My least favorite habit of certain (usually female) fans is when they try to find a “woke” reason to dislike a major female character. See for example, the argument that Yennefer of Vengerberg is “there primarily for the male gaze”.
Yennefer of Vengerberg is a woman whose storyline was placed front and center from the second episode and given parallel importance with the titular male character.
Yennefer is a character who is fearless, powerful, ambitious and selfish in equal measures, all of which are traits we rarely see in female characters period, and the narrative (and the lead male character) treat these traits generally as ones to be celebrated rather than decried.
Yennefer is a character who is given so much story beyond her relationship to the male character that when she has a moment where she has to think back to all of the painful and infuriating things that have been said to her, he never crosses her mind.
Yennefer is a character who owns her sexuality both before and after her transformation and her relationship with the lead male character is primarily on her own terms. (And the part that isn’t on her terms: the wish, is something that she gets rightfully angry about. And at no point does the narrative try to say that she made the wrong decision there.)
Yennefer is a character who is dressed according to female power fantasies. Her gowns are wildly designed, with crazy arches and sleeves, and they look fabulous but also very much in line with what a woman would choose as opposed to a man. And while sometimes she is nude, it’s always plot relevant and not presented in an objectifying or dehumanizing way.
Yennefer is a woman of color in a leading role in a fantasy drama that is both helmed and penned by women. (The original books are written by a man, sure, but the teleplay was written by a woman. The showrunner is a woman.)
Yennefer is not going to resonate with every single woman watching the show, sure. But she resonates with quite a lot of them. And she’s crafted with exactly the same “gaze” as every other character in the series. (Including the male ones who are miraculously free of this ridiculous complaint).