‘The Witcher’ star Freya Allan breaks down Ciri’s “first sexual experience” with Mistle: “Ciri doesn’t exactly know what she’s consenting to”

Geralt of Rivia (Liam Hemsworth) isn’t the only major character undergoing a massive transformation in The Witcher Season 4. When fans tune into the Netflix hit this week, they’re going to meet a whole new Ciri (Freya Allan).

The Witcher Season 4 picks up where Season 3 left off, with the Lion Cub of Cintra stranded on the other side of the Continent with a gang of young outlaws who call themselves Rats. The Witcher star Freya Allan told DECIDER recently that she sees Season 4 as a “loss of innocence” for Ciri, in more ways than one…

** Spoilers for The Witcher Season 4, now streaming on Netflix**

When we catch up with Princess Cirilla Fiona Elen Riannon in The Witcher Season 4, she’s calling herself Falka and helping the Rats with their various criminal schemes. Soon, Ciri has not only taken her first life, but also discovered her first love in fellow Rat Mistle (Christelle Elwin).

“There’s a loss of innocence and I think that starts with her first kill,” Freya Allan told DECIDER during a recent roundtable interview. “It starts with many things, but going into Season 4, it’s her first kill and then her first sexual experience, which is always, I think, a bridge for everyone into adulthood, experiencing that for the first time.”

Ciri is initially preyed upon by another Rat, Kayleigh (Fabian McCallum), before Mistle comes to her rescue. The two girls share a quiet, vulnerable moment in a wagon before a sensual kiss. Ciri then asks Mistle to stay with her for the night, kicking off her first romance.

“I think what’s so interesting about Mistle and Ciri’s relationship is it’s not perfect. I think in many ways Ciri doesn’t exactly know what she’s kind of consenting to,” Allan said. “I think that relationship offers a space for us to really see Ciri in a different light and herself as well. And I think she’s discovering things about herself.”

Photo: Netflix

Later in The Witcher Season 4, Mistle tries to get closer to Ciri, whom she only knows as Falka. Ciri refuses to reveal her true backstory to her lover, prompting Mistle to wonder what it is they really are sharing. Allan revealed that she specifically added some lines of dialogue from Andrzej Sapkowski’s novels for this “one really important scene.”

“We ended up loving this scene where where Mistle is kind of trying to ask what this relationship is to Ciri and she says she doesn’t want to be alone,” Allan said. “And Mistle says, ‘Is that all?’ And she says, ‘That’s everything.’ And I think that really sums that up for me.”

Throughout The Witcher Season 4, Ciri is attempting to forget her past, including her tight relationships with adopted parents Geralt and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra).

“I think Mistle is also a character that brings up the question to Ciri of can you really just keep running from who you are, you know?” Allan said.

“I think what’s so interesting about Mistle and Ciri’s relationship is it’s not perfect. I think in many ways Ciri doesn’t exactly know what she’s kind of consenting to.”

Freya Allan

“Because I think there’s a part of Ciri that wants to completely forget everything and become this different person. You know, Falka, this person who’s brutal and cold,” she continued. “But really you can’t run from where you’ve come from. And I think that’s the question that Mistle raises, which is a really important one for Ciri.”

At this point, The Witcher‘s showrunner Lauren Hissrich said, “And I think, how do you have your first really vulnerable romantic loving relationship with someone who you’re only letting see part of you?”

“I think that’s something that Mistle’s constantly sort of poking at in Ciri, which is she knows there’s more there, and she just wants to get to those layers, which is a real relationship,” Hissrich said. “It’s a real human aspect of a relationship.”

As Witcher fans might expect, Ciri’s romance with Mistle travels to some very dark places over the course of Season 4. Dark, but important for Ciri’s story and The Witcher saga as a whole.

The Witcher Season 4 is now streaming on Netflix