Ever since its release in December of last year, Netflix's The Witcher has received a large amount of critical acclaim among fans of the Witcher franchise. However, not every aspect of the series has been met with the same level of positivity and series showrunner, Lauren S. Hissrich, has responded to a certain discrepancy that fans have been curious about since the show began.
The Witcher is a Netflix Original series that premiered on December 20th, 2019 and is based on the popular Polish novel series of the same name. Following the release of the Netflix series, the video game adaptation of The Witcher has seen a resurgence among video game enthusiasts, due to the popularity of the live action series. However, given the significant amount of attention and passion the fans have for this series, it makes every minute change made in the Netflix adaptation hard to ignore.
The most recent change from the original source material to be addressed is the disappearance of Dandelion's signature hat, or Jaskier as he's known in the Netflix series. Lauren S. Hissrich, the showrunner of The Witcher, recently addressed why the hat was cut from the character design after photos of actor Joey Batey wearing the earliest version of Jaskier's outfit began to surface online.
As the photos clearly indicate, the hat would not have worked as well in a live action setting. Hissrich herself admitted that it just looked too goofy and she wanted the character to have more depth outside of being the comic relief. What's nice about Hissrich being the showrunner of the series is that when she does change something, it's always for a good reason that coincides with the story she's trying to tell. For example, with the changes made to the Nilfgaard armor, Hissrich had a clear and understandable reason for changing the design of the armor to what it is now.
Most of these changes have been rather noticeable so far, but this one in particular seemed quite necessary. Hissrich likely felt that Jaskier would not have been taken as seriously if she added the hat to his character design. Then again, the entire point of Jaskier's character is that he's not supposed to be taken as seriously by comparison to characters like Geralt or Yennefer.
However, not every change made to the series has been for the better, like with the decision to remove Jaskier's hat. The drastic change in Ciri's character did not go over well with most Witcher fans. A change as significant as that can deeply impact the story's pacing and overall quality, more so than a minute discrepancy such as a character not wearing a hat.
Source: TheGamer.com