Who is the real Ciri in The Witcher Season 3? We discuss key plot points from the third season of The Witcher series.
Princess Cirilla of Cintra, known as Ciri, was an intriguing character from the moment she first appeared in season one of The Witcher. As the story progressed in the first two seasons, we learned she was very powerful thanks to the Elder blood she inherited from her grandmother.
We also discovered she was connected to the White Wolf, Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), by destiny.
It took a while for the two to find each other, but once they did, Geralt made it his mission to protect the young princess from almost everyone on the Continent, all having their agendas for wanting to get their hands on her.
In season three, however, Geralt saved another young girl trapped inside a castle. To everyone’s surprise, she claimed to know our White Wolf, and even more shockingly, she claimed to be Ciri.
Who is this other Ciri, and why did she believe herself to be the Princess of Cintra?
Who is the real Ciri in The Witcher Season 3?
Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon, also known as the lion cub of Cintra, she’s the granddaughter of Queen Calanthe (Jodhi May) and the daughter of Urcheon “Duny” of Erlenwald (Bart Edwards) and Princess Pavetta (Gaia Mondadori). Calanthe raised the young girl after her parents were lost at sea when she was only a toddler.
She became Gerald’s “child surprise” after he saved Duny’s life the day he married Princess Pavetta. After barely surviving the Nilfgaardian attack in season one, Ciri found Geralt, and he’s been protecting her from those who want to use her powers for their gain.
In Season 3, Volume 1, Geralt, Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri are on the run from the rogue mage, Rience (Sam Woolf), who is working for an even more powerful sorcerer.
When they separate in episode 2, Ciri and Yennefer go to Aretuza while Geralt heads to Vuilpanne to hopefully get some answers about Rience’s mysterious master.
At the castle, he finds a trapped girl and a horrid monster hybrid made from conjoined body parts of kidnapped and experimented on young women. After killing the monster and saving the girl, she shocks him by claiming to be his adopted “child surprise,” Ciri.
Who is the fake Ciri in The Witcher?
After saving her from Vuilpanne castle, Geralt and Jaskier (Joey Batey) take fake Ciri to Anika, a druid who knew his mother. There we learn that the young girl’s name is Teryn, a half-elven novice mage kidnapped from Aretuza.
Why is there a second Ciri in The Witcher?
According to Anika, poor Teryn was hit by a highly advanced magical mind-control spell. Later in the season, we learn that an Aretuza professor was kidnapping novices with Elven blood and experimenting on them. Poor Teryn was the only one to survive.
At first, Geralt and Yennefer suspect Stregobor (Lars Mikkelsen) is responsible for the kidnappings, but at the end of episode 5, none other than the charming Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) is revealed to be the mysterious sorcerer puppeteering the rogue fire mage Rience.
And to further complicate this already tangled mess, we already know Vilgefortz is working for the Nilfgardian emperor, Emhyr var Emreis, also known as Duny; Ciri’s previously thought to be deceased father.
Is Ciri played by the same actress?
While Teryn and Ciri do look kind of intentionally similar (must be that blonde hair), the two characters are each played by different actresses. Ciri is played by Freya Allan, who’s been portraying the Princess of Cintra since The Witcher first dropped on Netflix in 2019.
Teryn, the unfortunate half-elven girl who inadvertently became Ciri’s doppelganger, is portrayed by the British actress Frances Pooley, who you may have seen in series such as Bridgerton, Versailles, and Doctors.
