There is something quite funny about how a key element of the long-awaited fourth season of the Netflix fantasy series “The Witcher” involves its central character being embodied by what can be generously described as a vaguely similar doppelgänger who isn’t really fooling anyone. It likely won’t be funny enough to stop fans from crying over the loss of their beloved Henry Cavill, whose charismatic magical warrior Geralt has now been replaced by Liam Hemsworth’s lackluster impersonation of him.
Still, in this sporadic hit-and-miss new season, viewers will want to cling to even the unintentionally fun moments where they can get them.
First and foremost, there is no getting around the Hemsworth in the room. Even as there is much else going on with Season 4’s new adventure and split storylines, and plenty of fresh faces who pop up along the way, his presence is the one element that continually sticks out like a sore thumb.
And the show suffers for it. Though it was always a tall order for Hemsworth to step into Cavill’s big shoes as the lead of an established ensemble beloved by “the show’s audience, the new Geralt never rises to the occasion. That the season doesn’t do him any favors with a clunky, glorified previously-on reintroduction to the character — exposing how flat he is in comparison to the memorable warrior from past seasons — only makes the going that much tougher.
But there’s reasons not to fully write off “The Witcher.” Namely, the majority of the remaining cast all slip back into their parts with ease in Season 4. The main trio of Freya Allan’s Ciri, Anya Chalotra’s Yennefer and Joey Batey’s Jaskier, all of whom had the closest relationships with Geralt, remain great characters to build around. They’ve been through a lot these last three seasons, with much more ahead of them from both familiar and new foes as violence consumes the Continent, which you feel in the smaller character moments as they navigate this new world.
While this season involves a lot of walking, scheming, and battles around settings that are often an ugly gray color, the reliable three liven up the storylines that surround them. The new crowd that Ciri falls in with offers not just something more darkly chaotic in a show that desperately needs this energy, it also shows a new side to her character. Where much else can feel like the show is stagnating and calling back to its earlier, better days, this new storyline ensures viewers will stay invested.
Unfortunately, this often feels secondary to the main journey we saw Geralt marching off on at the end of the third season. Which, regrettably, brings us back to Hemsworth. It’s easy to wish the show would just leave him alone and focus on the more engaging characters elsewhere. As Hemsworth’s Geralt tries to find Ciri and Yennefer, we spend a whole lot of time with a perpetually glowering fellow who just doesn’t have the same range and spark that Cavill’s version did. It makes you miss the moments between Ciri, Yennefer, Jaskier and the original Geralt that paid off their emotional bonds more impactfully than anything this time around.
There is some fun back and forth to be had between his other fellow travelers, led by Laurence Fishburne’s mysterious newcomer Regis, though you can’t shake the sense that they’re doing all the heavy lifting. Hemsworth is painfully one-note, feeling like a glorified cosplayer where a once delightful character once stood.
Where Cavill brought a real presence to the role — managing to be gruffly funny in one moment and believably brutal in the next — Hemsworth is just an anchor around the entire experience from which “The Witcher” can’t shake free. It’s not just the particular details of the voice and the way he carried himself that are lost, but that nothing substantive is being offered to take their place. While casting is certainly an art and this was a tough role to fill, Hemsworth feels like he was selected almost at random as there is never a moment where he believably inhabits the character.
There might be enough dynamic action sequences here and there to win some fans of the show over. Plus, it goes out on a high note with a brutally grim ending that offers a more promising hint of what’s next in the final season. But it just isn’t enough to make you forget the void that now exists at the show’s center. Hemsworth’s Geralt can wield all the magic and drink all the potions in the world, it still won’t help this character come back to life.
“The Witcher” Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix.
