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Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for The Witcher
The search for Ciri will subside somewhat in season 4 ofNetflix’s The Witcher, with Emperor Emhyr believing he’s found the princess in Teryn, which allows Vilgefortz to conduct his own search independently. Geralt, however, will stop at nothing until she is found.
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The new season will also see an Elven uprising with Francesca at the helm, who has the Emperor and Fringilla firmly in her crosshairs and vengeance on her mind. Here’s everything you need to know about Francesca.
Who Is Francesca In The Witcher Season 3?
Francesca Findabair (Mecia Simson) is an Elven sorceress who became her husband Filavandrel aén Fidháil’s successor as ruler of the race after Calanthe defeated him. The character has appeared in 11 episodes of the live-action series and played a prominent part in season 3.
Francesca frequently dreamed of a white-robed figure named Ithlinne, who prophesied she would lead the Elven race to Dol Blathanna—a kingdom exclusive to elves. Thesorceress joined Fringilla(Mimi Ndiweni) and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra) at a Conjunction of the Spheres temple, where a monster posed as Ithlinne and gave her a chance to fortify the Elven community by birthing a pure elf in exchange for forming an alliance with Nilfgaard.
After giving birth to her baby, Francesca had a change of heart about serving Nilfgaard in line with Filavandrel’s (Tom Canton) beliefs. Fringilla warned the sorceress of the consequences of betraying the bargain agreed upon at the temple, but Francesca put her family first. The elf’s baby was soon murdered, and in her grief, she turned on Redania, who she thought was responsible for the baby’s death.
Francesca later joined the search for Ciri (Freya Allan) after learning she carried the elder blood and worked with Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) and Nilfgaard during the Conclave of Mages. Filavandrel was killed by Tissaia (MyAnna Buring) after blocking a spell directed at Francesca, and the sorceress will now be going after the Emperor and Fringilla in season 4 after discovering they killed her baby.
Francesca Is The Only Lodge Sorceress Absent From The Video Games
Also known as Enid and Gleanna in Elder Speech, Francesca was also an Elven sorceress in the book series by Andrzej Sapkowski, appearing in Time of Contempt, Baptism of Fire, and The Lady of the Lake.
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In the source material, Francesca goes on to become the queen of the Dol Blathanna elves and exists as one of the founding members of the Lodge of Sorceresses. After the fall of the Brotherhood of Sorcerers in The Witcher season 3, it’s likely that Yennefer and Francesca will form the Lodge. However, the book depicts that Francesca formed the Lodge alongsidePhilippa Eilhartshortly after she became queen. Philippa later orchestrated the assassination of King Vizimir II, which in turn, sent Radovid V on a rampage to eliminate mages. A number of sorceresses were imprisoned, tortured, and executed, which ultimately led to the Lodge’s downfall.
Out of all the Lodge members in the book series, Francesca is the only sorceress who has not appeared in any of CD Projekt Red’s video games. She was mentioned in a journal entry in The Witcher 2: Assassins of Kings highlighting her life, and she appeared as the leader card for the Scoia’tael Gwent deck in GWENT: The Witcher Card Game.
Meet Mecia Simson, Francesca’s Actor
English actor Mecia Simson entertained a successful modeling career before breaking into acting and won Britain’s Next Top Model in 2009. She later trained as an actor at the Italia Conti Academy of Theatre Arts and received her first role in the television miniseries The Hunt playing Laura in 2015.
Citing Meryl Streep, Joaquin Phoenix, Cate Blanchett, and Margot Robbie as sources of inspiration within the field, Simson has only accumulated three other roles since 2015, playing Mel in the short He Who Has It All, Alpha Woman One within the 2020 series Brave New World, and Dr. Idida in the 2022 short My Sad, Angry Man.
Speaking toWonderland Magazine, Simson explained how she became the Elven queen in Netflix’s The Witcher after auditioning three times for the role:
“I had to audition three times! In the beginning, I had no idea what it was for. I could tell that it was a fantasy by the writing. I love fantasy, so I was super excited from the start. Three weeks later, I got a callback and had to audition some more sides, still not knowing what it was. They really threw me in at the deep end, too, because they wanted to see my emotional range…I had to wait a few more weeks before being told that I’d made it to the chemistry read. By that time, they revealed it was for The Witcher and that I’d be playing the Elven Queen.”
