Musketeer Highlights for December 2019
Musketeer Highlights for November 2019
It’s that time again where we celebrate our wonderful Musketeers that continue to make the Sword Experience such a success. It is our pleasure to announce the top Musketeer for the month is none other than Darren Hayes. Darren is one of our most trusted Musketeers from Ireland. He has helped spread the word about our past events in Ireland and is currently assisting us with finding our next location in Ireland and we are incredibly thankful for his continued support as well as his insight. Thank you for your incredible work Darren. We cannot wait to bring the Sword Experience back to The Emerald Isle.
As with every month, it is always difficult to pick just one of you for our top Musketeer and this month was no exception. For our honorable mentions, we’d like to recognize two of our most beloved Musketeers, Joshua Hatcher and Tony Torres. Joshua and Tony are both incredibly active on our social media pages and are instrumental in keeping our Musketeers energized and engaged. We always look forward to your posts and are grateful for your continued support on social media. Keep up the incredible work.
We are excited to see what our wonderful Musketeers have in store for us in the New Year. Keep up your incredible work and maybe you’ll be reading about yourself in the coming months
Honorable mention Musketeer Tony Torres
Honorable mention Joshua Hatcher
Netflix’s The Witcher Review
Netflix’s newest fantasy adventure series has recently been released. We’ve talked about our hopes for the series in previous blog posts, but now that it is finally out, it’s time for the final verdict. Many were hoping that the series would fill the fantasy hole left behind in the wake of the Game of Thrones finale, but does The Witcher do the job?
The Witcher is based on Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s fantasy book series. The first season is set in a fictitious medieval world known as “The Continent.” After an event known as “The Convergence,” human’s have found themselves in a world filled with mythical creatures, monsters, and magic. The series follows the stories of a monster hunter and mutant named Geralt of Rivia, played by Henry Cavill, a powerful sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg, played by Anya Chalotra, and the young Cintran princess Ciri, played by Freya Allan. Their destinies are intertwined by the forces of magic and political uprisings. The first season is comprised of eight episodes.
There’s a lot to like about the first season of The Witcher. Henry Cavill’s portrayal of Geralt of Rivia is perfect. Fans of both the book series and the game series will find something to love in this live action adaptation of Geralt. It is clear that Cavill has done his due diligence in preparing for the role. He has taken notes from both the book and game series to create a character that is familiar to fans yet is wholly his own. Cavill is able to exude so much charisma with a simple grunt or a broody look.
His dialogue is short and crisp and the character is incredibly realized with very little explanation needed. As an audience, we understand the internal conflicts that Geralt is experiencing without direct exposition. Not only has Cavill perfected the emotional aspects of Geralt, but the physicality that he brings to the series is both believable and ferocious. Cavill’s sword handling skills and adeptness of fight choreography is on full display with jaw dropping action scenes.
These fight scenes are some of the highlights of the series. In the first episode, we are treated to a fight where Geralt becomes known as “The Butcher of Blaviken.” Here we see just how otherworldly a Witcher is in battle. No human is a match for a Witcher, as Geralt dances around his enemies with brutal precision with a little help from his magical signs. It was quite exhilarating to watch Geralt slash his way through a multitude of enemies, and then use an Aard blast to knock his remaining enemies back to give himself a moment to breathe before finishing the fight. The series reaches its greatest heights with these incredible action scenes. There is also some incredible creature design and the series should be lauded for its usage of practical effects.
The Striga fight scene from episode 3 is an excellent example of fantastic practical effects married with VFX to create a terrifying and fun fight scene between mutant and monster. If the series were comprised of “monster of the week” episodes with Geralt entering a town, discovering the story of monster, and then slaying or helping said monster, the series would probably be considered flawless.
However, the biggest flaw with the series is in its plot development. There is a lot going on in the world of the Witcher, and the plot becomes near incomprehensible at times if you are not aware of the source material. This becomes especially confounding when you realize that the different plot threads featuring Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri are all occurring at different points in time. This doesn’t really become clear until nearly halfway through the season, which is incredibly frustrating as a viewer. Characters are killed in one episode only to appear two episodes later with no clear explanation.
