By
Angel Shaw
Published 48 minutes ago
Angel Shaw is a Lead Writer and Peer Mentor on ScreenRant's New TV team, covering new-release TV shows across all major streaming platforms. She has been a writer with ScreenRant since 2022 and specializes in Harry Potter, The Lord of the Rings, and fantasy.
Angel holds a bachelor's degree in language interpreting and is passionate about all things culture and communication—especially in how it relates to popular media throughout history (from Shakespeare to Friends to Game of Thrones).
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The Witcher has once again inspired controversy in season 4, but there's something important that you need to know. This Netflix fantasy series has faced nothing but problems since season 2, when the show's approach took a sudden one-eighty. The Witcher season 1 was a hit, but each subsequent season has sparked a new wave of outrage.
Of course, in season 4, the most prominent criticism focused on Liam Hemsworth's portrayal of Geralt of Rivia. There was nothing truly wrong with his portrayal, but the actor was set up for failure following Henry Cavill's departure. That's not all, however. Another common complaint about The Witcher season 4 is that Ciri began a new romance with a girl named Mistle.
Some audiences have seen Ciri's same-sex relationship with Mistle as a part of the show's "woke agenda." Naturally, any queer romance in a series is going to be met with bigotry. However, in this case, the angriest of viewers have accused Netflix of making more changes to the original story. While the Witcher TV show has certainly made some puzzling changes to book canon, this simply isn't one of them.
Ciri's Romance With Mistle In The Witcher Season 4 Is Canon
Ciri as Falka in The Witcher season 4
It's only natural for book fans to be critical of TV adaptations. It's the same for virtually every other project. However, it appears as if some of the advocates for The Witcher canon have forgotten that Ciri's romance with Mistle comes straight from Andrzej Sapkowski's books.
Ciri's adventures with the Rats stretch across a few books, but her relationship with Mistle officially kicked off in Baptism of Fire. This installment was initially published in 1996, with the English edition released years later in 2014. This makes it pretty difficult to claim that Ciri's romance was included in the story to pander to a modern audience or for any sort of social agenda.
Of course, there's still plenty to complain about when it comes to Netflix's The Witcher series. Seasons 2 and 3 really made a mess of canon. However, comparatively, season 4 remained pretty faithful to the source material. It was just too little too late, and this fact has only added to the misunderstandings about Ciri's sexuality in The Witcher.
Why There Have Been Misunderstandings About Ciri's Sexuality
Ciri and other characters looking intently at something in The Witcher season 4Image via Netflix
Viewers who didn't read the books might have assumed that Ciri wasn't canonically bisexual because such literary characters weren't quite as common in the United States in the 1990s. Additionally, Jaskier wasn't gay in the Witcher books, so it might be an assumption among some viewers that a similarly unnecessary change was made with Ciri's character.
Much of this outrage also comes from those more familiar with the Witcher games than the books.
Still, the misunderstandings are more likely the result of the overall outrage at Netflix's The Witcher for its changes. It's a valid frustration, but it's inspired some to jump the gun a bit. Much of this outrage also comes from those more familiar with the Witcher games than the books. Ciri hasn't yet demonstrated her sexuality in the games, though this is expected to change.
It will be interesting to see the response to the upcoming The Witcher 4 game, which will place Ciri front and center. Players will be able to romance characters, and this will include women. If people assume that the games have taken a leaf out of Netflix's book with Ciri, they may once again cry "woke" and turn to outrage. This is why it's important for you to know: Ciri's The Witcher season 4 romance isn't the problem you think it is.
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The Witcher
10 stars 9 stars 8 stars 7 stars 6 stars 5 stars 4 stars 3 stars 2 stars 1 star Like Follow Followed TV-MA Drama Action Fantasy Adventure Release Date December 20, 2019 Network Netflix Showrunner Lauren Schmidt Hissrich Directors Stephen Surjik, Charlotte Brändström, Edward Bazalgette, Loni Peristere, Louise Hooper, Bola Ogun, Alex Garcia Lopez, Gandja Monteiro, Sarah O'Gorman Writers Haily Hall, Clare Higgins, Javier Grillo-Marxuach, Jenny Klein, Tania Lotia
8 Images
Liam Hemsworth as Gerlalt smiling slightly in The Witcher season 4
Henry Cavill as Geralt looking serious and holding a sword in The Witcher season 2
Dolph Lundgren as Brehen in an arena in The Rats A Witcher Tale
Yennefer and Phillippa doing magic together in the woods in The Witcher season 4
Francesca and Yennefer fighting with swords in The Witcher season 4
Liam Hemsworth as Geralt with Ciri and Yennefer in The Witcher season 4
Regis & Geralt with their crew in The Witcher season 4
Jaskier & Geralt tied up in The Witcher season 4Close
Cast
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Henry Cavill
Geralt of Rivia
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Anya Chalotra
Yennefer of Vengerberg
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The Witcher
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