Plot details about The Witcher season 3 continue to be a mystery, but a couple of hints have been revealed through this season’s casting announcements, and one of those teases one of Ciri’s most controversial storylines from the books, but not the one involving her father. The world of The Witcher has become widely popular thanks to the adaptation of the novels and short stories into video games, and in 2019, it got its first English language adaptation thanks to Netflix, becoming one of the platform’s most popular and successful titles.
For its first season, Netflix’s The Witcher went for a non-linear (and often confusing) timeline, following Geralt of Rivia (Henry Cavill), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri (Freya Allan) through different places and points in time, with their paths finally converging towards the end of the season. The Witcher season 2 opted for a linear storyline and saw Geralt and Ciri arriving at Kaer Morhen, where the young princess was trained by other witchers. Meanwhile, Yennefer dealt with the loss of her powers and made a dangerous deal with the Voleth Meir, who would give her her powers back if she gave Ciri to her. This further fractured the relationship between Yennefer and Geralt, but in the end, the sorceress saved Ciri and the three of them were finally together.
By the end of The Witcher season 2, half the Continent was on the hunt for Ciri for different and selfish reasons, so season 3 will see Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri doing their best to stay safe, while the latter continues to explore her own powers. Now, as mentioned above, plot details of The Witcher season 3 are unknown, but the casting of a character named Mistle hints at this new season covering one of Ciri’s most controversial arcs: the one where she joined the Rats.
Ciri's History With The Rats In The Witcher Explained
In April 2022, The Witcher announced four characters that will join season 3, among those Mistle, played by Christelle Elwin. Mistle is a member of a group known as the Rats, a young gang of criminals known for stealing from the rich to satisfy their own desires, though they sometimes also shared with the poor, and they had a lust for murder. All members of the Rats came from troubled backgrounds, and they were drawn to each other due to their shared interest in different luxuries and everything they had gone through. The Rats killed for entertainment, and because they shared goods with the poor, they weren’t easy to track as the citizens who benefited from their actions would give false information in order to protect them. One day, Ciri was captured by a group of slavers while one of the Rats, Kayleigh, was taken by another one. The two groups met and Ciri, after hearing what the other gang was planning to do, broke Kayleigh free as the other Rats attacked the gangs. Impressed by Ciri’s sword skills, they let her stay with them, and they eventually welcomed her in as one of them – however, she didn’t tell them her real name, instead being called “Falka”.
While with the Rats, Ciri developed a romantic (but toxic) relationship with Mistle, but their romance came to an end when Ciri decided to return to Cintra to re-claim her throne and left the Rats. However, after hearing of a bounty hunter’s plan to kill the Rats, Ciri returned to try to help them but arrived too late, and she saw Mistle die by the hunter’s blade. Ciri’s time with the Rats was controversial as readers weren’t so welcoming of such a radical change in Ciri’s story and personality, as she went from a good-natured girl to a full-on criminal, but Netflix’s The Witcher could take her story with the Rats on a different direction. The Witcher hasn’t been afraid to make big changes to the source material, so it’s possible that Ciri’s time with the Rats won’t be as chaotic or problematic – that is, if she joins the group, though how her relationship with Mistle will be addressed is to be seen.