5 reasons why The Witcher Season 4 is getting its worst reviews yet

The Witcher Season 4 landed on Netflix on October 30, 2025, and it’s getting slammed harder than ever before.

People are surprised, as earlier seasons mostly got solid reviews. Season 2, for example, sits way up there with a 95% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes. But Season 4? Critics dropped their scores to 60%, which is the lowest the main show has ever seen. The audience isn’t any happier, with scores continuing to sink.

One big thing stands out: this is the first season with Liam Hemsworth as Geralt, taking over from Henry Cavill. That switch has fans split, and it has put the whole direction of The Witcher Season 4 under a microscope.

A lot of fans and critics are let down not just by Hemsworth’s take on Geralt, but by the show’s writing, pacing, and some of its creative decisions. Sure, a few people like how The Witcher Season 4 looks and enjoy certain storylines, but most reviews point out that the new lead just doesn’t have the same charisma.

The tone feels all over the place, and the story has gotten bloated and harder to care about compared to earlier seasons. People on social media have given out plenty of criticism about the writing and how the show strays from the original material. The release barely had any advance review screeners, which makes it seem like the team expected a mixed reaction and played it safe.

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Why is The Witcher Season 4 getting worse reviews?

Here’s what’s behind all the harsh reviews for The Witcher Season 4, according to critics and fans:

Change of lead actor

Liam Hemsworth stepping in as Geralt of Rivia hasn’t exactly won people over. Most reactions range from lukewarm to outright negative, and that’s driving a lot of the backlash this season. The Guardian took a pretty sharp jab, calling Hemsworth’s Geralt a “valorous man-mountain grappling with responsibilities beyond our ken,” and also a “bollard in a wig.”

Radio Times describes Hemsworth’s Geralt as “incredibly jarring.” They recognized he is trying, but still slammed his voice and overall delivery, saying he just can’t live up to the standard Henry Cavill set. That legacy looms large, and Hemsworth’s version feels flat by comparison.

A viewer took to Rotten Tomatoes, saying:

“The portrayal of Geralt by Liam Hemsworth is not even close to the character and ruined it for any remaining seasons for me.”

Not everyone is piling on, though. The Verge actually said Hemsworth is “a pretty solid Geralt of Rivia.” But even they point out that the bigger problem isn’t just the new lead. The real issue, according to them, is:

“The problem isn’t that the show has a new lead actor; it’s that it continues to be a bloated mess, and season 4 doesn’t do anything to fix that.”

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Weaker writing and plot

People haven’t held back with their disappointment in The Witcher Season 4. Both critics and fans have made it clear: the writing and plotting just don’t deliver this time. You can see it in the scores: Rotten Tomatoes shows critics at 60%, but the real shock is the audience score, sitting at a rough 19%. That’s the lowest the show has ever hit, and most of the blame falls on how the story is told.

Reviewers say the writing feels lost and keeps repeating itself, and the plot wanders around without any real direction. Another thing people point out: The Witcher Season 4 doesn’t stick to Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels, especially when it comes to what happens to the characters and the complicated politics. Some major changes to the original story left fans confused or just frustrated.

Slash Film called this season “the epitome of squandered potential,” blaming “drab, uninspired writing” and storylines that either flatten out major characters or kill them off too soon. The season misses the deep worldbuilding and complex storytelling that the series is known for, with important plot twists barely connecting to what is happening in the larger conflict.

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Departure from source material

The Witcher Season 4 has really taken a beating for straying so far from Andrzej Sapkowski’s books. Critics aren’t happy, and longtime fans are even less forgiving. One thing that Slash Film pointed out is Vesemir’s death. If you have read the books, you know Vesemir doesn’t die. But in the show, they kill him off during the Battle of Montecalvo, which isn’t even a real event in the novels.

It’s not just a minor tweak; it’s a total rewrite, and fans aren’t buying the showrunners’ explanation. To them, the change feels pointless and forced, almost like the writers don’t care about the original story at all.

And it’s not just Vesemir. Big characters like Yennefer and Francesca get new roles, and the whole order of key events and alliances gets shuffled around. The way The Witcher Season 4 handles the Lodge of Sorceresses, for example, is nothing like Sapkowski wrote it.

The show dropped the political drama and rich character work that made the books great. Instead, it feels like the writers are chasing shock value and trendy themes instead of sticking to what made The Witcher special in the first place.

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Negative audience reception

The backlash against The Witcher Season 4 is impossible to ignore. Audience scores are at an all-time low: Rotten Tomatoes has it sitting at 19%. For context, Season 1 had a solid 88%, Season 2 dropped to 54%, and Season 3 slipped to 20%. Now, it’s hit rock bottom.

Fans have clearly expressed why they are upset. They talk about a flimsy plot, lackluster writing, and, of course, the big one: swapping out Henry Cavill for Liam Hemsworth as Geralt. That change especially seems to sting.

One viewer on Rotten Tomatoes described it as:

“Like a cringe fever dream…”

If you scroll through Twitter (or X) and Reddit, the criticism jumps out. People throw around words like “soulless” and “disjointed.” They miss Cavill’s performance, and a lot of them say the story just doesn’t hold together anymore, as it feels rushed, and the depth is gone. Some even say the show now looks and feels like a second-rate fantasy series, with jarring tonal shifts and a noticeable dip in quality.

Even with all the negativity, though, The Witcher Season 4 still pulled in serious numbers on Netflix. It landed in the Top 10 in a bunch of countries and even snagged the No. 1 spot in some places.

So, while critics and longtime fans are tearing it apart, people are still watching, maybe because they are loyal to the franchise or just curious to see how things play out.

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Mixed critical opinions on production and pacing

The Witcher Season 4 stirred up a lot of debate about its production and pacing. Critics haven’t exactly been kind: on Rotten Tomatoes, it’s sitting at the lowest score the show has ever seen, just 60%. Still, people agree the production looks solid, but the story and pacing don’t always hold up.

Independent UK writes:

“No amount of imaginative swordplay or inventive creature design can prevent the sense that The Witcher is now what all sword and sorcery epics fear becoming: pure bilge.”

IGN zoomed in on the pacing issues. Some episodes, like The Joy of Cooking, just drag with filler, while others move quickly and build momentum for the finale. Even so, IGN pointed out that the show feels more focused this time around. Hemsworth’s Geralt stands out, too: he’s more human, a little softer, and that is actually a step up from season 3.

Variety took a brighter view. For them, the pacing is “much sharper and less convoluted.” They loved the cleaner action scenes and the show’s overall tone, saying it’s a big improvement over past seasons. But, they admitted, the season still has its rough patches.

Radio Times said the tone and quality bounce around too much. Sure, pacing might have improved without Cavill, but dropping overall quality and Hemsworth’s performance left a lot of fans feeling let down.