Opinion | Netflix’s “Witcher” prequel won’t fix the show’s Henry Cavill problem

For the four-part series, showrunners rounded up a bevy of talent, with Michelle Yeoh headlining as part of her ongoing career renaissance (Yeohnaissance?) alongside British up-and-comers Sophia Brown, Laurence O’Fuarain and Mirren Mack. The series also features significant names such as Sir Lenny Henry and Minnie Driver, along with original fan-favorite Joey Batey, best known as the bard behind “Toss a Coin.”

Part of the problem stems from the show’s chosen narrative — a group of disparate warriors come together to fight a growing evil. The show even acknowledges how many fantasy films rely on this “Avengers-like” story line. But “The Witcher” is also based on old school tropes. Season one featured Geralt having adventures based on classic Eastern European fairy tales, the same ones Disney has been telling and retelling for decades (albeit in neutered form). Season two was a hero’s journey straight out of the Joseph Campbell playbook. There’s no reason these stories cannot be given a fresh retelling (again).

Unfortunately, “Blood Origin” doesn’t do much with its excellent pieces. The four-part format feels too short (one of the few times I’ll say that about a show), like a movie that was divided into quadrants. The relationship between Brown’s character, Éile, and Yoeh’s sword master, Scian, is a perfect example of the problem. Éile is the protege of Scian, but rather than explore the relationship between these two warrior women, the series leans too heavily on the classic “master-and-student” relationship. Worse, it seems to believe the women must earn fans’ respect through violence, as if spilling extra blood is a balance equation for gender. It’s incredibly disheartening.

And, of course, there’s the prequel problem. By making “Blood Origin” only four episodes, there’s not nearly enough time to try to build a world that existed 1,200 years ago. As a result, the time and place seems far thinner than the show it’s derived from. On the other hand, too much time is spent trying to tie the prequel events to the main series, as if every action must have an equal and opposite reaction in the first two seasons of “The Witcher.”