Renfri of Creyden or Princess Renfri as many fans call her is a fictional character from The Witcher Netflix TV series. English actress Emma Appleton plays the Princess Renfri character in Netflix’s series and it is one of her most popular roles.
Millie Brady, another British actress, was supposed to play Renfri on The Witcher and had allegedly shot all her scenes before the decision to reshoot and recast the series.
In this article, we will be revealing Wiki facts about Renfri as well as fans theories about the character as well. Undoubtedly, these Renfri details will come from The Witcher Wiki facts as well and will involve the main character from the show, Geralt. Also, we will be explaining unclear plots from The Witcher that affects Princess Renfri.
Below, we compiled the top 10 facts about the fictional character to help it easier for readers to follow.
Top 10 facts about Princess Renfri Witcher
- Renfri of Creyden or Princess Renfri is a fictional character from The Witcher Netflix TV series and The Witcher books by Andrzej Sapkowski.
- Princess Renfri of Creyden is a princess-turned-bandit who leads a gang of brigands and has a bloody grudge against Stregobor. Her father is Fredefalk, the Prince of Creyden, while her stepmother is Queen Aridea.
- Renfri is believed to bear the ‘Curse of the Black Sun’ because she was born during a prophesied total eclipse of the sun.
- The Curse of the Black Sun is said to be able to summon the powerful War Goddess Lilit and destroy all of humanity. It is also claimed that the curse will fill the 60 girls born during the period with cruelty and evil, leading them to cause massive bloodshed.
- Millie Brady was supposed to play Renfri on The Witcher Netflix series and had allegedly shot all her scenes before the decision to reshoot and recast handed Emma Appleton the role.
- Geralt of Rivia, the protagonist of The Witcher Netflix series killed Renfri in a fight while trying to stop her from killing the wizard Stregobor. He carries Renfri’s cloak brooch on the hilt of his Steel sword ever since her death.
- In The Witcher books, Renfri is described as having blonde hair. However, in The Witcher Netflix series, she has brown hair. Her eye colour is blue-green. Also, in the books, Geralt described her as being as tall as he was.
- Renfri is also known as ‘Shrike’ because she loved leaving her victims impaled. She was also a member of a bandit group called ‘Seven gnomes’.
- The Mage or Wizard Stregobor claims that after turning her into a crystal slab during their first encounter, Renfri became resistant to magic and he believed this was a result of her “mutations”.
- The Witcher also has a video game that was first published in 2007. In 2010, the game was included in the book, 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.
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About The Witcher Netflix series
The Witcher Netflix series is based on a book bearing the same name written by Polish writer Andrzej Sapkowski; his works have been translated into about 20 languages. The series itself is regarded as a ‘Polish-American’ fantasy adventure drama.
It also has a video game that was first published in 2007. In 2010, the game was included in the book, 1001 Video Games You Must Play Before You Die.
The Witcher is set in a fictional landmass known as “the Continent”, which is inspired by medieval times. Geralt of Rivia is the main character and he is called ‘The Witcher’. Meanwhile, his destiny is tied to that of Princess Ciri.
Henry Cavill plays Geralt while Freya Allan gets the role of princess Ciri. There are also several other notable fictional characters such as Yennefer of Vengerberg, Cahir Mawr Dyffryn aep Ceallach, Jaskier, Dara, Istredd, Tissaia de Vries, Princess Renfri, and many more.
Princess Renfri of Creyden (Renfri witcher / Witcher Renfri)
Renfri of Creyden is a princess-turned-bandit who leads a gang of brigands and has a bloody grudge against Stregobor. The first episode of The Witcher is about her and Geralt’s character.
Geralt of Rivia had met Renfri when he entered the town of Blaviken in the year 1231. She had been there in search of Stregobor; a wizard who thinks she bears the Curse of the Black Sun (more about the curse below).
The Wizard Stregobor had drawn Geralt, The Witcher, to the town to hire him to kill Geralt. However, Geralt refused Stregobor’s proposal. When Geralt and Renfri met again, she offered him a proposal to kill the wizard instead and he refused again.
