The Witcher Season 1 Fight That Fans Crowned The Best Of Them All
From the very beginning, the fight scenes in Netflix's "The Witcher" have helped to separate it from many of the other fantasy TV shows that are currently on the air. Rather than adopting the same kind of visceral, often handheld style that a show like "Game of Thrones" used to great effect throughout its run, "The Witcher" takes a much more stylized, cleanly kinetic approach to its action sequences.
In many of the show's most memorable fight scenes, the camera seems to smoothly glide in, out, and around the action — dancing in between each sequence's participants as they swing their weapons at each other. Over the course of its two seasons, "The Witcher" has also dabbled with slow motion, which has only further helped its action set pieces stand out from those featured in its fantasy TV competitors.
All of this is to say that Netflix's take on "The Witcher" has delivered more than its fair share of memorable fight sequences over the years. As a matter of fact, some fans even came together online and crowned one standout action sequence as the best scene that "The Witcher" Season 1 has to offer.
Fans love The Witcher Season 1's Blaviken fight
On Reddit, fans of "The Witcher" participated in a March Madness-style competition to decide which of the most memorable scenes from the series' first season is the best. In an unsurprising twist of fate, it was the fight scene between Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Renfri (Emma Appleton), and the latter's soldiers in Blaviken that emerged as the winner of the competition. It's not hard to see why the scene, which comes near the end of the Netflix series' first episode, is so highly regarded by fans of "The Witcher" either.
Not only is the series' Blaviken fight sequence exceptionally well-choreographed, but it also perfectly communicates the line between action, drama, and gore that the series has attempted to ride throughout the entirety of its first two seasons. The scene also, notably, does a good job of showcasing Henry Cavill's intense physicality as Geralt. By doing so, it proves, once and for all, why he's the right actor to portray a live-action version of the series' titular monster hunter.
In a Reddit thread dedicated to discussing the competition's final results, u/Thief_12 noted how predictable the Blaviken fight's victory was, writing, "We all knew it would come to this eventually." Another Redditor echoed their fellow fan's thoughts and admitted that they were "not surprised at all. It's the best scene of the show and is a great action piece." Meanwhile, u/JammyET revealed that they're still a bit disappointed that the best scene in "The Witcher" Season 1 takes place in its first episode, noting, "[It's] such a shame that one of the best, if not the best[,] scene from the show was in Episode 1."
Of course, everyone involved in "The Witcher" would likely be pleased to learn just how deeply fans love the show's Blaviken fight, especially considering how much work went into executing it.
A lot of work went into The Witcher's Blaviken fight
Geralt's Blaviken fight understandably became a point of constant discussion among fans following the premiere of "The Witcher" Season 1 on Netflix. In fact, after the season's debut, Henry Cavill even made a video with Netflix in which he discusses and extensively breaks down the sequence in question for the show's fans.
Throughout the video, Cavill notes that the Blaviken fight was challenging not only because of the choreography involved in it but also because of the one-take way that a large portion of it was filmed. The actor even reveals in the video that the weapon he used in the Blaviken fight was actually an incomplete sword. "We often use cut-off swords for particularly complex or technical pieces or pieces which may be very, very dangerous," Cavill said. "It allows for a lot more moves to be done which involve blood and gore."
"The difficulty is [that] we all have to perform like the sword is full length rather than half-length," the "Witcher" star further revealed. "When you're moving at full speed and your adrenaline's up and you're doing take after take after take, sometimes that can be tricky."
Fortunately, fans of "The Witcher" seem to agree that the hard work that was put into the Blaviken fight paid off, and they're not the only ones who think so. In a 2019 interview with The Wrap, Cavill himself revealed that the sequence holds a special place in his heart, telling the outlet, "My favorite monster fights were probably the human monsters I got to fight in Episode 1."
In other words, it seems like "The Witcher" Season 1's Blaviken fight is beloved by both those who are involved in the Netflix series and those who watch it from the comfort of their own homes.