Warning: The following contains SPOILERS for The Witcher.
The Witcher season 2 has managed to avoid one of the worst fantasy tropes in its portrayal of Ciri’s training and her burgeoning powers. It is not uncommon for future heroes in science fiction and fantasy stories to show extraordinary skills early on after they have answered the call to action. However, while Ciri may have committed to becoming a force to be reckoned with, The Witcher show is taking a more realistic and believable approach when exploring her journey in harnessing her powers.
After finally finding each other at the end of the chaos-filled The Witcher season 1, Geralt and Ciri make their way to Kaer Morhen in The Witcher season 2, an old keep where members of the School of the Wolf trained. Ciri had led a sheltered life as a princess, but quickly realizes that she must learn to fend for herself in this dangerous world she lives in. Geralt is happy to help train her, but knows that success doesn't come overnight. Ciri also begins to realize that she must be committed to the long-haul in order to become the person she envisions herself to be one day. Ciri is driven by the fact that she lost everything. It's why she endlessly practices with her sword against the training dummy, it's why she gets back up and tries her hand at the obstacle course again even as she bleeds.
In drawing out her training, The Witcher season 2 upends a common trope in Chosen One narratives. Fantasy heroes often quickly succumb to the common trope where they transform almost instantaneously into an unstoppable force, exhibiting otherworldly powers they didn’t know they had. With very little training, and sometimes none at all, future heroes suddenly can take on anything thrown their way. There are many examples of this across sci-fi and fantasy franchises, making it a rather tired narrative arc by now. Smartly, The Witcher is taking the time to explore Ciri’s failures during her training. It's those failures and setbacks that will shape her to become someone who perseveres no matter the circumstances.
The Witcher season 2, episode 3 exemplifies how Ciri is not one to give up easily during training. After Ciri is introduced to the Witcher obstacle course of swinging poles and spinning spikes, she quickly tries her hand at making it through in one piece. With determination in her eyes, it seems like she might actually show the Witchers that it's easy and her preternatural skills will allow her to quickly master the dangerous course. But when she dives into the obstacle course, she's immediately knocked off by a swinging pole. As she tries again and again, Witchers gather to watch her. Even better, she finally makes it through the gauntlet and it looks like she might just do it, only to fall off the landing platform right at the end. The build-up to this moment has the same cadence as scenes in any other fantasy show where the hero proves they have unexpected powers. But as she falls to the ground, it becomes clear that Ciri still has a long way to go, both in her training as a Witcher and in harnessing her powers.
Contrast this to other fantasy and sci-fi characters for whom powers come strangely easily. Star Wars’ Rey, for example, goes from being a scavenger on Jakku to someone who can manipulate the Force quite competently in the span of maybe a few hours and Luke Skywalker is almost as bad. The Force does work in mysterious ways, but still, Jedi typically spend years getting to this point. The same can be said for Batman, whose vast wealth and strategy skills are used as cheats to make him near-invincible in any given situation. Other genre heroes and Chosen One protagonists are the same. But The Witcher has taken a different approach by showing the trials and tribulations that Ciri endures during her training. It is an excellent opportunity to show how her character grows from princess to warrior. Breaking this common fantasy trope will surely pay dividends for Ciri’s character in the future.