The funny thing about the show [Witcher] is that the audiences love it, but the idiotic and worthless critics don’t like it (and yet like the new lore breaking Star Wars trash). It is really telling. I hate “journalists”, think they’re opinions are the end all be all and act so high and mighty. 
small rant (using spoilers)
The critics [ugh, IGN, there, I’m gonna say it lol] say it was incoherent in its ability to tell the audience it was shifting in time, but how can you be more clear than in one episode kill a character (the queen of Cintra) and then later have her walk around, alive, multiple times? Not only this, walking around with a daughter she had mentioned before dying herself that had DIED during a voyage? 
if that’s not enough indication that the show is shifting through time, Ciri clearly mentions that her grandmother won her first battle at her age and then flashback to Geralt, he states “calanthe just won her first battle”. Or how about Geralt discussing, numerous times, his “child of surprise” in past tense and how long ago it was? 
The inability to latch onto context and pay attention to detail doesn’t mean it isn’t there or doesn’t make sense. It just means the people at IGN (and whatnot) didn’t pay attention or get it. That is all.
Tons of people who have never even played the games or read the books had no problem understanding this, as evident by the countless tweets going back and forth in relevant hashtags not understanding why others couldn’t get it or why people thought the time jumping made no sense. Or heck, why they’re now picking up the games for the first time.
It really infuriates me that these people are paid big bucks to write these things, and can effectively be the end of shows with their articles or the push to save others. 
Anyhow…as for the 8 episode order, Netflix actually does that very frequently. The budget usually only calls for safe order of it. They did it for Daredevil, Jessica Jones, Black Spot etc. Very rarely do live action series that reach 10 episode orders unless they’re comedic or something.
I think if they had been given 10 episodes it wouldn’t have really mattered. They still would have gone with the jumping time POVs to tell the juggling huge timeline portrayed in the books of “season 1”. It won’t be a thing, I think, for S2 because there’s no need for it as its more condensed into a singular area of time.
Oh, and I’m rewatching S1 of Westworld. I really loved how powerful it was, and how beautifully it was executed, so it is about time I give it another go. 
It is just saw it brought up and it got me thinking (a loud) about it and how it could work for Witcher.
