Each Faction's Plan For Ciri In The Witcher Season 3, Explained
This post contains spoilers for season 3 of "The Witcher," the novel series, and the games.
In a pivotal moment in "The Witcher 3: The Wild Hunt," an adult Ciri mourns the lives lost due to the many factions hunting her down, proclaiming, "I will flee no more." This is a turning point in Ciri's journey — all her life, Ciri has been told what to do, either by those who wish to protect her or those who intend to use her for their schemes. In season 3 of "The Witcher," a young Ciri is still grappling with the repercussions of her existence, intent on doing something meaningful to stop potential clashes and nationwide bloodshed in the Continent. Forced to flee since she was a child, Ciri has rarely experienced moments of peace and is always on the run due to some new threat.
Various factions have coveted Ciri (Freya Allan) since season 1, starting from her abduction during the Fall of Cintra to numerous attempts by Rience (Sam Woolfe) to lure her out. While it is clear that every party is hounding Ciri for her Elder Blood status, it can be confusing to keep track of the reasons why they're doing so. Some intend to use Ciri as a political pawn to reshape the Continent, while others seek her to ensure the continuation of their bloodline.
Geralt (Henry Cavill) might be the only person who wants to keep Ciri safe without any vested interests involved, as he is ready to journey to the ends of the earth to protect her from harm. Although Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) takes on a more active role in protecting Ciri this season, she also harbors lofty ambitious connected to the Brotherhood of Mages.
Emperor Emhyr (Nilfgaard)
When Nilfaardian forces attacked Cintra in season 2, the reasons seemed murky at best, as the fall of Cintra was simply a byproduct of a grander plan: capturing Ciri. Emperor Emhyr, also known as The White Flame, is revealed to be Ciri's father, Duny (Bart Edwards), who faked his death only to return to the throne and rule with an iron fist. The shadow of the White Flame looms large over the continent, as he is known to pave his ballroom with the gravestones of his dead enemies, earning him the reputation of a ruthless emperor who won't stop at anything before capturing his daughter and forcing her to rule by his side.
But why does Emhyr hunt Ciri, when he can simply play a more benign role as a father wishing to reunite with his daughter? This is where things get dark: Itthlinne's prophecy claims that the White Flame's son will also inherit the Elder Blood, which will help him solidify his rule over the Continent. As Ciri is the only person with Elder Blood at the moment, he plans to marry her and continue the bloodline and fulfill the prophecy. In the games, Ciri's fate depends on player choices — if Geralt hands Ciri over to Emhyr, she feels betrayed and "bought," triggering a bad ending, while an alternative choice is to not take her to the emperor and help her become the Empress of Nilfgaard.
The show might or might not adopt the creepy Emhyr storyline, but it is clear that the White Flame's motivations to hunt Ciri are far from noble at the moment. Now that he has re-employed Cahir (Eamon Farren) as his right hand again, things might take a dangerous turn for the central trio.
Rience, and the mysterious mage
Season 2 revealed the chaotic Rience, a renegade mage who uses forbidden fire magic. Managing to steal a vial of witcher mutagen that contained Ciri's blood, he teams up with Lydia van Bredevoort (Aisha Fabienne Ross), another rogue sorceress who wishes to capture Ciri at the behest of her mysterious employer. Lydia ended up paying a heavy price for the blood tracing ritual she performed using Ciri's blood, as her face is now heavily scarred and disfigured, and she uses illusion magic to hide the aftereffects of the ritual. Season 3 also reveals that Rience lures monsters out using the vial, as they're attracted to the scent of the Elder Blood, and can be used to hunt down the girl.
In the books, Lydia took part in experiments conducted by Vilgefortz, which ended up killing three of the five mages who were present during the artifact activation. Lydia escaped with severe burns and disfigurement, which prompted her to use telepathy as the only form of communication (which the show also portrays faithfully). While Lydia canonically dies at the Thanedd coup in the books, the show might venture into a different direction, and reveal her to be a greater player in the scheme to capture Ciri on behalf of her employer.
The Elves
Netflix's "The Witcher" has taken great liberties when it comes to the backstories of the elves, molding them into victims of discrimination instead of the ones kickstarting a multiverse-spanning, civilization-ending war. The elves' hatred for humans might be justified by their lived experiences, but an objective stance (like Geralt's) underlines the hypocrisy displayed by both sides, as their actions are primarily rooted in hatred and prejudice. Elven sorceress Francesca Findabair (Mecia Simson), in an attempt to rehabilitate her people and find a permanent home, made a deal with Voleith Meir involving Ciri, which did not end well for them, as Francesca's newborn was killed by the White Flame in the end.
Season 3 highlights the cracks forming within the remaining elven army, as some elves disagree with Fracesca's obsession with finding Ciri at the price of sacrificing her own troops. By now, the hunt for Ciri has taken on a whole new meaning for the elves: Francesca and her supporters believe that Ciri's Elder Blood is the key to their future, as she will inevitably lead them toward a glorious age. While Geralt is rightfully wary of Francesa's motives, Ciri is much more empathetic to her cause, as she wants to help the elves approach a new era and help end their suffering.
The Brotherhood of Mages
In season 2, Tissaia de Vries (MyAnna Buring) learned about Ciri's Elder Blood status from Triss Merigold (Anna Shaffer) and decided to share the information with Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu). While Vilgefortz has been portrayed as a well-meaning strategist so far, the books paint him as a ruthless antagonist who wants Ciri's powers for his own. While Tissaia is hopeful that Ciri can bring peace and reform to the Continent and prevent the destruction of the world, her misplaced faith in Vilgefortz is expected to have disastrous consequences in Volume II of the latest season. At the end of the Thanedd ball, Yennefer and Geralt realize that Vilgefortz is the one pulling the strings behind the scenes and that Tissaia's life might be in danger.
Moreover, during the Thanedd ball, Stregobor (Lars Mikkelsen) is exposed as the one behind the disappearance of young apprentices at Aretuza, as all of them possess Elven blood, as a result of which, they were being used to conduct horrific experiments. While Stregobor chalks his motives up to his hatred for "half-breeds," there is surely more to the picture as these girls are being brainwashed to "become" Ciri for a purpose that is yet to be revealed. Also, according to canon, the Thanedd coup ends in a catastrophic bloodbath, and the Vilgefortz reveal might explain how and why these events were orchestrated to destroy the Brotherhood of the Mages from within and lure Ciri out in the process.
The Wild Hunt
Perhaps the most dangerous of all the factions hunting Ciri, The Wild Hunt fiercely believe in the prophecy that Ciri, the child of Elder Blood, will end up joining them in their cause. The Hunt's motives have been kept under wraps so far, and the show has not delved too deep into their origins, barring a quick setup for Eredin as the King of the Wild Hunt in "The Witcher: Blood Origin." In the books, the Hunt originally sought Ciri out as they believed her elder blood would help save their bloodline (i.e. they kidnapped her and forced her to have children with their king), but after this plan failed, they hunted Ciri to regain access to the gateway to many worlds.
In the original source material, the gateway was a means for The Wild Hunt to invade new worlds and procure slaves — as these aspects of the story have not been set up by the series yet, it will be interesting to see how it tackles the motivations of this mysterious group. Volume I has already teased the Hunt's looming presence and the fact that they're somehow capable of pinpointing Ciri's location proves that they're not a group to be messed with. Also, at some point, Avallac'h is bound to be introduced in this timeline, as he is key to kickstarting Ciri's journey across worlds and precipitating her confrontation with the White Frost in the end.
Volume I of "The Witcher" season 3 is currently streaming on Netflix.