Netflix Threw Henry Cavill Under The Bus With The Witcher’s Final Season 3 Episodes

It was supposed to be an epic, heroic sendoff for Henry Cavill, the star of Netflix’s troubled fantasy drama, The Witcher. Cavill, who is a huge fan of the games and books, has never publicly stated why he left the show, and neither has anyone at Netflix, but the theory is creative differences. Or possibly conflicts with other work (the doomed Superman role, or Warhammer 40,000.

Whatever the case, we were told by showrunner Lauren Hissrich that he was being sent out with a bang in “the most heroic sendoff that we could have” which—after watching the final three episodes—is a rather puzzling statement.

“Henry has given so much to the show and so we want to honor that appropriately,” Hissrich told Entertainment Weekly. “Geralt’s big turn [in season three] is about giving up neutrality and doing anything that he has to do to get to Ciri. And to me, it’s the most heroic sendoff that we could have, even though it wasn’t written to be that. Geralt has a new mission in mind when we come back to him in season four. He’s a slightly different Geralt than we expected. Now, by the way, that’s an understatement.”

Replacing Cavill with Liam Hemsworth is certainly different than anyone expected when this show began. Cavill has been the biggest draw for the adaptation of Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski’s books, perfectly embodying the character Geralt of Rivia, a mutant, monster-hunting Witcher. There have been other good moments in the show and other smart casting choices, but Season 3 has been an unmitigated disaster (I wrote reviews of Part 1 and Part 2, both of which I classify as “scathing”).

MORE FROM FORBES‘The Witcher’ Season 3, Part 2 Review: Henry Cavill Flees A Sinking ShipBy Erik Kain

The final three episodes were supposed to be the big sendoff, but they mainly feature laying around in bed recovering from his wounds. One entire episode is devoted Ciri wandering around in the desert. The final fight scene between Geralt and some random Nilfgaardian soldiers is fine, but it’s low stakes and hardly that heroic. Mostly it just makes me think how sorely he’ll be missed.

I’m not alone here, either. Many critics have said the same thing (not to mention plenty of angry fans). Over at The AV Club, Jen Lennon has a post titled The Witcher Season 3, Volume 2 Review: Henry Cavill Deserves A Better Exit. She writes:

Yes, Geralt gets a big final fight scene, but it feels oddly toothless. The characters he’s fighting are unimportant, and the choreography, while good, isn’t exceptional. And it stands out even more because of the direct parallels it draws to the Blaviken fight from the show’s very first episode, arguably the best in the whole series.

Writing at The Verge, Andrew Webster calls the finale a “wasted opportunity” writing:

And thus, like Geralt, the season just kind of limps to a conclusion. There are a few small revelations that will impact the future, but it’s startling how much these episodes get away from the strengths of the show. It’s not funny, the action is sparse, there are very few monsters, and the core cast is given little to do. This is particularly shocking for Geralt; even as the show continued its downward spiral, Cavill’s turn as the witcher remained a highlight.

What a mess. In the marketing for the show, Netflix went out of its way to advertise that “He’s still Geralt” in Season 3, which felt like desperation. It also felt like a slap in the face to Liam Hemsworth, who has one of the hardest jobs ever coming up. Cavill’s boots will not be easy to fill. Replacing the lead mid-series is never easy.

I am imagining an alternative timeline. In this other universe, the people in charge of making the show were all devoted to making it as faithful to the books as possible, with changes only made to make the stories work better on the screen. Netflix would have leaned heavily on Cavill and his love and knowledge of the source material, and he would have played a larger part in crafting the show’s trajectory, not just as its star but as a co-showrunner.

In this alternative timeline, the series would have remained closer to the source material and would not have lost its lead three seasons in, and it would be a wildly popular series that was a hit with critics and audiences alike, with growing viewership each season.

Alas, like The Witcher, this is just a fantasy.