Coming off the heels of The Witcher’s final season with Henry Cavill, an executive producer of the fantasy series came forward to address some fans’ accusations that the show’s writers don’t respect the books.
On July 28, a day after the second half of The Witcher Season Three released on Netflix, executive producer Javier Grillo-Marxuach tweeted a reference to a scene in the sixth episode of the third season as a one-to-one recreation of what occurs in author Andrzej Sapkowski’s books as proof that the show’s writers pay close attention to how events transpire in the original story.
“For those who claim that we don’t read/respect the books, the writers’ draft of The Witcher 306 ABSOLUTELY began with Dykstra holding Geralt at knifepoint as he pissed into a plant,” Grillo-Marxuach wrote. “I have the pages to prove it.”
However, some were quick to point out that Grillo-Marxuach’s efforts to prove that show writers pay close attention to the books were undermined by both his misspelling of Dijkstra’s name and fans’ claim that the aforementioned scene doesn’t play out how he says it does in the books.
Although the events do transpire relatively close to what Grillo-Marxuach states occur in Sapkowski’s books, IGN notes that the scene isn’t an exact representation of what happened in the novels. According to IGN, Dijkstra guards are the ones who restrain Geralt in the English translation of the books. Though to be fair to Grillo-Marxuach, even the most die-hard Witcher fans scrutinize the English translation of the books. All that being said, it is a bit distressing that The Witcher series discourse has ramped up to the point that writers feel compelled to use this specific scene to beat fan allegations that show writers actively dislike Sapkowski’s books.
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The Witcher discourse is at an all-time high with Cavill’s exit
Since The Witcher debuted on the streamer in 2017, the show has faced an uphill battle with fans for its peculiar pacing and introduction of small deviations of events that transpire in Polish writer Sapkowski’s novels. The latter point of contention furthered rumors among fans that Geralt actor Cavill, who is a fan of the books, announced his departure from the show at the end of its third season to be replaced by Hunger Games actor Liam Hemsworth, because of his frustration with Witcher showrunners deviation from the books. Although the real reason for Cavill’s departure is unknown, his final season on the show saw a drop in viewership, which led a producer to place the blame squarely on the short attention span of younger viewers.
In a reply to a comment saying the show’s discourse comes from rumors and “flat-out lies” from bad faith viewers jumping on a hate campaign without reading the novels, Grillo-Marxuach said, “Those of us who know what really went down behind the scenes know what really went down behind the scenes. I stand behind the work, and my boss, 100 percent.”
Read More: The Witcher Season 3 Ended As It Began—Messily
In a separate reply to a fan inquiring about how the show will explain Geralt’s new appearance in Season Four of The Witcher, Grillo-Marxuach replied saying, “It will be done in a way that is very much in line with the thematic spirit of the books.”
In Kotaku’s commentary for The Witcher Season Three, Alyssa Mercante said: “The series can be so convoluted that I wonder if my knowledge of the lore is harming more than helping, as I struggle to recall events that happened seasons ago and wonder if I’m actually remembering something from the books.” All things considered, Mercante still plans on watching the upcoming Ciri-led season.