‘The Wheel of Time’ Star Madeleine Madden Breaks Down the “Twisted” Relationship Between Egwene and Renna

Earlier this year, long before The Wheel of Time Season 2 premiered and in the weeks before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Zoë Robins teased Decider, “I think [The Wheel of Time Season 2] Episode 6 is going to be magnificent because of someone on this Zoom call who’s an incredible actress.” The co-star she was hyping was Madeleine Madden, who had just told Decider that the Prime Video series was going to “lean into the brutality” of the Seanchan. Now that the dust has settled on The Wheel of Time Season 2, we can confirm that both Robins and Madden weren’t joking. When Egwene (Madeleine Madden) is kidnapped by the invading Seanchan forces in the second half of The Wheel of Time Season 2, she is forced into a horrific, symbiotic relationship with her slaver, Renna (Xelia Mendes-Jones).

Over the course of The Wheel of Time Season 2 Episode 6 “Eyes Without Pity,” Renna breaks down Egwene. She tells the talented Aes Sedai novice that she is not a person anymore, but a damane. Her connection to the One Power will be harnessed by her sul’dam Renna and she will exist only as a weapon for the Seanchan to use in battle. While Wheel of Time author Robert Jordan only briefly touches upon damane training in his books, the Prime Video series takes the painstaking time to show just how Renna uses a combination of physical and psychological torture to destroy Egwene’s spirit. It’s a harrowing episode of television and a brilliant showcase for Australian actress Madeleine Madden.

Decider was able to catch up with Madden recently about her exquisite work in the second half of The Wheel of Time Season 2. We talk about the way Renna is able to tap into Egwene’s own insecurities, the punishment of Egwene losing her trademark braid, and what it was like delivering one of the season’s most beloved lines of dialogue: “Renna…I’m going to kill you.” Oh, we might have gotten some semi-spoiler-y teases for Egwene’s storyline (and new hairstyle?) in The Wheel of Time Season 3…

DECIDER: So last time we spoke, it was before the show came out. I’d only seen the first four episodes and let’s just say Egwene has a lot to do in the last four episodes. I want to dive right into it, especially with Renna in Season 2, Episode 6. That is an extraordinary episode of TV to watch. Somehow the unbreakable Egwene gets broken down bit by bit by Renna. Months later the line that sticks out to me is when Renna asks her if the Aes Sedai in the White Tower ever told her how special she is. I’m curious how that line felt for you and if there was a different moment where you’re like, “Oh, Egwene’s in trouble right now.”

MADELEINE MADDEN: Yeah. No, I think that was one of the lines that really hit me when reading it. And I think the emotions that come up out of Egwene in that moment is after she’s been brutalized and beaten and tormented by this person. Renna touches her so gently and asks her, “Did the White Tower tell you how special you are?” There’s like flickers of appreciation. I feel special, but then also guilt and shame for how she’s feeling in this moment.

I think, you know, this is why their relationship is so unique because throughout all of this cruelty and horror, Renna has really taught Egwene how strong and special she is. That she actually doesn’t need to prove her strength to anyone but herself.

So yeah, for me, as well, that was a line that really stood out in the episode. You can see how twisted and how easy it is for these women, these poor women to be broken into submission by these people through just the pure pain and torment, but also through the affinity that they develop with their sul’dams.

Talking about Egwene’s realization of her own power… I’ve seen some fans question whether or not she would have been able to handle herself against Ishamael in the finale at this point in the story. So I’m curious why you think she was able to do that and where it made sense in your head.

Absolutely. Yeah. Look, I think what Egwene goes through and survives — I think that’s the key thing. She hasn’t become, she hasn’t died a damane. She wasn’t killed in the process. She was made damane, killed her captor and survived.

I think that a really important thing to remember is that she’s not like so many other people.

