Winter break is the best time to binge watch shows and Netflix knows this, consequently scheduling a buffet of new series to be released at the end of December. One of many was the fantasy drama series “The Witcher,” which takes the audience on a tale of destiny, murder and mystery. Curled up in blankets with snacks, “The Witcher” is the perfect show to get in your binge watching.

Released to Netflix Dec. 20, “The Witcher” takes place in a medieval fantasy world plagued with monsters and the corruption of kingdoms.  The eight-episode series tells the story of three main characters with linked destinys: The Witcher Geralt of Rivia ( Henry Cavill), Princess of Cintra Ciri (Freya Allan), and sorceress Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra). It is a little like Game of Thrones, but with some extra spice and more frequent gore.

The show was adapted from novels by Andrezj Sapowski, and  many video games. Fans of the games do not seem to find many discrepancies in the plot other than the fact that Cavill, who plays the Witcher is a little young-looking to be playing such an old man. 

The Witcher, Geralt of Rivia, is a genetically enhanced and trained human with special powers to slay monsters. From Superman to monster hunter, Cavill’s character brings intensity, feeling, and balance to the storyline. He is perfect for Geralt, from his mannerisms to his voice. Plus, his character is made better by the extraordinary writing of the directors. But Cavill i not alone, Chalotra (Yennefer) and Allan(Ciri) play their characters with the same gut wrenching vigor. 

 Along with the dark and medieval characters, the writing also had plenty of comedic value, provided by main-man and friend of Geralt, Jaskier (Joey Batey). Every scene with him was comedy gold.

By far the most interesting thing about the show is its mantra, made up by Jaskier to get people to hire Geralt to slay their demons. The saying goes,“Toss a coin to your Witcher, O’ Valley of plenty.” Once you hear it, it never gets out of your head. 

The storytelling is beautiful, keeping close to the storylines of the games and books. Plenty of monster killing is provided without losing track of the plot. Each character’s timeline is well developed and flows together smoothly (especially on the last two episodes).

Critics complain that the plot is fragmented and hard to follow, considering there are multiple timelines involved. In actuality, the broken up timeline was put there on purpose by the writers to tell the story in the best way possible, just as it was in the books and games. One of the best aspects to the show was its storyline, and though the plot was split up, the writers still managed to make it seem logical and put together. Few shows have done this successfully.

The killing, the gore, the realism are all aspects that make “The Witcher” worthy of being on Netflix’s top 10 TV Show list, ranking number two above many hit Netflix originals.