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Warning: This post contains SPOILERS for The Witcher season 3Ciri’s swift exit at Tor Lara brought her to the Korath desert in season 3 of Netflix's The Witcher, while chaos ensued at Aretuza during the Conclave of Mages. This change of location has separated her from Geralt and Yennefer, but she’s come up with a new plan to stay hidden from the Emperor.
During her time in the desert, Ciri was subjected to visions of the family long passed, and some viewers may need to be reminded of who they are. Here’s everything you need to know about Pavetta.
Who Is Pavetta In The Witcher Season 3?
Introduced in season 1, episode 4, titled Of Banquets, Bastards, and Burials, Pavetta (Gaia Mondadori) is known as the past princess of Cintra, daughter to Queen Calanthe (Jodhi May) and King Roegner, and Ciri’s (Freya Allan) mother. Pavetta is also the wife of Duny (Bart Edwards), who was later revealed to be Emperor Emhyr var Emreis of Nilfgaard.
Pavetta of Cintra first showcased her powers during her betrothal party—a forced marriage to Crach and Craite (Jóhannes Haukur Jóhannesson)—by unleashing a burst of energy when Calanthe ordered Geralt (Henry Cavill) and Lord Urcheon of Erlenwald to be killed. Lord Urcheon was actually Duny in disguise, bound to Pavetta through the Law of Surprise, and he married Pavetta that night even though the pair had been in a relationship for a time before.
Pavetta gave birth to Ciri in 1250, and after receiving word of the Ithlinne’s Prophecy, she fled with Duny knowing Ciri would be hunted by the people who believed it. The pair left that night by boat. However, the pair are said to have died off-screen during a storm that drowned them. We later found out that Duny had survived, but not Pavetta.
In season 3, Ciri begins to have visions in the Korath desert that we later find out were orchestrated by Falka (Hiftu Quasem). Calanthe and Pavetta appear to Ciri, which is Falka in disguise, and Ciri’s vision of her mother was designed to make her feel like a burden, particularly to Geralt and Yennefer (Anya Chalotra), and persuade her to start using the full might of her power to fight back against the forces that want to harm them.
Pavetta’s Demise In The Books
Pavetta Fiona Elen was part of Andrzej Sapkowski’s books The Last Wish and Sword of Destiny, and she was mentioned further in Blood of the Elves and Time of Contempt. Born as a Source—a person gifted with magical abilities—Pavetta also meet Duny in the books, presented as a cursed knight with the body of a human and the head of a hedgehog.
Duny’s curse was later broken once the pair got married through the same series of events depicted in the Netflix adaptation, but Pavetta was unaware that the Law of Surprise bound her after Duny once saved her father’s life. With Geralt later saving Duny at the betrothal party, that meant Ciri became attached to Geralt by the Law of Surprise also.
In contrast to the book, it was thought years later that the powerful mage Vilgefortz was actually the one responsible for Pavetta’s death at sea, causing the boat to sink. However, Vilgefortz was secretly conspiring with Duny to bring Pavetta and Ciri to Nilfgaard for their magic, but Pavetta figured out Duny’s betrayal beforehand and left Ciri behind with her grandmother. After Duny found out she had left Ciri, the pair argued, and Pavetta was thrown overboard and drowned.
Meet Gaia Mondadori, Pavetta’s Actor
Actor and stage performer Gaia Mondadori played Pavetta in The Witcher series for four episodes, and this role is one of four credits in her film and television career. As a resident actor in London’s Rose Theatre, Mondadori has also performed in a number of stage plays in 2017 and 2019, including her role as Lady Macbeth in Macbeth, the Mad Hatter in Alice and Wonderland, and Lucy in The Lion, The Witch, and The Wardrobe.
In addition to her role in The Witcher, Mondadori debuted in live-action within the 2022 television series Everything I Know About Love playing Bohemia for four episodes. The actor later starred in the short Ferret playing Gette, and Mondadori also has an upcoming role in the 2023 film Red, White, & Royal Blue playing Millicent.
Alongside her acting career, Mondadori also won the Inaugural Sixth Form Essay Competition in 2018 from the Compass Magazine for her essay on climate change titled “How are climate change and the patriarchy creating a generation of child brides?” on behalf of Wimbledon High School.