The Witcher season 3 is Henry Cavill’s last as Geralt of Rivia, but the series’ biggest risk this season is actually all about Ciri’s storyline.
The Witcher season 3 is Henry Cavill’s final season as the title witcher, Geralt of Rivia, with Liam Hemsworth set to take his place in season 4, but season 3’s biggest risk has nothing to do with Cavill’s exit and replacement. After expanding with an animated prequel movie titled The Witcher: Nightmare of the Wolf and a failed prequel miniseries titled The Witcher: Blood Origin, this universe is going back to its center with the third season of its main series, which will not only continue the stories of Ciri (Freya Allan), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Geralt of Rivia, but will also be Cavill’s goodbye.
At the end of The Witcher season 2, half the Continent was going after Ciri for different reasons, and after defeating the Voleth Meir (who joined the Wild Hunt), Ciri, Yennefer, and Geralt were finally together after spending two whole seasons separated. The Witcher season 3, then, will continue following the many attempts from different groups to capture Ciri, while Geralt takes the young Princess into hiding. Now, although season 3 has to find a way to support the Geralt swap, its biggest risk is actually all about Ciri’s controversial storyline.
The Witcher Season 3’s Biggest Challenge Is Its Adaptati on Of The Rats
The Witcher season 3 will be based on the novel Time of Contempt, meaning that the series is about to explore one of Ciri’s most controversial storylines, which was confirmed with the casting of Christelle Elwin as Mistle. The Witcher season 3, then, is adapting the Rats, a gang of criminals known for stealing from the rich so they can satisfy their own desires, though they also share with the poor from time to time. The Rats have a very dark side, as they have a lust for murder and kill for entertainment, but as the citizens benefit from their actions, they contribute to the Rats being hard to track by giving false information in order to protect them. All the members of the Rats came from troubled backgrounds and were drawn to each other due to their shared interest in different luxuries and, of course, due to their trauma.
One day, Ciri was captured by a group of slavers while a member of the Rats, Kayleigh, was taken by another. When the two groups met, Ciri heard what the other gang was planning to do and broke Kayleigh free, with the rest of the Rats attacking the slavers. Impressed by Ciri’s sword skills, the Rats welcomed her as one of them, but as she didn’t tell them her real name, they called her “Falka”. The Witcher season 3 is facing a big challenge in adapting the Rats not just because of the violent nature of this group but also because Ciri developed a toxic romantic relationship with Mistle that ended in tragedy, so having Ciri go from a good-natured girl to a full-on criminal in a very unhealthy relationship might not be well-received by the audience – but all this is important to Ciri’s character development.
Why The Witcher Season 3 Has An Impossible Adaptation Problem With The Rats
Ciri’s history with the Rats is quite bleak even for The Witcher, as it’s not only violent and toxic but there were also moments of sexual assault, and the team behind the Netflix series might not want to go that far. However, The Witcher is facing a problem here as not softening Ciri’s time with the Rats would draw criticism due to how dark and problematic it is, but at the same time, softening takes away its impact and importance in Ciri’s journey and this season’s plot, as they are literally the ones who gave the source’s novel its name, as they are “the children of the time of contempt”. Depending on how The Witcher handles Ciri and the Rats, it could be a more controversial point than Henry Cavill’s exit.
