The Witcher season 3 volume 1 review: Henry Cavill's swansong as Geralt packs a solid punch

The Witcher season 3 volume 1 premiered on Netflix on June 29, 2023, marking the series' return after a year and a half. Created by Lauren Schmidt Hissrich, the fantasy television show is based on Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski's book series of the same name, and predominantly revolves around Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), who could be considered the protagonist of the series.

While the last two seasons of The Witcher introduced us to Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri, initially focusing on their individual journeys and building up to their coming together, The Witcher season 3 trails the trio, who have become a found family of sorts, as they fight evil forces who are after Ciri, wanting to harness her Elder Blood.

The official synopsis, as per Netflix, reads:

"Destiny brought them together. Dangerous forces are trying to tear them apart. Geralt and Yennefer fight to keep Ciri safe as war brews on the Continent."

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Taking off right after the events of the previous season, The Witcher season 3 begins with Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri frequently moving from one place to another for Ciri's safety, while the latter is also being trained by Yennefer to hone her skills.

There are multiple parties, namely the royals, the mages, the elves, and the Wild Hunt, who are in pursuit of Ciri, with each of them having their reasons.

Ciri's Elder Blood is the reason for most of the parties hunting her down, with the elves looking at her as the chosen one who will take them to the promised land, saving them from persecution and extinction.

Her roots also make her the prey of the Wild Hunt, who believes that she is the Daughter of Chaos, the one who will help them continue wreaking havoc across the dimensions.

The mages, however, look at her as a liability, and the possibility of her siding with the Wild Hunt alarms them, making them put a bounty out for Ciri's death. While the Redanian royals want her for diplomatic purposes, the Nilfgaardians' motives remain shrouded in mystery.

Whether or not Geralt and Yennefer are available to keep Ciri from falling into the hands of her pursuers and how they manage to do so forms the rest of The Witcher season 3.

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The Witcher season 3 review: Henry Cavill steals the show in his final appearance as Geralt

Despite having a storyline that stems from Ciri and her safety, The Witcher season 3 has its spotlight on Geralt and manages to highlight the skill and prowess of Henry Cavill as a performer.

Those familiar with the series are well aware of Geralt's neutral stance which has ensured his survival so far. He is also stoic and seemingly indifferent to things.

The latest installment of The Witcher shows him realizing that he can't go about life that way anymore, even more as things are changing for the worse around the Continent. Season 3 also sees Geralt acknowledge and accept his found family and renew his bonds with Yennefer and Jaskier.

Henry Cavill seems to be comfortable in his skin as Geralt of Rivia despite the vulnerability. He owns every scene he appears in, which makes it a bummer as season 3 marks his final appearance as the monster hunter.

Freya Allan and Anya Chalotra are no less, bringing their best as always, and the same can be said about the rest of the cast.

The Witcher season 3 is strong on the technical front as well, with spectacular visuals, on-point editing, and complementary background music. The only letdown is the visual effects, which is noticeably tacky in certain scenes, especially for a series of this scale and size. Nevertheless, the pros far outweigh the cons, making it a thoroughly engaging watch.

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All episodes of The Witcher season 3 volume 1 are available for streaming exclusively on Netflix.