Witcher: Blood Origin Casts Their Avallac’h

Television

Netflix’s The Witcher has been known for its nonsensical casting choices, in addition to completely bastardizing both the books and the lore at every opportunity. This track record of ineptitude and disrespect for the source material continues with the recent casting announcement for Avallac’h. Avallac’h, or, more accurately, Crevan Espane aep Caomhan Macha, is a powerful elven sage known as an Aen Saevherne and is an advisor to King Auberon. This calculating and manipulative elf is considered by many to be a villain, especially for convincing Ciri that she must have an incestuous relationship with her ancestor King Auberon to stop the Wild Hunt from chasing her. Avallac’h should be intimidating and mysterious, not some waifish teenage boy, as Netflix: Blood Origin has decided to depict him. Samuel Blenkin, of The Sandman, Atlanta, and Peaky Blinders, has been cast as one of the most important elves in both the Witcher lore and books.

One of the strangest phenomena in recent fantasy depictions, such as Galadriel in Amazon’s The Rings of Power, is the idea that elves have an extended immature or teenage-esque phase in their lifespans. While they mature later than humans, it’s still relatively quick and does not take thousands of years, as the new adaptations suggest. Avallac’h should not be seen as a small and unassuming teenage boy, full of immaturity, especially at this point in the lore. Netflix’s description of this character is:

“A young novice druid. Nervous but loyal. He finds himself the protector of a king after saving the monarch’s life.”

Nearly every word in this description either contradicts lore or Avallac’h’s character. Druids are human mages from Skellige who have a close affinity to nature. Avallac’h is not human, nor does he have an affinity for nature. Druid does not mean elven mage. The term for an elven mage, at least for the Aen Elle, is Aen Saevherne. Netflix is incapable of even getting something that simple right. Additionally, both nervous and loyal do not describe his character. While he is doggedly loyal to Lara Dorren and, by extension, Ciri, that is not a defining characteristic of his personality besides toward those two. Nervousness is also averse to his character. While he’s a decent enough warrior, his might comes from magic and manipulation. He’s confident yet unassuming upon initial inspection. His power is his mind and his wisdom.

Avallac’h is yet another added to the list of already or soon-to-be-destroyed characters in Netflix’s Witcher universe. Even the critics have recognized the travesty that Blood Origin will be, as its Rotten Tomatoes score from critics is already down at 32%. If the critics think it’s that bad, how horrific will the audience think it is?