The Witcher season 3: Why does [SPOILER] commit suicide?

All episodes of The Witcher season 3 are finally out in the world, and these final three installments are some of the show’s best—and most devastating. Several significant characters are killed off during the Thanedd coup and in its aftermath, but one death, in particular, stands out as particularly tragic.

The third season’s second half starts with a pivotal episode showcasing the coup on Thanedd island, which the season had been steadily building toward since the premiere. As you might expect from such a crucial moment, the coup includes plenty of fighting, death, and bloodshed.

Major spoilers ahead for The Witcher season 3 part 2

Many people die in The Witcher season 3, but it’s Tissaia’s suicide that rattled us the most. Aretuza’s rectoress and Yennefer’s mother figure, Tissaia de Vries, commits suicide by slitting her wrists.

But why did Tissaia do it?

Why does Tissaia commit suicide in The Witcher season 3?

Tissaia felt tremendous guilt over the death and destruction at Aretuza. Because she was romantically involved and duped by Vilgefortz, Tissaia believed it was her fault that the coup happened and that Vilgefort was able to conduct his horrid experiments on Aretuza’s students. By the time she summoned Alzur’s Thunder, you could see how much pain Tissaia was in and her devastation over the loss of so many mage lives.

Before her final scene, Tissaia confessed her feelings to Yennefer, and Yennefer gave her mother a pep talk. Tissaia seemed to come around, but it was just a ruse meant to pacify Yennefer as she ultimately followed through with her plan to die. She wrote a final letter to her daughter and then killed herself, and tragically, Yennefer was the one to find her body.

In the books, Tissaia commits suicide for similar reasons, except instead of Vilgefortz (they are not romantically involved at all in the books), her neutral stance on the war makes her an unwitting political pawn used by Nilfgaard and the Northern kingdoms.

Either way, the moment is devastating, especially for Yennefer, who has now lost or been separated from everyone she loves.