since no one knows why Cavill left, but nothing sparks hype like a good drama. So we can expect massive view numbers!

Adaptation Challenges

Following the cases like The Hobbit, Twilight, Eragon, or The Scarlet Letter, it is not difficult to guess that creating a decent adaptation can be problematic. Transforming so many words, personalities, plots, events, and bits of lore into short segments that make sense is more than a challenge. Therefore, every adaptation needs changes that push the storyline keeping the viewer’s attention. Books have the privilege of taking a bit more time without losing the reader’s attention. Consequently, we didn’t see scenes like Ciri’s uneventful stay in Kaer Morhen in the series.

Conclusion

The Witcher show meets with quite harsh criticism and a constantly evolving fanbase. Despite all these differences, even the most loyal fans must admit the plot has been delivered. Maybe slightly tampered with and not as detailed, but this is a Netflix series. We’ve all seen worse. Especially since even the biggest fans of Sapkowski’s books often forget how twisted the chronology of events was in the stories, main saga, and alternative endings.

To extract such a well-constructed story of this mess is positively a miracle. That’s why we have to expect modifications in the upcoming season 3. Because, after all, The Witcher is a fantasy genre — made for imaginative fun — and it really forgives a lot in terms of accuracy to the source.