Is this ‘Witcher’ scene Ninja Warrior-esque?

UPDATE: Yes, turns out it is. Read on for the journey.

Here’s how today’s article came about. We have Google Alerts set up to notify us when the Internet chatters about American Ninja Warrior. So our interest was piqued when we were flagged about a “Ninja Warrior” scene on the Netflix series, The Witcher. (Full disclosure: We have not seen the show and we’re only very vaguely aware of what it’s about.)

We very excitedly clicked on the video because we love seeing American Ninja Warrior reflected back in other forms of entertainment. And we have a bone to pick.

This is not an American Ninja Warrior scene.

Is this it? Is this the whole “American Ninja Warrior-esque” scene? (Seriously. Anyone who’s seen the whole episode, let us know if there’s more to this that we’re missing.)

Sure, it’s an obstacle. But from the description, we were expecting some jumping, some lachés, maybe a Salmon Ladder. Not just a single balance/timing obstacle. An American Ninja Warrior course is more about using strength and strategy to find a way through. Not to knock the actor in this scene at all (pun intended). We would certainly fall off and probably break a bone. But our beloved Ninja Warriors wouldn’t bat an eye at this.

Exhibit A:

Here’s our hot take: If you want to call it a “Ninja Warrior scene,” it needs to be one of the iconic obstacles like the Warped Wall, Salmon Ladder, or Shrinking Steps, OR it needs to be more than one obstacle in a row.

This is a fun scene. It’s not Ninja Warrior. There. Thank you for coming to our TED Talk.

UPDATE: Okay, okay, okay! It’s a Ninja Warrior scene!

Ninja Warrior competitor Josh Levin hopped into the DMs to set the record straight.

So, that snippet on its own? Not Ninja Warrior. The full scene? Ninja Warrior. Whew. What a ride.