That’s the comparison that you see at the end of Episode 6. Maigan, who was the Sitter of the Blue Ajah, she goes like, ‘You know, you lasted longer than me.” And I think that you’re seeing, wow, how powerful this girl is. A woman who has been high up in the White Tower couldn’t even break free, and you’re seeing that Egwene could. You’re seeing what she’s capable of. 

And I think we see that she is channeling against Ishamael, there’s also a sense of retribution. She wants to protect Rand. She wants to right the wrongs, that she couldn’t be there for him in the Eye of the World. She wants to protect her friends. Now she is strong enough to. And I think she’s also not afraid of Ishmael. She’s faced real, true atrocities in this world. But of course, you know, she isn’t strong enough to hold against him and then that’s when her friends come in and they rally together and they support each other. I think that is the key message of this: At the end, yes, our heroes are strong on their own and very capable, but ultimately, they need to be together and work together and to support each other if they’re going to face and survive the horrors of this world.

I personally full on screamed when Renna cut Egwene’s braid off in the finale. And how did that hit you? How does this change Egwene? And looking ahead to Season 3, will Egwene have a new look? Will she still be able to have a braid? I’m very curious if you can tease anything about that.

Look, I mean, we’ve all had traumatic haircuts in our lives, but this was a particularly traumatic haircut.

I think, again, it’s just so sadistic because Renna knows how much this braid means to her, like the tree that brings her comfort. Renna made her destroy it. With [Egwene’s] hair, she’s starting to feel like her sense of self is coming back and her identity. The Women’s Circle braid is such a symbol of home and the strength of the women around you. When that’s taken away from her, it’s just another cutting off of her identity and who she is. And so I think, you know, this is a real transformation period. She not only looks different, she feels different.

And, yeah, we do see a little change in what Egwene looks like in Season 3, which has been exciting as an actor. It’s always exciting to look different and feel different. So yeah, I’m excited for fans to see where we pick up in Season 3.

So far what we know about next season is it’s going to be hugely inspired by The Shadow Rising. We’re going to see Rhuidean and Tel’aran’rhiod. Egwene is now coming out of being a damane. You know, is there anything about her experience with the Seanchan that might influence how she handles, say, another hard, foreign culture like the Aiel?

Absolutely. Look, I think even from Season 1, we see that Egwene’s truly been a novice of the world and is fascinated with what is out there and what other people can teach her and what other cultures can teach her. I think she’s sort of taken little bits of the Two Rivers, the White Tower, the Seanchan… And, you know, she goes on this journey to the Aiel Waste and ultimately will, no doubt, learn a lot there as well. So I think she’s just like a big sponge for the world and wants to learn. 

I want to go back to an earlier episode because a lot of fans were really moved by Episode 7. Your character basically has one, maybe two lines of dialogue. Just, “Renna, I’m going to kill you.” As an actor, what was it like knowing you had just that many lines? And was it nerve wracking to know that this would be a pivotal moment for Egwene?

Yeah, absolutely. Sometimes it’s funny when you have one or two lines, it can be a bit more difficult than having like a whole paragraph. Because obviously they’re so much more weighted, especially within the context of this line.

It was really difficult because it’s like, “How do you say that? And what is going through her mind then?” The way I view Egwene now and where she is at the end of the season, she doesn’t say much. But what she does say, she means it, and it does hold a lot of weight. I think she’s just really become, she’s just really watched and learnt from everything around her. I think we see her take a bit of a back seat. In the past, she was always the one to say, “This is what we’re going to do.” And, you know, be like the speaker of the group. But now I think she’s just sitting in her silence; watching, learning.

And, look, that line was — I think we see that she’s now playing Renna’s game. She kind of draws her in with this naive, soft spoken way, which gives Renna a little glimpse of hope. Like, “Oh, is she actually learning? Is she actually seeing the relationship that we have?” And then she says, “I will kill you.” So now she’s learning Renna’s game and they’re in this really sick, twisted way of communicating.

This interview has been condensed and edited for clarity.