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Geralt warned Renfri to leave the town or die. She pretended to have taken his advice and they spent the night together. But she left during the night to complete her mission. When Geralt woke up in the morning, he realised that she had tricked him.
To stop her, Geralt first had to go through all her men. Eventually, after killing them all, they faced off. Geralt and Renfri fought but he overpowered her and dealt her a fatal wound. Before she died, Renfri told Geralt that there was a girl in the forest who he must find as their destinies were linked forever.
https://youtu.be/S7ots65TnAs
Geralt retrieved Renfri’s cloak brooch and mounted it on the hilt of his steel sword, carrying it with him for years after her death. There are many theories about this action, many say that it was because Geralt was in love with Renfri and wanted to remember her with the brooch. Others say that it was a reminder for him to stay out of human conflicts.
Here is a video of Henry Cavill explaining Geralt’s sword and Renfri’s brooch:
I could listen to Henry Cavill talk about swords all day…#TheWitcher pic.twitter.com/AfzYywdxWV
— Netflix Geeked (@NetflixGeeked) January 29, 2020
When the Wizard Stregobor found out that Renfri had died, he first tried to take her body away for an autopsy but Geralt refused. Then, the wizard influenced the townsfolk into forcing The Witcher to leave.
The final parts of The Witcher Netflix first episode show something that happens 32 years after Renfri died. Nilfgaard conquered its neighbouring Kingdom Cintra and Queen Calanthe helped her granddaughter Princess Cirilla to escape and find Geralt. A Nilfgaardian officer Cahir captured her as she tried to flee but she escaped when her powers suddenly manifested as she saw the burning city and castle.
Curse of the Black Sun?
According to The Witcher Netflix show and The Witcher books, the Curse of the Black Sun is placed on 60 girls born during a total eclipse of the sun. Princess Renfri was believed to be among these 60 cursed girls. This was why the Wizard Stregobor, a resident mage in the town of Blaviken and the rector of Ban Ard, the academy for male mages, had been trying to kill her.
According to The Witcher Wiki created by fans, Syanna in ‘Blood and Wine’ was not cursed. A poster with the username TonyWolf97 argues:
“There’s no way she’s that old to be part of the original 60, as that is probably 50-60 years ago. So, is it possible there was another total eclipse or is she just stuck in an unfortunate situation?”
Many others also agreed with his argument. Wagwan piffting23, another user from The Witcher Wiki fandom page writes:
“Yeah, that’s the thing: she is almost certainly not cursed (though she was born during an eclipse). Yet, because her parents were so convinced she was and treated her badly, that drove her to resemble the personality of someone who did have it, which made her parents even more convinced, and so goes the vicious circle. It ended up being a self-fulfilling prophecy in the end.”
From a game blog, the Curse of the Black Sun is said to be able to summon the powerful War Goddess Lilit and destroy all of humanity. It also claims that the curse will fill the 60 girls born during the period with cruelty and evil leading them to cause massive bloodshed.
Since Mage Stregobor believed this, he collaborated with the Council to learn more about the curse and to determine which girls would become the 60 women. Renfri is believed to have bloodlust as a result of the Curse of the Black Sun and she had been hunting the wizard before Geralt killed her.
Princess Renfri: Background
Renfri, a fictional character from The Witcher was the daughter of Fredefalk, the Prince of Creyden, and the stepdaughter of Aridea. From her appearance, fans believe that she is inspired by the fairytale of Snow White, albeit a more brutal version.
As already explained, her mother gave birth to her during a prophesied eclipse of the sun and Renfri inherited something known as the Curse of the Black Sun. However, after her birth, Fredefalk did not care much about what the prophecy said about his daughter.
Her trouble began after her stepmother Aridea used the mystical Nehalenia’s Mirror, which showed her that Renfri would kill her and several others. She then alerted the Council of her stepdaughter’s birth conditions and they sent the Mage Stregobor to investigate.
