Diksha Sundriyal
Netflix’s fantasy series, ‘The Witcher’ follows Cirilla of Cintra after her kingdom is destroyed by a southern kingdom called Nilfgaard. Suddenly uprooted from the only home she ever knew, Ciri traverses the Continent, dodging her enemies and finding people who can help her. She eventually finds her way to Geralt of Rivia, to whom she was promised in the Law of Surprise by her parents. He trains her in swordsmanship while Yennefer teaches her to control her magic. A lot of people try to capture Ciri, one of whom is Rience, a rogue mage who uses the forbidden fire magic. What happens to him at the end of Season 3? Let’s find out.
How Does Rience Die?
Rience was freed from the prison in Cintra to find and capture Ciri by Vilgefortz, a powerful mage who wants to get Ciri’s powers for himself. Throughout the second season, Rience proved to be a dangerous villain, ready to do whatever it takes to get his hands on Ciri. Luckily, she always had protection, either of Geralt or Yennefer, to keep her safe. At one point, Rience kidnaps Jaskier to torture him into revealing the location of Geralt and Ciri. However, Yennefer interfered and used his own magic against him, which resulted in him during one side of his face.
Despite his injuries, Rience is not deterred and continues to look for Ciri. He becomes even more adamant about proving his loyalty and usefulness to his new master, whom he meets at the end of Season 2. In the third season, he keeps looking for Ciri, but he also becomes involved in other things Vilgefortz has been working on. While trying to capture Ciri, Rience leads Geralt to his hiding place in an abandoned fort in Redania, where Geralt finds out about the kidnapped girls and the horrible experiments.
Realizing all the terrible things Rience and his master have planned for Ciri, Geralt decides to end Rience once and for all. However, he has to wait a while before doing it. While Geralt is off looking for the mage in Redania, Yennefer takes Ciri to Aretuza, which she believes is the best place for Ciri to learn how to control her magic. By the time Geralt returns, the politics and backstabbing are already in motion. Phillipa and Djikstra make a move against Nilfgaard by smoking out its supporters in the Brotherhood but cannot stand against the power of Vilgefortz, who has the support of the elven army.
Yennefer runs away with Ciri, but Rience finds them. Seeing that they are trapped, Yennefer throws her hands in the air, but that’s just a ploy. Previously, Geralt was taken away by Dijkstra to ensure he didn’t cause any trouble with the coup. The Witcher left his sword behind for Yennefer to find. When Rience finds Ciri and Yennefer, the latter sees Geralt coming and throws the sword to him, which he swiftly uses to cut off Rience’s head before the mage can figure out what’s happening.
Sam Woolf’s Exit: Rience’s End in The Witcher
Sam Woolf joined ‘The Witcher’ in its third season, replacing Chris Fulton, who played Rience in the second season. The reason behind the recasting was not confirmed, but scheduling conflicts were considered the primary reason behind it. In any case, Woolf took over the role skillfully, making the transition seamless for the audience. The fact that half of Rience’s face was burned off and became his identifying marker would also have helped.
With Rience’s death at the hands of Geralt, there is no possibility for the return of Woolf’s character. In the books on which the Netflix series is based, Rience meets a similar fate around the same time. In the books, he is killed by Ciri, and the death is much more dramatic than the sudden death in the TV show. With his part in ‘The Witcher’ concluded, the actor, known for his role in ‘The Crown’ and ‘Strike,’ will move on to other projects, a couple of which are due to release soon.
