The Witcher proved itself a hit for Netflix, but its creators must learn from the mistakes made by Game of Thrones. The series has been renewed for a third season, and though The Witcher is far from ending, its fellow fantasy series had already mapped out a perfect how-to guide for how not to conclude a fantasy epic. The Henry Cavill-led Witcher bears many similarities to Game of Thrones, most notably its gritty fantasy setting and the fact that it is an adaptation of a series of novels (and short stories). With the benefit of hindsight, the series is in the perfect position to learn from its Westerosi brethren.
Game of Thrones concluded with its infamous eighth season, which most notably saw Daenerys Targaryen rapidly devolve into the show's final antagonist. Dany's transformation from liberator to tyrant seemed entirely out of the blue and irreparably damaged the show's credibility. This was only exacerbated by episodes that were shot in near-darkness and additional controversial narrative decisions, such as the choice to make Jon Snow a far more passive character, with his newly revealed Targaryen blood seemingly irrelevant to his character growth. There was also the baffling decision to give the Iron Throne to Bran, the Three Eyed-Raven, after seven seasons of laying the groundwork for either Dany or Jon to take it. The nail in the coffin was the final scene, which saw fan-favorite Tyrion Lannister fruitlessly try to justify the show's existence in a jarringly meta monologue about stories.
Fortunately, The Witcher still has time to avoid the pitfalls that Game of Thrones succumbed to. However, its creators must be careful to use the benefit of hindsight to dodge a similar fate. Chiefly, the Netflix series must ensure that its plot is clearly worked out ahead of time. Though it is an adaptation of several novels, the purpose and direction of each individual season must be made clear, and overriding story arcs must be given sufficient time to breathe and evolve organically. Game of Thrones excelled at this during its first handful of seasons, but once the show started outpacing George R.R. Martin's books, the storytelling went downhill quickly. It became abundantly clear that showrunners David Benioff and D.B. Weiss were trying to wrap up the story prematurely, something The Witcher must avoid.
Individual character arcs must also be taken seriously by The Witcher. Game of Thrones notoriously butchered not just Daenerys' character, but other main characters as well, and completely dropped the development of a few minor characters. Had the series developed an additional season or two or at least properly fleshed out the final two seasons, these jarring character changes may have felt more justified. If The Witcher is to go down as a satisfying series, it must be careful to curate the character arcs of central players like Geralt of Rivia and Fringilla Vigo, but also do more to start developing the supporting players, who so far are mere sketches.
Though The Witcher had undoubtedly been a runaway success for Netflix, it's not as much of a phenomenon as Game of Thrones at the peak of its popularity. As such, The Witcher may have slightly less riding on the success of its final season. However, that's not to say that the series doesn't have a loyal audience. The Witcher thus owes it to its viewers to get its final season right and end satisfyingly, unliked Game of Thrones.
However many seasons The Witcher ends up having, Netflix needs to learn from the mistakes of its fantasy contemporary. Two and a half years later, and the disastrous final season of Game of Thrones is still a sore point with people, negatively coloring the show's legacy despite it being brilliant for much of its run. If The Witcher avoids those same pitfalls, it can redefine fantasy TV and conclude with an appropriate and satisfying ending that commits to its character arcs and narrative plotting across seasons.