The Witcher showrunner Lauren S. Hissirch opens up about her regrets for Ciri’s minimal story in season 1 of the Netflix fantasy drama. Freya Allan stars in the series as the crown princess of Cintra who flees from her home when the kingdom of Nilfgaard invades and begins slaughtering those in their way. In her search for safety, Ciri eventually meets up with Geralt of Rivia, the titular monster hunter with whom her destiny is linked and begins to learn about the latent powers she possesses.

The Witcher season 2 picks up from the events of the season 1 finale in which Geralt and Ciri are united after the Battle of Sodden Hill, where he seemingly lost his love Yennefer when she sacrificed herself to fend of the invading Nilfgaard forces. Geralt brings the young princess back to his childhood home of Kaer Morhen in an effort to keep her safe and train her for the battles to come while the Continent’s kings, elves, humans and demons all fight for more power in the world. The Witcher season 1 debuted to modest reviews from critics and acclaim from audiences, though there is one element the mind behind it all does wish was different.

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In an interview with The Hollywood Reporter for the show’s return, The Witcher showrunner Hissrich revealed her regrets with Ciri’s minimal season 1 story. The showrunner confessed she felt disappointed in not offering the character a better arc, nor allowing the writing to pay “enough attention to Ciri’s story,” a key element they sought to fix in season 2. See what Hissrich said below:

“I have to say that in season one, I don’t think that we paid enough attention to Ciri’s story. It’s one of my big regrets watching that season. And so we worked really hard this season to make sure that we felt like we were on the path a lot more with Ciri, with Freya and sort of allowing her to fully explore this character. And I also think setting up the fact that Ciri becomes increasingly important in a series as it goes. Any book lover will tell you that she starts to become the center of this narrative. And we also wanted to make sure we were setting that up.”

The Witcher season 1 may have been a ratings hit for Netflix, becoming the third-most streamed series of 2019 behind Stranger Things and The Mandalorian, but it wasn’t quite a critical darling, sitting at a 68 percent approval rating on Rotten Tomatoes. Though this is still a positive score, some critics felt the world of the fantasy series had not been properly developed and were divided on the multiple timeline nature of its storytelling. With the debut season of the show serving as a prequel to Andrzej Sapkowski’s Witcher novels, it certainly had a number of hurdles to overcome to introduce audiences to the source material and connect with longtime fans.

Given the show does center on Henry Cavill’s titular character, it’s understandable that The Witcher season 1 would elect to have placed a bigger focus on Geralt over Ciri’s story. However, as indicated by the far better reviews for season 2, Hissrich and her writers room have clearly learned their lessons in both the series’ world-building and character development, especially in regards to Ciri as she further learns of her powers and her importance in the future of the Continent. With The Witcher season 3 already confirmed to be in the works, audiences can look forward to a further spotlight on Ciri in the near future.

Source: THR

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Grant Hermanns is a News Writer, Interviewer and Hiring Manager for Screen Rant, having joined the team in early 2021. Way back in 2015 while still in his college days, Grant got his start in the entertainment journalism industry with creator-friendly site Moviepilot until it shuttered nearly three years later. From there he joined the staff at ComingSoon.net and was its Associate Editor prior to coming over to Screen Rant.

To say he’s a lover of film and television would be an understatement and when he’s not mass consuming either you can find him exploring the world of Dungeons & Dragons with friends or slowly making his way through his gaming backlog.

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