Stopped watching after Cavill left. Even his last season was nigh incomprehensible

Is this the new season without Cavill ?

I couldn't even watch the 3rd one, and I love the Witcher

I haven't watched it yet. But I wouldn't be surprised.

I feel like writing in the series was never good in the first place :s but I bounced off the first episode of the first season when it dropped so...

Was I too harsh? Should I give it some grace and watch the Cavill seasons?

I've noticed a lot of shows seem to follow a pattern: a big budget great first season that makes a bunch of hype and draws people in, with the budget and quality dropping off significantly afterwards. It makes a good impression and draws in fans, then hopes those people don't re-evaluate their opinions as it goes.

Like, just look at the costumes Yennifer. In season 1 she has ridiculously intricate fantastical custom lace dresses, and by season 3 she's wearing things that look like the production crew picked them up at the local Kohl's.

Another example would be Arcane. The first season was great- it establishes the world with great cinematography, detailed backgrounds and background characters, and the main characters are well-written with very clear and consistent motivations. The second season has the characters just do random dramatic things, often going against their own established motivations and personalities. The backgrounds, especially for the fight scenes, are often just generic looking smoke or fog so that they didn't have to draw details.

It kind of reminds me of how big blockbusters often have direct-to-tv sequels or TV shows that suck. Except now it's TV shows where the "big budget" part is Season 1 instead of a movie.