The world of The Witcher is full of mythical and mysterious creatures with a variety of abilities and supernatural powers, among those the dopplers. Netflix's series introduced these creatures and gave them an important role in the story, and their actions could have an impact on season 2, as the Ciri at the end of season 1 might not be the real one. Based on the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher was one of the most anticipated Netflix releases of 2019, and might even be the platform's biggest first TV season ever.
The series introduced viewers to Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), an enhanced monster hunter known as a “witcher”; Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), a powerful sorceress; and Princess Ciri of Cintra (Freya Allan), who has powers of her own. Their stories were told separately and in a non-linear style, eventually converging, and by the end of The Witcher season 1, Geralt and Ciri finally found each other, but there might be something weird there.
There are no plot details on season 2 of The Witcher yet, but judging by the characters that have been cast so far, it all points at the upcoming season showing Ciri's training by Geralt and other witchers, but first they might want to check if the Ciri that is with them is the real one.
The Witcher Theory: The Doppler Took Ciri's Place
Dopplers are shapeshifters who not only take the form of any human or beast but also adopt their mindset and memories, allowing them to take their place without being caught. They are kind and gentle, but there are a couple of exceptions. The Witcher introduced a doppler referred to as “the Adonis”, who unlike most of its kind, was a skilled killer (and referred to itself as “we”). Nilfgardian knight Cahir sought out the doppler's help to find Ciri, and so took the shape of Mousesack, Queen Calanthe's friend and advisor. Having killed the real Mousesack and taken his form, the Adonis found Ciri and were on their way back when Ciri discovered they weren't the real Mousesack. After being attacked with silver (dopplers' weakness), Ciri fled and was later captured by the Adonis now in the shape of Cahir, who tied her to a tree and then took her shape to present themselves to the real Cahir.
The Adonis then revealed themselves to the real Cahir and told him he lied to them, as he never told them what Ciri is capable of. They attacked each other and the Adonis ended up fleeing after Cahir sliced their face, meaning that the doppler is still out there. Now, a Reddit user pointed out that when the doppler took the form of Mousesack, they touched Ciri's hair at every chance, something that was out of character for Mousesack. It's possible that the doppler's payment was Ciri's hair, as they are shown to have a collection of body parts and her blonde hair is a famous visual trait of hers, so they could make it part of their collection and also use it to impersonate her again. With that in mind, the Adonis might come back in season 2 and create more confusion by taking new forms, maybe of someone close to Ciri in order to get their payment, or they could already be back.
Although the real Ciri was freed by Dara and continued her journey by herself, the Adonis is still in the wild, and might have taken her form again to protect themselves and Ciri as well by confusing Cahir and company, and the Ciri that reunited with Geralt at the end could be the Adonis. This would mean a big twist for The Witcher season 2, as the witchers could be training the wrong Ciri – or if it's the real Ciri, the Adonis could come back to get their payment and mess with whoever they come across with in the process.