It’s no secret that fans were pretty excited to see Geralt of Rivia in a bathtub in Netflix’s The Witcher which, as you surely know, was a nod to the famous scene at the start of The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt.
On the surface, it doesn’t necessarily seem like one of the most important things to adapt for the show, but executive producer Lauren Hissrich and her team of writers wanted to ensure that they referenced certain aspects of the both the games and books and given how beloved this particular moment is by fans, it was always something they wanted to include in the series from the start.
And as those who’ve watched it will know, The Witcher gives us two scenes of Geralt in the bath. But what those who’ve watched it will also know is that while it’s pretty similar to how we see it in the games, Henry Cavill doesn’t put his feet on the tub on either occasion. Sure, it’s a minor detail and all things considered, doesn’t make much of a difference, but in a recent interview, the actor explained why the change was made.
“I don’t know how many people realized how iconic it was, that there was already a visual attached. And so, when I was getting into that bath, I was sitting there thinking, ‘I wonder if anyone knows how much this is going to explode, this particular scene.’ I was trying to put my feet up, and I couldn’t; the bath was the wrong shape. But I thought that might have been a bit much as well.”
Fair enough, and though there were only two bathtub scenes in The Witcher, Netflix has already renewed the show for another season, meaning there’ll be many more opportunities to please thirsty fans eager for more of Henry Cavill sitting in a tub. And maybe next time, they’ll be able to make the bath in the right shape.
For now, though, we’re just glad they were able to include this nod to the games in the first season and as far as fan-pleasing moments go, this was but one of many in what was overall an excellent debut for the fantasy show.