“Toss a coin to your Witcher, oh Valley of Plenty, oh Valley of Plenty, oooooh!” sings “The Witcher’s” delightful bard during the final scene of Episode 2, after he has decided to join our protagonist, the titular Witcher, on his journey. This was also the moment I decided that I loved this show very, very much, despite how much of an absolute disaster it had been so far. Coincidentally, this song has been stuck in my head ever since. So I will not only attempt to convince you—the reader—that this show is worth your time, but also try to explain it despite the fact that I’m not entirely sure what I watched.

“The Witcher” is a high fantasy TV drama made by Netflix. Based on the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, it has also inspired movies, video games and another TV series titled “The Hexer.” It has been called a “Game of Thrones” replacement series, but I believe it would be better described as the “Riverdale” of fantasy, as it simultaneously takes itself very seriously while failing spectacularly. It could be compared to “Game of Thrones” if one only examined the worst aspects of “Game of Thrones” in the very last season and then added some campy original music to round it all out. The pieces of media that it reminds me of include: “Monty Python and the Holy Grail,” “Robin Hood: Men in Tights,” “Galavant,” “Pretty Little Liars” and “Shrek.” While this last one may come as a surprise, the “Shrek” influences in this show are almost unbelievable. The fourth episode copies the plot of “Shrek” nearly beat for beat and I don’t think it was an accident. We are truly in the golden age of television.

The story follows a Witcher named Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill)—a place that is never shown or explained—who fights monsters and respects women. Witchers seems to be a race of people who were mutated at birth and therefore do not age, are extremely attractive and must fight monsters their entire life. This is never elaborated on, but it seems important. He makes many friends along the way, including the bard Jaskier (Joey Batey) whose sassy one-liners and chaotic musical tendencies are by far the best part of the show. The show also follows the stories of a witch named Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), who is a little insane but also absolutely stunning, so it cancels out the insanity, and a princess named Cirilla (Freya Allan) who is on the run because of her apparent magical powers that she doesn’t understand and are therefore never explained. These characters’ distinct stories take place on different timelines with very confusing jumps between these times and places, which all line up by the end of the show (sort of).

This is not to say that this show is “bad” and that you “should not watch it.” I’m saying that it’s bad and you should definitely watch it. Its golden moments of comedic genius, intentional or not, are well worth the confusing fictional pseudo-medieval politics and unsubstantiated world-building. What I’m saying is this: Sometimes, it’s enough to have a little bit of plot sprinkled into a whole lot of camp. Also, it has dazzling costumes, beautiful people and two separate steamy scenes with Henry Cavill, neither of which were needed to advance the nonexistent plot.

In conclusion, “The Witcher” may not be garnering a lot of awards in the future, but it did win a place in my heart. It was almost certainly the most fun I’ve had watching a show in a long time. It was cleared for a second season that is already in production, and you know I will be watching. My only hope is that it will include a different catchy tune to get the first season’s iconic song out of my head for good.