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Stregobor later told the Council that he had indeed witnessed Renfri manifest evil inclination. He claimed to have seen her torture others and after testing her, he said that she did possess powers that were from the Curse of the Black Sun.
As The Witcher origins go, Stregobor had first taken Renfri into isolation to keep her away from people. However, he hired a bandit to kill her. The bandit took her into the forest and before killing her, raped her and stole every precious thing she had as a princess.
Renfri took advantage of his moment of distraction to kill him by pushing her brooch through his ear and into his brain. After this, she escaped from her hometown.
Within four years, Princess Renfri went from a helpless girl to a terror. According to The Witcher Wiki fan page, she earned the name ‘Shrike’ because she loved leaving her victims impaled.
Renfri also joined a band of bandits known as the Seven Gnomes. She fended off her stepmother’s assassination attempts, including one with a poisoned apple. During this period, she became a fearsome fighter with excellent sword skills.
She and her band caused lots of havoc in the town of Mahakam, robbing merchants in the town. The Seven Gnomes band broke up one day after an argument within led to a fight and they killed each other. Only Renfri survived and she encountered Stregobor shortly after.
Renfri – First encounter with Witcher Stregobor
Renfri came across the Wizard Stregobor for the first time after she left the Seven Gnomes band. She recognised him and remembered what he had done to her back in Creyden. However, before she could sneak up on him and finish him off, he cast a spell on her, which turned her into ‘a slab of mountain crystal’.
The sorcerer then buried the crystal in the gnomes’ mine and brought down the tunnels. Fortunately for Renfri, a prince found her and paid for the curse to be reversed. Then, he took her home to the displeasure of his family. Renfri later left the kingdom.
By this time, Aridea, her stepmother, had died of what was believed to be poisoning with the culprit eluding capture. Renfri returned to kill Stregobor and this is where The Witcher Netflix series began.
Stregobor claims after turning her into the crystal slab, Renfri had become resistant to magic and he believed this was a result of her “mutations”.
Renfri: Physical appearance
In The Witcher books, Renfri is described as having blonde hair. However, in The Witcher Netflix series, she has brown hair. Her eye colour is blue-green. Also, in the books, Geralt described her as being as tall as he was.
Millie Brady as Renfri
According to the Redanian Intelligence blog, if Millie Brady had played Renfri on The Witcher Netflix series, the character would have been blond. Renfri’s original stuntwoman, Dorottya Talpassy, published a picture of what the character looked like when she and Millie Brady worked together on set. See image below:
Emma Appleton as Renfri
In the Netflix series, Emma Appleton played Princess Renfri (instead of Millie Brady as already noted. Her character is one of the most popular characters on The Witcher TV series after Henry Cavill as Geralt. This is despite her appearing mainly in the first episode only.
Emma Appleton also appeared in the last episode of The Witcher as Renfri, with a cliffhanger ending to the show’s first season.
To get in shape for the role of Princess Renfri in The Witcher Netflix series, the actress revealed that she underwent training. “It was very physical and very demanding,” Appleton said. “But that’s why I love doing the job.”
The Witcher Netflix series season 2 plot
While there is no release date yet for The Witcher Netflix series season 2, it is certainly coming. Netflix Okayed the season 2 even before the first season aired unlike many other series from the company’s production stables that rely on fans’ response for subsequent seasons.
Will Princess Renfri be in Witcher Netflix series season 2? We are not sure because she already died in the first season, but her appearance in the last episode may mean many things. One fan theory is that Emma Appleton is either playing another role or Geralt was hallucinating (or remembering) after he had a run-in with some zombie-like monsters.
Meanwhile, Henry Cavill, Anya Chalotra and Freya Allan will reprise their roles as Geralt, Yennefer and Ciri respectively in The Witcher season 2. Hissrich, The Witcher’s producer also said: “Without spoilers, I will say that there’s a crop of new monsters, a new cost to magic, and new and unexpected pairings of our favourite characters.”
Thus, the excitement in season 2 of The Witcher would likely exceed that experienced in the first season, should the producton team deliver on their promise.
Weird, seems like I am meeting a real person.