The Witcher season 3 took some turns that viewers didn’t agree with, but there’s one bold way the Netflix show can get back on track in season 4.

The Witcher season 3 didn’t quite live up to fan expectations, but there’s still hope for the show if it’s willing to make some bold decisions heading into season 4. The Netflix series has been criticized for its messy storytelling and lack of vision, which comes as a result of introducing too many subplots and characters that don’t serve any real purpose.

This has been especially disappointing for longtime fans, as the first two seasons of The Witcher were huge hits that brought this fantasy series to the screen in innovative and gripping ways.

Netflix’s The Witcher adaptation is based on Andrej Sapkowski’s book series of the same name, but the show’s latest season took several detours from the source material, carving out its own story using the existing characters and relationships.

Many fans are concerned that the recasting of Geralt of Rivia will also cause trouble for the show, as nobody knows exactly what Liam Hemsworth’s version of Geralt will look like. This creates problems for The Witcher season 4, but there’s one bold decision the Netflix show could make in order to save itself.

Time jumps are often criticized and labeled as lazy storytelling or cheap tricks, but The Witcher season 4 is one of the rare times a time skip could actually work. The show needs some sort of soft reset in order to get itself back on track. Jumping forward in time is the perfect way to do this.

It would be an incredibly bold decision, especially since many of the show’s subplots and relationships are still up in the air. However, by jumping significantly far ahead, The Witcher season 4 could serve as a fresh start for the show and raise the stakes moving forward.

The main problem with a large time jump in The Witcher season 4 is that it would require the show to answer numerous questions as soon as it opens. These include what Geralt has been up to during this time, whether the war came to pass, and how he and Yennefer dealt with the fallout of Aretuza.

These points need addressing after The Witcher season 3, and if the series does opt for a time skip, it can’t ignore these subplots. However, The Witcher also needs to introduce new characters and storylines if it wants to stay relevant. Jumping forward in time may be the easiest way to do so.

A Time Jump Would Bring Netflix’s The Witcher Closer To The Games

Although The Witcher is based on the events of Sapkowski’s books, the Netflix series has taken plenty of creative liberties with the source material during its first three seasons. Sometimes, those diversions have led the show astray.

Because of that, The Witcher has struggled to find its identity, never deciding whether it wants to be a faithful adaptation or something wholly fresh and new. By jumping forward in time, The Witcher can leap over the events of the novels — which is the easiest way to deal with the huge changes to the source material — and focus on the story from The Witcher games instead.

The majority of the video games take place after The Witcher novels, so this time jump could serve as a helpful tool for bridging the gap between the two worlds. It seems like the show wants to break free of the source material anyway, so it makes sense for the writers to jump to a point where they’re not held back by storylines that have already been written.

This could cause some problems relating to the book storylines that still haven’t been resolved. However, there will need to be some sacrifices if The Witcher truly wants to reinvent itself in season 4 and beyond.

A Time Jump In The Witcher Season 4 Would Lessen The Impact Of Henry Cavill’s Exit

Jumping forward in time in The Witcher season 4 wouldn’t just help the story; it would also be a clever way of explaining the difference in Geralt’s appearance, especially if Hemsworth is going to play an older, more mature version of the character.

It’s always hard to address a recasting without breaking the fourth wall and commenting on it directly. However, that’s not the kind of show The Witcher is. There needs to be an in-universe change to explain the difference, and a time jump would make the transition from Cavill to Hemsworth easier to digest.

Of course, the majority of The Witcher’s cast would remain the same, so a time jump doesn’t completely eliminate the problem. Still, it gives the audience something more drastic to focus on and shifts the attention away from Hemsworth’s arrival. It could serve as a new beginning to Geralt’s story, giving a purpose to the recasting instead of simply trying to ignore it.

Hemsworth is younger than Cavill, but a time jump could be believable with makeup or even prosthetics. The other characters can also use such approaches to look older in The Witcher season 4.

Why A Major The Witcher Season 4 Time Jump Would Be Risky

Although it makes sense for The Witcher season 4 to jump forward in time, the choice doesn’t come without its fair share of risks. There (rightfully) exists a deep stigma against time jumps, as they give writers an excuse to spin themselves out of plot holes and drop storylines that are no longer important without ever resolving them.

If The Witcher takes this approach, simply rebooting the story several years in the future without addressing existing plot threads, it could be a disaster. That would create even more controversy for the show. Needless to say, a time jump needs to be handled intelligently and tactfully to work.

There’s also the chance that jumping forward in time will make The Witcher too different, and audiences will no longer feel connected to the story. It needs to have some connection to the first three seasons in order to maintain those emotional stakes that audiences have already invested in the show.

It’s a difficult line to balance between a soft reboot and a complete reinvention of the series. However, without it, The Witcher just won’t survive much longer. If done correctly, a time jump could really breathe new life into the series and usher in a new era of popularity for the Netflix project.