'The Witcher' Season 2 creator talks storyline changes

"The Witcher" Season 2 will see a shift in storytelling in a way that is much easier to follow and understand, contrary to Season 1.

Showrunner Lauren Hissrich assured that the instalment "will be a lot easier to follow" since it "aligns all of our characters on a similar timeline." There will still be a little bit of "playing with time," but it will be done "in a different way, an easier, I think, to swallow away." Hopefully, it does not come out confusing or convoluted as was the general complaint for Season 1.

The first season received backlash over its confusing storytelling. There were several timelines to show a bit of history behind the main characters' stories. It was already halfway into the season when viewers eventually pieced the story together.

Season 1 had three timelines which were too confusing to follow for some. Hissrich acknowledged in an interview with TV Guide that they were "obviously one of the most controversial aspects of the show." However, she explained that it was the best way to introduce and give a brief background to the characters' story.

"I continue to be in love with them and will fight for them and be passionate about them," Hissrich responded to the criticism. She added that for her, it was "the best way to tell the stories" that she wanted to tell.

"That being said, one of the biggest challenges of Season 1 was how to honour the first two books of short stories, which I think really do an amazing job at building the world, but especially building Geralt and understanding who this man is and all of these individual adventures that he has in the books, how they start to join together into a linear narrative that creates the Geralt that we see in the Saga," Hissrich explained adding, "That's probably what I'm proudest of, is being able to take short stories, standalone adventures, and put them in an order that makes sense and builds out a character more fully."

Hissrich said in previous interviews that "The Witcher" Season 2 will no longer have multiple timelines. But there will still be a bit of time manipulation (flashbacks and flashforwards) just so viewers can better understand the storytelling.