Frances Pooley, who plays a fake version of Ciri in Netflix’s The Witcher, was almost cast as a different character in season 1. The actual name of Pooley’s character is Teryn, who Vilgefortz (Mahesh Jadu) experimented on and tries to pass off to Emperor Emhyr (Bart Edwards) as the real Ciri.

On Instagram, The Witcher showrunner Lauren Schmidt-Hissrich reveals that Pooley was originally considered for the role of Ciri’s mother, Pavetta, in season 1. While the part went to Gaia Mondadori instead, Schmidt-Hissrich recognized that Pooley had immense talent.

When The Witcher‘s cast needed fake Ciri in season 3, Pooley proved to be the perfect individual for the role. Rather than just being called Fake Ciri as in the source material, she was given the name Teryn, as Pooley brought further depth to the character.

Along with her caption detailing the behind-the-scenes story, Schmidt-Hissrich posted an image of Pooley as Teryn in season 4 during an important scene she shares with Stefan Skellen (James Purefoy), teasing that it is the beginning of Teryn’s evolution and that she can’t wait to show audiences where it goes in The Witcher season 5. Check out the post below:

Since both Pavetta and Teryn have a striking physical resemblance to the real Ciri (Freya Allan), it makes sense that Pooley was originally considered to play a younger version of the character’s mother. She would have first appeared in the episode where Pavetta is shown to be in love with Duny, who is later revealed to be Emperor Emhyr.

While Pooley didn’t get this role, she has actually been in more of the series now than Mondadori. Teryn has appeared in seven episodes across seasons 3 and 4 while Pavetta has only been in four episodes across the various seasons.

Pavetta is dead in the present-day timeline, so her appearances are limited to flashbacks and visions. Meanwhile, Pooley shares more scenes with Edwards than she would have if she had been cast as Pavetta.

As for the scene Schmidt-Hissrich highlights, this is when Skellen encourages Teryn to take advantage of her position as the fake Ciri instead of cowering away from it. The beginning of this evolution already began in season 4 and will continue into the final season, where Teryn and the real Ciri may finally meet for the first time.

Much of the focus in The Witcher season 5 will understandably be on Geralt of Rivia (Liam Hemsworth), Yennefer of Vengerberg (Anya Chalotra), and Ciri. At the same time, other characters’ storylines need to be resolved as well, including Teryn, as Pooley culminates her unique journey with the series.