On Dec. 17, 2021 the second season of Netflix’s “The Witcher” was released, and it is remarkably different from the first season. The second season is based off of the short story “A Grain of Truth,” the second novel in the “Witcher” series “Blood of Elves,” and the beginning of the third novel “Time of Contempt.”

Last year, when I reviewed the first season for you, I found it to be messy. The second season, however, proved to be a huge improvement.The show reduced the number of plot lines you have to pay attention to, which made the pacing and the plots much easier to follow and understand. 

The newest season has completely ditched the nonlinear storytelling of the first season, a decision that I cannot praise enough, as the nonlinear storytelling in the first season made the show almost unwatchable. 

This season also greatly improves on the setting. The world feels much more realistic and responsive, which is a massive improvement over the isolated and unnatural feeling of the setting in the first season. This season contains an impressive amount of worldbuilding and setups for future plot points while still being cohesive and relatively easy to understand and follow.

The main cast seems to be more comfortable with their characters than they were in the first season, a change that helps the characters feel more realistic and natural in their surroundings, making the world feel vibrant and lived in.

If you watched the first season of “The Witcher” and weren’t impressed or felt disappointed as I did, I highly recommend that you check out the second season. Overall, the second season of “The Witcher” is such a massive improvement that  I can’t wait to see how the show continues to improve going forward.