Warning: SPOILERS for The Witcher season 2.

The Witcher consistently ignores the golden screenwriting rule, "show, don't tell", and it's harming the series. Since the beginning of season 1, The Witcher has consistently spouted exposition in an attempt to develop its complicated lore and characters. The show delights in lengthy monologues or conversations that see Geralt, Yennefer, and other major players reveal the backstory of specific characters, factions, and major world events in an unbelievable way that simply isn't true to how people speak. If the series took its time, this exposition could be delivered organically, across many episodes and through visual flashbacks instead of boorish conversations that come off as entirely inorganic.

Netflix's The Witcher season 2 sees Henry Cavill return as Geralt of Rivia, with the season including major plot developments that require extensive explanations, as it's revealed that Princess Ciri possesses Elder Blood and thus holds the key to creating more Witchers, a process long thought lost. Season 2 introduces and expands on many other plot points, including the persecution of the Elven race, and then there's the expansion on the story of Yennefer of Vengerberg, who is stripped of her magical abilities after tapping into mysterious fire magic during the climax of season 1.

Related: What Happened To Yennefer At The End Of Witcher Season 2

The Witcher season 2 regrettably maintains the same clunky exposition as its predecessor. Whenever a character must learn new information, another will spout seemingly endless exposition in a remarkably wooden way. This practice breaks the oldest screenwriting rule in the book: "show, don't tell". Writers of TV shows and movies are taught to reveal information through actions, emotional responses, or in other clever ways. The purpose of a script is to guide the audience toward the outcome, rather than outright state it. The Witcher does occasionally get this right, but it often squanders its own success by having a character immediately reaffirm the conclusion that the audience had already made. The Witcher season 2, episode 2 is the most egregious example of this, as the Elven sorceress Francesca Findabair is introduced without much buildup, before spending several minutes revealing crucial Elven backstory, but in a fairly dull manner.

Closeup of Ciri from Netflix's The Witcher series

Instead of these endless monologues, The Witcher would be wise to utilize alternative approaches to storytelling. For example, it has already proven that flashbacks can be an effective way to deliver its vital backstory. The series used flashbacks effectively in this season to demonstrate the prior relationship between Geralt and his friend and fellow Witcher, Eskel, who Geralt was eventually forced to kill when he transformed into a Leshy. This scene proved that The Witcher could show a historic part of its lore without a character explaining to Ciri or someone else why Eskel and Geralt were such good friends. The scene thus allowed the audience to feel empathy for Geralt because viewers had seen his relationship, not just been told about it.

Delivery of its historic lore aside, The Witcher still often suffers from having a cluttered ensemble cast who aren't given enough time to develop. As such, their dialogue can frequently come off as shallow or unrefined. Though the series undoubtedly has some great characters that viewers have grown to love, such as Ciri, Dara, and Geralt of Rivia himself, the staggering number of new faces introduced in season two takes away vital screen time that would allow characters from season one to properly develop their character arcs. Instead of focusing on one story, the series instead throws more at the audience, delivering clunky exposition and extensive backstory without letting viewers properly get to know anyone besides Geralt, Ciri, and Yennefer. As a result, the writers force themselves to quickly deliver new context to give viewers the ability to understand the new characters' place in the world, which is neither organic nor effective.

The Witcher season two still delivers great action and further develops its stunning fantasy world. However, it must solve its screenwriting issue if it is to go the distance and deliver eight (preferably better) seasons like its fantasy contemporary, Game of Thrones. Clunky exposition is the least compelling way to exposit about important lore and character backstories, and The Witcher must improve in future seasons.

Next: The Witcher Season 2 Ending Explained