Does Emhyr know Ciri is a fake in The Witcher season 3?

With season 3 of The Witcher now behind us, we begin the long wait for season 4. The show’s third season left us with a lot of questions, not the least of which is how it will navigate the recast of Geralt of Rivia from Henry Cavill to Liam Hemsworth.

One of the many cliffhangers revolves around Emperor Emhyr var Emreis of Nilfgaard (Bart Edwards), who receives an interesting visitor at court during the season 3 finale, “The Cost of Chaos.”

We’re going to discuss all of it below. There will be SPOILERS for The Witcher season 3 and the books by Andrzej Sapkowski.

Does Emhyr know that his Ciri is a fake?

Following the climactic coup on Thanedd Isle, Vilgefortz of Roggeveen (Mahesh Jadu) returns to Nilfgaard. We find out that after Ciri activated a portal in the tower of Tor Lara, half of Vilgefortz’s face was gruesomely mutilated. But that isn’t our only surprise: he also brings “Ciri” home to her father Emhyr var Emreis in Nilfgaard.

Except the Ciri who walks into court at Nilfgaard isn’t Ciri at all, but Teryn, the girl who Geralt discovered in the castle of Vulipanne. Teryn had her mind wiped and all her memories replaced with Ciri’s by Vilgefortz, seemingly in an attempt to make a Ciri imposter who could pass muster. This would allow Vilgefortz to appease Emhyr while he hunts for the real Ciri, whom he wants for his own reasons.

There are two big questions here: does Vilgefortz know that Ciri is Emhyr’s daughter, and does Emhyr know this Ciri is a fake? We can’t say for certain about the first, but it seems unlikely. If Vilgefortz knew that Ciri was Emhyr’s daughter, it seems strange that he would think his plan would work. And in the books, Vilgefortz is oblivious to their relation.

However, if the show sticks to the books, then the Emperor is absolutely aware that Ciri is a fake. In the novels, Emhyr knows right away that this isn’t his daughter but an imposter being used in an attempt to dupe him, though he pretends otherwise for a while to throw off his opponents. The reveal that Emhyr and Ciri are related doesn’t come until much later in the book series, while it came in season 2 of the TV show. The reason Emhyr immediately knows that this fake Ciri isn’t who she says isn’t apparent until much later, when we realize the Emperor’s personal tie to the Princess of Cintra.

Judging by the shrewd look Emhyr gives Ciri in The Witcher Netflix show, we’re guessing he knows what’s up, although we can’t be sure until we watch season 4. Until then, it seems very likely that Emhyr var Emreis is fully aware that the Ciri in Nilfgaard is a fake, and his real daughter is still out there somewhere.

We’ll see how he responds when The Witcher season 4 premieres. It’s set to begin filming sometime in early 2024.

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