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The stories for both The Witcher and Harry Potter contain ominous prophecies, but The Witcher does a better job at keeping things ambiguous.
WARNING: The following article contains major spoilers for Season 2 of The Witcher, now streaming on Netflix.
A fantasy novel series by Polish author Andrzej Sapkowski, The Witcher has adaptations as a popular video game franchise and a Netflix series starring Henry Cavill. Much of The Witcher’s storyline is built upon an elven prophecy that predicts the world will end in an ice age with elves being the only survivors. That same prophecy also predicts the elves will be saved by an offspring of Elder blood, with that individual being Princess Cirilla “Ciri” of Cintra.
Another fantasy novel series that’s built upon a similar prophecy is the Harry Potter books by British author JK Rowling. Instead of an end of the world prediction, however, the prophesied savior has the power to destroy the evil entity known as Lord Voldemort. That savior is confirmed to be Harry Potter, and much of his character arc builds him up to eventually fulfill that role. But while Harry’s storyline ends with predictable results, the same cannot be said of The Witcher’s Ciri.
For most of Season 1 of Netflix’s The Witcher, Ciri’s storyline depicts her being on the run, at least until she finally meets Geralt of Rivia, who is destined to protect her. Season 2 picks up right where Season 1 left off, with Ciri learning to take better control of her own life so that she’s not constantly on the run. For Geralt, this entails teaching Ciri combat skills and finding mentors to help her control her power, while for Ciri, this includes doing whatever she can to protect herself against harm, which means she doesn’t always do what Geralt says.
One easy notable difference between Ciri and Harry Potter is that, while the latter also decides to be in control of his own life, he doesn’t stray from his prophesied future thanks to having a strong support system, which is what Ciri doesn’t have in The Witcher. With just about every kingdom going after her, she doesn’t know who she can trust apart from Geralt and anyone associated with him. Even with people Geralt trusts like Yennefer of Vengerberg, it’s no guarantee she’ll get protection or won’t be betrayed.
With the odds stacked against Ciri, this leaves her future in an unpredictable place. Even if she’s in the company of people who care deeply about her and only have her best interests in mind, it is uncertain that they themselves will be safe from Ciri’s enemies, which includes very powerful ones like Voleth Meir. What makes Voleth Meir particularly dangerous is the fact they are an extradimensional entity capable of traveling between the spheres. Not only can they open portals to other dimensions and bring other demonic entities to the Continent, but they can also possess the bodies of others, especially that of Ciri’s, and access her powers.
In addition to being pursued by very powerful enemies and uncertain allies, Ciri is herself very young and malleable. Without full knowledge of her own family history or elven lineage, she is incapable of making informed decisions about her own future, which leaves her at the mercy of others to guide her. This also means she is very impressionable and is easily influenced by others because she hasn’t learned to say “no.” This vulnerability is easily exploited by Voleth Meir, who not only nearly manipulates Yennefer into surrendering Ciri to them but also briefly accesses Ciri’s body and powers long enough to access their own dimension and start the Wild Hunt.
With all that Ciri has gone through between Seasons 1 and 2, it’s only a matter of time before these violent experiences inevitably shape her personality and get her to a point where she stops relying on others for protection. Exactly which path she’ll end up choosing is left in the air. If she does end up fulfilling the elven prophecy, the chances are 50/50 that she’ll either try to save humanity and fail or will herself betray humanity in favor of saving the elves, especially if she finds herself relating to their plight. And when it comes down to it, that’s a lot more than Harry had to deal with when tackling his own prophecy.
To see Ciri’s journey continue, The Witcher Season 2 is available for streaming now on Netflix.
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