Packed with action, but ends with a reveal that I am not sure we should be getting this early on. I'll keep this spoiler-free, so I'll refrain from specifics there.
All in all, this episode was very on brand for this season; A lot of things that don't necessarily make a lot of sense, but probably make it a little bit more exciting as an adaptation. I am not against all that, since *if* done well, it can be very thrilling to see new things and perspectives in a story one loves. Action helps to palate it all for the average viewer, so it's a necessary evil, I suppose.
However, it's not exactly easy to pull something like that off. In the process, season 2 manages to crank the volume up to 11 and things do get fairly crazy, fast.
Overall, I don't hate most of the changes, which is not to say that I think they're bad either. A lot of it is okay, some of it even good, but in general I'm not sure if most of them really make the story better, even as an adaptation in a new medium that does indeed warrant *some* changes as a premise.
The finale feels hectic, but I actually think the Kaer Morhen bit was pretty cool, even if it was certainly the main culprit. It looked great, and I'll just go ahead and put all my gripes regarding to the sensibility of some of its parts aside and confirm that it was, indeed, visually exciting and really, really cool to watch.
I think this show is going way too fast and easy with some aspects of the story. I already mentioned the very end of the episode, but also the whole introduction of the deathless mother seemed unnecessary (i.e I can't see what value it brought even when thinking in terms of the medium and especially the visual side of things; other than maybe this one battle in the last episode, which could've been based on so many other things that would've made it less strange and divergent). In the process the show's presentation of Nilfgaard is now maybe too different and focuses on the wrong things (and Cahir is really getting a rough treatment...), since instead of being the calculated, rational outcome of what should really remain a secret for several seasons still, we now have this emphasis on impulsive religious-tasting stuff and a side of a hut grandma influencing the entire dynamics and politics of the continent.
But all this being said, I still don't think the finale, nor the season as a whole, was bad. Not by any means. It looked great all the way through, and especially in that regard it's been a significant bump up from the first season.
The cast does a great job and I think they've made a great job casting the actors. All of it works well.
My only real gripes are with how things have changed, in what manner, and with what speed. I have a feeling, though, that as the seasons keep coming, things are starting to get more cohesive and make more sense. A single season might seem hectic as we get this amount of stuff going on, some of which is entirely new (and some if it doesn't really mesh all that well with the part of the audience that has prior exposure and thus, expectations to be broken) just to stir the pot a bit more, but I think it'll feel less so as things get established. I still do think that they tackled way too much in this one season (honestly, even just very faithfully adapting the Blood of Elves would've probably felt rushed in 8 episodes), but I guess that's a thing all adaptations have to struggle with. There's only so many minutes to go, and I bet there are money daddies up in the food chain both demanding action and pop-culture references, as well as giving very rough constraints in which to accomplish all that. Things cost money, after all, so I don't think there's a universe in which we could get perfect adaptations of anything, ever.
I am satisfied and remain hopeful for what's to come. I'm really coming to terms with how different this show is going to be, and as we go, I think it'll get easier to adapt to that and not subconsciously compare the source with the adaptation so much.
All in all, this episode was very on brand for this season; A lot of things that don't necessarily make a lot of sense, but probably make it a little bit more exciting as an adaptation. I am not against all that, since *if* done well, it can be very thrilling to see new things and perspectives in a story one loves. Action helps to palate it all for the average viewer, so it's a necessary evil, I suppose.
However, it's not exactly easy to pull something like that off. In the process, season 2 manages to crank the volume up to 11 and things do get fairly crazy, fast.
Overall, I don't hate most of the changes, which is not to say that I think they're bad either. A lot of it is okay, some of it even good, but in general I'm not sure if most of them really make the story better, even as an adaptation in a new medium that does indeed warrant *some* changes as a premise.
The finale feels hectic, but I actually think the Kaer Morhen bit was pretty cool, even if it was certainly the main culprit. It looked great, and I'll just go ahead and put all my gripes regarding to the sensibility of some of its parts aside and confirm that it was, indeed, visually exciting and really, really cool to watch.
I think this show is going way too fast and easy with some aspects of the story. I already mentioned the very end of the episode, but also the whole introduction of the deathless mother seemed unnecessary (i.e I can't see what value it brought even when thinking in terms of the medium and especially the visual side of things; other than maybe this one battle in the last episode, which could've been based on so many other things that would've made it less strange and divergent). In the process the show's presentation of Nilfgaard is now maybe too different and focuses on the wrong things (and Cahir is really getting a rough treatment...), since instead of being the calculated, rational outcome of what should really remain a secret for several seasons still, we now have this emphasis on impulsive religious-tasting stuff and a side of a hut grandma influencing the entire dynamics and politics of the continent.
But all this being said, I still don't think the finale, nor the season as a whole, was bad. Not by any means. It looked great all the way through, and especially in that regard it's been a significant bump up from the first season.
The cast does a great job and I think they've made a great job casting the actors. All of it works well.
My only real gripes are with how things have changed, in what manner, and with what speed. I have a feeling, though, that as the seasons keep coming, things are starting to get more cohesive and make more sense. A single season might seem hectic as we get this amount of stuff going on, some of which is entirely new (and some if it doesn't really mesh all that well with the part of the audience that has prior exposure and thus, expectations to be broken) just to stir the pot a bit more, but I think it'll feel less so as things get established. I still do think that they tackled way too much in this one season (honestly, even just very faithfully adapting the Blood of Elves would've probably felt rushed in 8 episodes), but I guess that's a thing all adaptations have to struggle with. There's only so many minutes to go, and I bet there are money daddies up in the food chain both demanding action and pop-culture references, as well as giving very rough constraints in which to accomplish all that. Things cost money, after all, so I don't think there's a universe in which we could get perfect adaptations of anything, ever.
I am satisfied and remain hopeful for what's to come. I'm really coming to terms with how different this show is going to be, and as we go, I think it'll get easier to adapt to that and not subconsciously compare the source with the adaptation so much.