The following article discusses sexual assault.
The Witcher books feature an incredibly unsettling Ciri-centric storyline that Netflix's Witcher will hopefully not adapt due to The Witcher: Blood Origin. Played by Freya Allan, Ciri is a pivotal part of The Witcher mythology. In two seasons with a third currently in post-production, Netflix's adaptation has explored a small portion of her history. However, some of her stories in the canon are quite disturbing. A prominent example of this is her ordeal with Eredin Bréacc Glas and King Auberon Muircetach. The Princess of Cintra's blood has made her the target of different parties in the Witcher universe, one of which was Eredin, the Wild Hunt's vicious leader.
In The Lady of the Lake book, Eredin captured Ciri, so she could get pregnant with the offspring of his king, Auberon. Given Ciri's Elder Blood in The Witcher, Eredin hoped she could give elves back the coveted power known as The Gate of the Worlds (the ability to travel through time). Ciri tried to get pregnant by Auberon, but it didn't happen, and the king was eventually killed (seemingly unwittingly) by an aphrodisiac given to him by Eredin. The storyline is quite disturbing, but the current status of Netflix's Witcher seems to point to the franchise not adapting it, especially given Eredin's characterization in Blood Origin.
Blood Origin Means The Witcher's Creepy Ciri Pregnancy Stories Probably Won't Happen
Blood Origin provides a different backstory for Eredin (Jacob Collins-Levy). Instead of serving King Auberon, The Witcher prequel series establishes him as the duplicitous companion of Chief Druid Balor (Lenny Henry). He turns on his leader and joins forces with Empress Merwyn (Mirren Mack), but Balor ultimately gets revenge on him by banishing him to another realm. There, he finds his Wild Hunt-leader helmet, setting up his position from the Witcher books and game universe, and providing backstory for his appearance in the ending of The Witcher season 2. Though, given his trajectory in Blood Origin, it's possible that Netflix will restructure his role from the books.
While Netflix could still technically adapt Eredin's goal despite his backstory change in Blood Origin, The Witcher has already changed its books' stories, which may be a good sign for it ignoring the plot line altogether. If that's the case, it could also be a promising indication that the show will omit the disturbing pregnancy plot involving Ciri and her father, Emhyr, who wanted to have a child with her due to her Elder Blood. The character is set as a major antagonist in The Witcher, so the story may still happen. But, if Netflix decides to ignore Eredin's mission, it could, in theory, also change Emhyr's motivations.
The Witcher Avoiding Ciri's Weird Book Story Is A Very Good Thing
Netflix's The Witcher series has been at the center of a debate regarding fidelity to its source material, particularly following the release of season 2, which featured significant differences from The Witcher books. However, there are many aspects in which the show can benefit from separating itself from its source material, one of which is Eredin's disturbing impregnation plot. To put it bluntly, Eredin's pregnancy storyline is simply sickening, as is Emhyr's.
Ciri endured a lot of sexual violence in the books, which Netflix's The Witcher hasn't focused on. Instead, the series has placed an emphasis on her journey as a warrior looking for her place in the world, and it should continue down that path. There is a wide variety of storytelling options for the pursuit of Ciri's Elder Blood that The Witcher could use without involving sexual assault. The Witcher series has gradually built its own path, taking the books as inspiration but using them to craft new stories. With that, Eredin's book motivation should be one the show does away with in favor of a new one.