The Witcher's Ciri Romance Tease In Season 4 Fixes One Of The Show's Biggest Problems (But Might Create Another)

Potential spoilers for The Witcher season 4. Trigger warning: mentions of sexual assault and manipulation.

Summary Ciri's first romance in The Witcher season 4 comes from the books, showing commitment to the source material.

Ciri and Mistle's relationship is toxic, showcasing themes of manipulation and sexual assault.

The Witcher season 4 must carefully handle controversial themes to avoid sparking more controversy.

The Witcher season 4 will be key to Ciri’s (Freya Allan) story, and the tease of her first romance fixes one of the show’s biggest problems, but it can also create another one. Despite its strong start in 2019, quickly becoming one of Netflix’s biggest releases, The Witcher is now one of its most divisive TV shows. This is mostly due to how much it has deviated from its source material and was further fueled by Henry Cavill’s departure and Liam Hemsworth being cast as Geralt of Rivia, but the upcoming fourth season is looking to make up for the show’s past mistakes.

The Witcher season 3 made up for some of season 2’s mistakes by being more loyal to the source material and fixing Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), who went through unnecessary changes in the past season. The Witcher season 3 ended with Geralt, Yennefer, and Ciri (Freya Allan) being separated once again, with the latter about to have a dark turn. Ciri will also have her first romance in The Witcher season 4, which fixes one of the show’s biggest problems, but risks creating another.

Related 1 Of The Witcher's Biggest Problems Will Be Good For Ciri In Season 4 One of the biggest problems of The Witcher will continue throughout season 4, but this time, it will be necessary for Ciri's future.

Ciri's Romance In The Witcher Season 4 Comes From The Books

The Witcher Season 4 Is Bringing One Of Ciri’s Most Important Stories To Life

Freya Allan confirmed that Ciri will have her first romance in The Witcher season 4, showing that the series continues to be committed to being closer to the source material.

Among the characters introduced in The Witcher season 3 was Mistle (Christelle Elwin), a member of a gang known as the Rats. Mistle made her debut in episode 3, “Reunion”, in which Ciri caused chaos in the city after exposing a con artist thanks to her witcher knowledge, with Mistle witnessing the whole thing. Mistle returned in The Witcher season 3’s finale, in which Ciri, after giving up her powers, was captured by bounty hunters along with a member of the Rats. The rest of the gang rescued them and encouraged Ciri to kill their kidnapper before asking for her name, with Ciri introducing herself as “Falka”.

Related Who Is Falka? Hooded Scottish Woman & Connection To Ciri's New Name Explained The Witcher season 3 Part 2 saw Ciri taking a new name: Falka, from a woman she saw in the desert. But who is she and why did Ciri take her name?

In The Witcher books, Mistle has an important role in Ciri’s story as she’s her first romance, and her introduction in season 3 hinted at season 4 covering this storyline. Speaking to Elle in May 2024, Allan confirmed that Ciri will have her first romance in The Witcher season 4, showing the series continues to be committed to being closer to the source material than past seasons.

While The Witcher season 4 has more challenges to overcome, mostly related to Hemsworth’s introduction, it should come as a relief to know it will be more loyal to the books, but this particular part of Ciri’s story is also a huge risk for the show.

Ciri's First Romance In The Witcher Risks Sparking Controversy

Ciri’s First Romance Isn’t Exactly Healthy

Ciri develops a toxic relationship with Mistle, mostly because she doesn’t want to be alone.

As explained by Allan in the above-mentioned interview, Ciri’s first romance is “not a good relationship”, and it takes her into a dark part of herself that “is going to be terrifying to look at”. Ciri’s time with the Rats is one of the most controversial parts of her story in the books, as this group has a lust for murder, killing for entertainment. Ciri participates in many of their criminal acts and develops a toxic relationship with Mistle, mostly because she doesn’t want to be alone. Despite chastising fellow rat Kayleigh for attempting to sexually assault Ciri, Mistle took advantage of her moments later.

Unsurprisingly, Ciri and Mistle’s relationship doesn’t have a happy or optimistic ending. Ciri decides to return to Cintra and reclaim the throne but runs back to the Rats after hearing of a bounty hunter’s plan to kill the gang. Unfortunately, she arrives too late and all of them, including Mistle, are killed. Readers weren’t so welcoming of this dark turn in Ciri’s story, and while it fits the show after what season 3 established, The Witcher season 4 has to be careful in handling themes like sexual assault, manipulation, and more to avoid more controversy and much bigger issues.