The Witcher Season 4 Has To Replace A Major Villain It Killed Too Soon, Or Risk Losing Ciri's Most Badass Book Scene

The Witcher season 4 is facing many challenges, including one about its villains, as it now has to replace a major bad guy who was killed way too soon and was key to Ciri’s (Freya Allan) most badass book scene. Netflix’s The Witcher had a strong start with its first season in 2019, but when its second season arrived, it became one of the most divisive TV shows. The Witcher drew backlash for the changes it made to its source material, and though season 3 was an improvement, season 4 now has to overcome more challenges.

The Witcher season 3 ended with Ciri, Geralt (Henry Cavill), and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) separated again, with Ciri joining the Rats, Yennefer forming the Lodge of Sorceresses, and Geralt setting out to find Ciri after he recovered in Brokilon. Now, The Witcher season 4 will introduce Liam Hemsworth as the new Geralt, will cover some dark storylines from the books, and has to replace a key villain killed in season 3, who is key to Ciri’s most badass book scene: Rience.

How Rience's Death Was Different In The Witcher Show

Rience’s Death In Season 3 Was Unexpected & Underwhelming

Rience using fire magic in The Witcher season 3 — The Witcher season 3 part 2 Rience

Among the problems Netflix’s The Witcher has faced is one related to its villains. It wasn't until the show's third season that it finally got defined villains thanks to Vilgefortz and the White Flame, but this was also the season that killed a villain with great potential. The Witcher season 2 introduced Rience (Chris Fulton), a powerful mage who used the forbidden fire magic. Rience had been imprisoned by Queen Calanthe but was freed by Lydia van Bredevoort after the fall of Cintra, as he was recruited to find and capture Ciri.

Rience was recast in The Witcher season 3, with Sam Woolf playing the character.

Rience was cruel and relentless, to the point where he kidnapped and tortured Jaskier for information and attacked Vesemir and Triss in Kaer Morhen. Rience continued looking for Ciri and Geralt in season 3, even hiring mercenaries to help him, and just when he was close to getting what he wanted, he had a surprising and underwhelming end. Rience trapped Ciri in a circle of fire and threatened Yennefer if she dared to help the Princess, but Yennefer instead threw a sword at Geralt, who was standing behind Rience, and decapitated the mage.

Rience’s end comes in the novel The Tower of the Swallow, during his final encounter with Ciri.

In The Witcher books, Rience has a bigger role and a completely different death, one that is a lot more satisfying than being decapitated by Geralt. Rience’s end comes in the novel The Tower of the Swallow, during his final encounter with Ciri. The Cintran Princess lures Rience, Bonhart, and Skellen to a frozen lake, where Rience is forced by Skellen to use his magic to stop Ciri. Rience’s spell half works and cracks the ice below them, with the mage falling into the freezing water and clinging to the edges of the ice as he asks for help.

Rience, desperate to save himself, tries to negotiate with Ciri so she will save him, but Ciri slices through his fingers with her ice skates. Rience drowns in the lake, and that’s the end of Rience. After everything he did to Ciri and all the harm he caused, it’s very satisfying that it was Ciri who ended him.

Rience Is Part Of Ciri's Coolest Book Moment - And The Show Needs To Do It

The Witcher Season 4 Or 5 Needs To Adapt This Ciri Scene

Ciri goes through a lot in The Witcher books, both good and bad, but her coolest book moment is the one described above, from The Tower of the Swallow. In this book, Ciri escapes from Bonhart, who forced her to fight in a gladiatorial arena, and is taken in by the elder philosopher Vysogota. However, after hearing her story, Vysogota tells her there are agents of Skellen waiting in ambush in nearby towns, Ciri escapes and takes a pair of ice skates that belonged to Vysogota’s daughter.

The Witcher Ciri in season 3 and season 1

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Ciri then lures Bonhart, Skellen, Rience, and their people to the frozen lake, where she causes Rience to drown. By then, Ciri had gone through some of the most traumatic experiences of her life, and seeing her defend herself and trick these men on the lake was very satisfying. Ciri in Netflix’s The Witcher has also been through some very challenging and traumatic things and there are more to come, and if there’s one book scene the show needs to do, it’s the frozen lake one, as Ciri deserves this moment.

Can The Witcher Replace Rience For Ciri's Ice Skating Sequence?

Who Could Take Rience’s Place?

Ciri’s ice skating scene from The Tower of the Swallow can still happen in Netflix’s The Witcher, but Rience would have to be replaced. Neither Skellen nor Bonhart can take Rience’s place because they have their own, well-deserved deaths in the books that would be great to see in the show, but season 4 might already have the perfect Rience replacement. The Witcher season 4 will introduce Nazarian, played by Rowan Polonski, who in the books is hired by Rience to attack the agency of Codringher and Fenn to get information on Ciri’s whereabouts.

The changes the show has made to the books don’t leave room for Nazarian’s story as is in the source material, but with Rience gone, Nazarian can have his role in The Witcher seasons 4 and 5, with a couple of changes. The Witcher season 4 is suffering the consequences of the past seasons, but it can still fix some old mistakes.