With a story that has an extensive backlog of lore and political intrigue surrounding the overarching story, a linear timeline would have done wonders for those entering the series for the first time. One of the reasons Game of Thrones was such a resounding success from the onset of the show is that even though the series started in the midst of political drama in a fantasy setting, the plot was quite easy to follow. There was rarely any confusion regarding the politics of the show. The characters were clearly defined and the politics that they were wrapped up in had vast ramifications for all the characters in the series.
The Witcher also spends far too much time delving into the dangers of magic helmed by the Brotherhood of Sorcerers. We are treated to several scenes that emphasize that a sacrifice is necessary to wield such tremendous power. This concept seems to be thrown out the window by the seasons end as most mage’s seem to be able to conjure incredible powers with very little repercussions to them or those around them. While Yennefer’s rise to power was an intriguing story, it was quite difficult to ascertain what the purpose of the Brotherhood was. Are they a cabal that controls the outcome of the war’s created by man? What are their primary goals? None of this was explained in great detail.
And then there’s Ciri’s plotline. Ciri is arguably one of the most powerful characters in the Witcher franchise. We see glimpses of this power early on, but most of Ciri’s plot feels like an afterthought to the rest of the series. Every time the plot cuts back to Ciri, nearly all of the momentum of the episode is stripped away. The motivation of these scenes felt more like the writers reminding us that there is this character that we’re supposed to be worried about, but very rarely did she feel like she was in imminent danger. It’s a shame that her character wasn’t more developed and that her storyline wasn’t littered with inconsistencies.
On a technical level, the series is a beautiful mess. There is amazing cinematography on display that really hammers home the incredible world that has been built.
Some fight scenes are beautifully shot handheld, which creates a sense of intimacy while also avoiding the cliché shaky cam. The establishing shots make the world feel alive and lived in. But then we are treated to some really bizarre costume design, most notably the Nilfgaardian armor. While the Nilfgaard are portrayed in the books as wearing black plated armor, the armor in the Netflix series just looks ugly and impractical. Apparently, the showrunner has already taken notice and they will be working with a different costume designer for season 2, so hopefully this will be rectified.
Overall, the first season of The Witcher is a mixed bag. Most of this can be attributed with the structure of the season. However, the series culminates in a meeting of these three plotlines that could mean that the next season will follow a linear path, which can only benefit the series. One thing is certain though, the series’ portrayal of Geralt is fantastic, and Henry Cavill is able to elevate the show to greatness. The show has already been picked up for a second season, and while the first season may have some weaknesses, it has set up a fairly solid foundation that can only be expanded upon. It will be interesting to see what the future holds for this series. Hopefully they learn from some of the mistakes from the first season and expand upon what worked best.
New Year, New You
As with every New Year, many have set resolutions for themselves, but as we know those resolutions can feel daunting. Whether you’re looking to lose weight, stop smoking, or starting an exercise regimen, it can be hard to know where to begin. We thought we’d give you some tips to help your resolution become a reality.
First, start small. If your resolution is to begin an exercise regimen, do not go to the gym seven days a week. Start off by going three days a week and build a foundation and routine that fits your physical abilities. If you’re looking to lose weight through dieting, gradually integrate the diet into your normal meal plans. If you start your resolution at a high intensity, then it can become much more difficult to maintain overtime. Building a solid foundation of good habits is more important than attempting to reach your goals quickly.
Second, don’t beat yourself up. We are all human beings and are bound to make mistakes when attempting to reach our goals. If your goal is to eat healthy, it’s okay if you break your diet by eating something that might not be considered healthy. One misstep does not make the progress that you have already made pointless. Just dust yourself off and try to maintain the good habits that you have been working towards.
Third, talk about your goals and experiences with friends and coworkers. Sharing your experiences and goals with others reinforces them.
You may also find that others around you are attempting the same lifestyle change as you. Discussing your struggles and successes is a wonderful way to reaffirm your resolutions and make your journey to a better lifestyle a lot more palatable.
There is no catch all to reaching your New Year’s Resolutions, but with these three simple acts, your goals and aspirations can become a lot less cumbersome. Consistency is the key to success. We know that you can attain your goals and we believe that with the right support system, your resolutions will become the norm.
