After being kidnapped, Ciri slaughters her captors alongside The Rats, a ragtag group of teens who seem to travel together and do whatever they need to in order to survive. “They tell you it’s going to feel bad, taking a life,” one of them tells Ciri, “but it doesn’t.” The princess looks at the bodies with tears in her eyes, and it’s clear that she’s processing the moment, but then she becomes more resolved. She asks the others to call her Falka, and it seems to be a bittersweet admittance that she has more in common with the historical princess than she was willing to admit. The truth about Falka likely lies somewhere between Stregobor’s nasty retelling and Falka’s own positive PR spin, but after a moment of rage and vengeance, Ciri can’t help but think of her.
Does this mean that Ciri is going to make the rivers run red with blood like the stories about Falka say she did? Maybe not, but it does indicate a new, cynical era for her character, one that comes to fruition in the next Witcher novel, “Baptism of Fire.” Season 4 of the Netflix series seems poised to adapt that book next, which means Falka — AKA the lost Princess Ciri, taking on the name of a powerful, misunderstood, violent woman — is just getting started.
“The Witcher” season 3 is now on Netflix in its entirety.