With filming for season two of the Netflix adaptation of The Witcher having recently wrapped, excitement is once again growing amongst the fandom. Despite a few hiccoughs here and there, the first season went down fairly well with fans and, based on the limited information that has been provided so far, season 2 is shaping up to be even better.
One of the biggest complaints about the first season of the show, however, related to some of the creative liberties that were taken with the storyline and some of the characters; with one or two going through some rather drastic revisions. One character who changed quite a bit was Ciri, which, given her importance to the overall narrative of the series, left some fans a little disappointed.
Updated January 7, 2022, by Tom Bowen: Though most enjoyed the first season of Netflix's Witcher adaptation, others were left a little disappointed by some of the creative liberties that were taken by the show's writers, not to mention the needlessly complicated manner in which the story was told. Season 2 does a much better job in both regards, with the narrative now a lot more linear and most of the major characters far more similar to their book and video game counterparts than they previously were. Cirila of Cintra is one such character, though there are still quite a few big differences between Ciri's portrayal in The Witcher 3 and the way that she comes across in the Netflix series.
8 Her Relationship With Geralt
In both the books and The Witcher 3, it takes Geralt quite a while to warm to Ciri. Granted, he does initially take her under his wing, but soon returns her to her rightful home rather than immediately yielding to their supposed shared destiny. The Netflix show, on the other hand, brings the pair together much sooner in the story.
The almost instant bond between the pair in the show seems to confirm that their journey together is well and truly underway. Although this could be seen as producers trimming some of the fat, it arguably deprives viewers of some of the excellent character development that is found in other mediums and cheapens the connection between Geralt and Ciri a little as a result.
7 Her Knowledge Of Witchers
The Netfix series also paints Ciri as being a little naive when it comes to her knowledge of Witchers which is definitely not the case in The Witcher 3. While she does know who Geralt is, she seems to be fairly in the dark when it comes to some of the finer points relating to his character; not to mention her longstanding connection with him.
In other mediums, however, Ciri's nurse had already told the young child all about Witchers as well as her status as a child of surprise. It's because of this that she seeks Geralt out in the first place rather than hanging around in Cintra to fill the shoes of her grandmother Calanthe as she initially does in the show.
6 Her Powers
Although Ciri does have powers in The Witcher 3, they don't really become evident until quite a bit later on in her life. This change likely came about as a result of the timeline that the show's producers opted to go with in season 1, as it arguably gave them a lot more time to explore the idea.
Her being a few years older than she is supposed to be in the show may have also played a big part in this and it will be interesting to see how the series handles this moving forwards. It's possible that viewers will see another time skip to rectify the issue, but, if not, it may well be that the character's arc continues to diverge from previous iterations as the show moves forwards.
5 Her Prominence In The Story
The Witcher games are centered almost exclusively around Geralt and his experiences, meaning that, other than through word of mouth, both he and the game's players rarely get a real idea of what is happening elsewhere. Due to season 1's interwoven timelines and overlapping narratives, however, this is no longer the case.
Viewers are introduced to Ciri far earlier in the show than they are in the games and are given a fairly in-depth look at her character long before she and Geralt finally meet up. This isn't necessarily a bad thing and may even lead to a stronger character in the long run, but it does have a pretty drastic effect on the overall narrative.
4 Her Influence on the Story
Ciri's early introduction isn't the only thing that's different about the character in the Netflix show either. The prominence with which she shows up and the degree to which she is inter-connected to just about everything and everyone else that features can often make it feel as though the Netflix series is a show about Ciri rather than one that's built around the actions of the titular Witcher. Granted, viewers do spend plenty of time away from the young princess, yet they're never really far from her overall influence.
Pretty much every storyline in the show — both major and minor — centers around Ciri to some degree; from Geralt's role as her protector to the White Flame and his servants' ruthless pursuit. Even the likes of Yen and Triss are dragged into things, with both characters' entire season 2 story arcs wrapped firmly around the young Lion Cub of Cintra. In The Witcher 3, players were at least able to forget about Ciri for a while if they wanted to, but that's definitely not the case for viewers of the show.
3 Her Age
Although Geralt first sees Ciri when she is six years old in the books, she is 21 when the pair first crossed paths in The Witcher 3. As a result of the show's storytelling, Freya Allan somehow manages to be both too old and too young for the character in the first season of the Netflix show. Other than that though, her hair and eye color are a fairly good match; as too is the paleness of her skin.
In early 2019 when season 1 was being filmed, the actress was 17 years old, meaning that she looks quite a bit younger in the show than she does in The Witcher 3. Thanks to the two years that separated season 1 and season 2 of the show, however, this isn't so much of a problem these days, nor is it likely to be in seasons three or four of the show. The changes were so drastic, in fact, that some even questioned whether a new actress had been cast in the role, but this most certainly wasn't the case.
2 Her Scar
In both the books and the game, Ciri has a massive scar on the left side of her face, with the literary version's being particularly gruesome. In the Netflix show, however, Freya Allan's cheek features no such disfigurement. She does cut her face while training in one of the season 2 episodes, but this is quickly healed by Triss. Her unblemished face may, therefore, seem like a pretty big oversight to the uninitiated, yet anyone who knows the true origin of the scar will know that this is far from the case.
In the books, Ciri picks up the eyecatching disfigurement while escaping from the Nilfgaardian secret service, which has been tasked to track her down by her father Emhyr. The group's leader, Stefan Skellen, has other ideas though, and comes up with a plan to overthrow the Emporer while simultaneously disposing of Ciri. Though he does successfully scar her face with an Orion, Ciri is ultimately able to escape and Skellen is hanged for his treachery.
1 Her Personality
Despite getting a lot more early screen-time in the Netflix show, very little work seems to have gone into actually fleshing out Ciri's character. Sure, viewers learn pretty quickly that she is fairly brazen, and this is definitely in keeping with her character in The Witcher 3. There's quite a bit more to Ciri that is yet to show up in the show though.
In the books and, to a slightly lesser extent, The Witcher 3, Ciri is shown to be a bit of a troublemaker, but this is something that is noticeably absent from the Netflix show so far. It's all but certain that viewers will see her character developed quite a bit more in future seasons, although, for now at least, she does seem a little shallow when compared to earlier interpretations of the character.