The Witcher season 4 will see Ciri’s story take a dark turn, but the series is already risking repeating a controversial fantasy trope with her.
The Witcher season 4 will see various changes to its main characters, with Ciri’s (Freya Allan) story teased to take a “dark turn” – but this risks repeating a controversial fantasy trope. Netflix’s The Witcher quickly became one of the streaming giant’s most popular TV shows, but it has also been surrounded by controversy. Despite being based on a popular series of novels (adapted into an even more popular video game series), The Witcher hasn’t been entirely loyal to its source material, leading to a lot of criticism.
The Witcher season 1 introduced Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Yennefer of Vengerbeg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri at different places and points in time, and it wasn’t until the end of season 2 that they were finally together. The Witcher season 3 fixed some of season 2’s mistakes, particularly those related to Yennefer, and was a lot more loyal to its source novel. Because of this, it teased some dark storylines for season 4 and beyond, mostly related to Ciri – however, these are at risk of repeating a controversial fantasy trope that was already seen in The Witcher with another main character.
Ciri’s “Dark Turn” In The Witcher Season 4 Risks Repeating A Controversial Fantasy Trope
The Witcher season 3 saw the Thanedd Coup and the arrival of a fake Ciri at Nilfgaard, with Ciri’s father, the White Flame, presenting her as the real Ciri. Meanwhile, Ciri ended up in the Korath desert, where she saw visions of Falka and gave her powers up. At the end of The Witcher season 3, Ciri was rescued by the Rats and introduced herself as Falka, marking the beginning of one of her most controversial and darkest storylines from the books. Ciri’s story is expected to take a dark turn, but The Witcher is at risk of turning Ciri into a villain.
Freya Allan has teased Ciri’s “dark turn” in The Witcher season 4, reaffirming that it’s a “very pivotal moment in her storyline”, but the series has a history of changing the source material. In recent years, the fantasy genre has made the mistake of turning female characters into villains under the excuse of giving a “dark turn” to them. Game of Thrones did so with Daenerys, earning the series a lot of criticism, and The Witcher already did so with Yennefer in season 2.
Yennefer was supposed to be a mentor and mother figure to Ciri in The Witcher season 2, but instead, the series left her powerless and used this as an excuse to lead her onto a villainous path. Yennefer almost gave Ciri to the Voleth Meir to regain her powers, which was a very controversial moment in season 2, even though she redeemed herself at the end of the season. The Witcher season 3 fixed the series’ Yennefer mistakes, but season 4 is at risk of repeating the same mistake with Ciri.
Why The Witcher Must Avoid Turning Ciri Into A Villain
Ciri does a lot of questionable things in the Witcher novels, but she never transforms into a villain. Netflix’s version of Ciri must follow that same path and avoid having her become a villain, even if she’s already very close to that. Ciri’s time with the Rats in the books is one of the darkest parts of Ciri’s story, during which she’s tempted by darkness and does questionable things, but she’s still pretty much the same Ciri, only doing what she must to survive in a harsh environment.
Turning Ciri into a villain in The Witcher season 4 would be repeating a tiring and unsurprising fantasy trope and hurting the character, who has stood out for being more neutral and caring than Geralt and Yennefer, bringing balance to their unique family. Ciri has to go on a dark path in The Witcher season 4 and beyond, but she’s supposed to learn from it rather than let it consume her.
