TV Show review
Review basis: 4 seasons · through October 30, 2025
December 20, 2019 · TV-MA · Returning Series
Woke Score
Lower is better
Review
The Witcher is a fantasy television show about Geralt of Rivia, a mutated hunter who fights monsters on the Continent. He tries to protect his adopted daughter, Ciri, while a massive war breaks out among human kingdoms and magic users. The series features strong feminist themes, with powerful female mages controlling most of the political action. It also includes prominent LGBTQ storylines, such as a romantic relationship between the bard Jaskier and Prince Radovid.
Breakdown
These are the editorial factors and ratings behind our score for The Witcher.
Woke representation / casting
The show uses extensive diversity and race-swapping for characters originally depicted as white in the Polish source material, including Yennefer, Triss, Fringilla, and the vampire Regis in Season 4. Casting patterns strongly emphasize identity representation, with women of color placed in prominent positions of power.
Woke political dialogue
Characters frequently speak about systemic racism, discrimination, and historical injustice in ways that mirror modern left-wing political vocabulary. The struggles of the elves are framed as an allegory for modern real-world refugee crises and the evils of colonization.
Identity-driven story themes
The plot heavily emphasizes female empowerment, and the main story often sidelights the male lead to focus on female characters in positions of dominance. Jaskier is explicitly pansexual and has a major romantic relationship with Radovid.
Western institutional / cultural critique
Traditional institutions, such as the Northern Kingdoms, the patriarchal rulers, and the Brotherhood of Sorcerers, are portrayed as corrupt, incompetent, and driven by toxic male egos. Traditional relationships and structures are continually critiqued through a modern ideological lens.
Production
Woke character or canon changes
Multiple characters have had their core identities, backgrounds, and sexualities altered to fit modern representation goals. Jaskier was made pansexual, Radovid was aged up and made Jaskier's lover, Eskel was abruptly killed off, and Regis was race-swapped for Season 4.
Anti-woke backlash and complaints
The series has faced years of intense backlash from fans and anti-woke commentators who criticize it for abandoning the books in favor of a progressive agenda. The outrage peaked when Henry Cavill left, and Season 4 was heavily review-bombed by fans angry about the writing and casting changes.
Creator track record context
Key creatives have a visible track record of prioritizing identity and progressive themes. Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich has a cached score of 55, and writer/producer Beau DeMayo has a score of 69, while the technical crew and other producers have much lower cached scores.
