[TV]
THE WITCHER: BLOOD ORIGIN
Daggers drawn: Laurence O’Fuarain, Sophia Brown and Michelle Yeoh.
★★
OUT NOW (NETFLIX) / EPISODES VIEWED: 4 OF 4
SHOWRUNNER Declan de Barra
CAST Sophia Brown, Laurence O’Fuarain, Michelle Yeoh, Lenny Henry, Mirren Mack, Francesca Mills
PLOT Before the time of Geralt, 1,200 years ago, when the Continent was ruled by elves, an unlikely group of seven heroes came together to end the tyranny of a new empress (Mack) and witness the world change forever.
IF YOU’RE A fan of The Witcher, it logically follows that you will also be a fan of Geralt of Rivia: the yellow-eyed, bath-loving monster-hunter played in the Netflix-streamed adaptation by Henry Cavill (well, for just one more season, but let’s not get into that now). Prequel spin-off series Blood Origin, then, represents a test of anyone’s Witcher fandom: is it possible to love The Witcher without your favourite Witcher ever appearing? On the evidence of this four-parter, set 12 centuries before the events of the main show, the answer is, sadly: oh, hell, no.