The Wheel of Time’s second season flung the core cast of characters to different parts of the world. The group from the Two Rivers started their wild adventure together in season one. But after Rand learned at the Eye of the World that he was the Dragon Reborn, things changed. Rand, believed by his friends to be dead, departed on his own. Perrin searched for the Horn of Valere with the Shienarans. Nynaeve and Egwene, however, stuck together. They went to the White Tower to learn how to use the One Power and become Aes Sedai.
Though the friends set out on the same path, their paths diverged. Nynaeve showed more strength with the One Power despite her self-imposed block, the Daughter-Heir of Andor arrived in the Tower, and Liandrin, a member of the Black Ajah, sold them out to the Seanchan. We talked with Madeleine Madden (Egwene al’Vere), Zoë Robins (Nynaeve al’Meara), and Ceara Coveney (Elayne Trakand) separately about their characters’ journeys in The Wheel of Time season two, from Tar Valon to Falme.
Becoming Aes Sedai
Of the group from the Two Rivers, Egwene has been maybe the most okay with seeing the world. She wants to be an Aes Sedai more than anything, and she keeps her lifelong values close. “I think Egwene has always had a very strong moral compass, but is also incredibly determined,” Madeleine Madden said.
She continued, “At the beginning of the season, we see her determined to try and be at the top of the class, to try and channel without her hands, determined to fit in, determined to please, and to shine and be special. And this is all sort of thrown on its head because she’s not the one that is standing out, it’s actually a friend, Nynaeve, who doesn’t really even want to be there. So she’s really struggling with this inner turmoil of, she loves her friend and everything that they’ve been through, but is also incredibly jealous of her and is feeling like she’s invisible.”
Nynaeve, while not as excited about being an Aes Sedai, wants to stay by Egwene’s side in The Wheel of Time‘s season two. Zoë Robins said she admires how loyal Nynaeve is. She said, “She really, really cares about the people that she loves and I absolutely believe she would do anything for them. I think we see that in moments throughout season one and throughout season two, and we will continue to do so That’s something that I continually learn about her, is just how big her heart is.”
Finding the Right Tone for Elayne
While Egwene is feeling a bit out of sorts with Nynaeve, a new novice comes to the White Tower: Daughter-Heir of Andor, Elayne Trakand. The Two Rivers is technically part of Andor, making Egwene Elayne’s subject. And while Elayne comes from a world of nobility, she shows kindness, too—traits Ceara Coveney had to consider.
“It was really fun to find that balance of Elayne really playing against her upbringing,” Coveney said. “She’s completely a fish out of water when we meet her in the White Tower; she’s navigating making new friends and finding her new role in the pecking order in this institution. In feeling her way around, she definitely puts her foot in it every now and then. It was so fun to find those little moments of, when does she get it slightly wrong, and when does she get it very right? She really becomes a confidant for Egwene and she offers this different perspective to her problems and her worries. She really adds to the dynamic of the three characters and offers this new perspective.”
Early in their blossoming friendship, Elayne calls Egwene out on her jealousy of Nynaeve. Because of how she grew up, Elayne doesn’t know another way that’s not being direct. Coveney said, “She doesn’t have a wealth of experience in making new friends, or maybe finding the right things to say, so I don’t think she’s so hesitant to maybe say it how it is, in some situations, or say what she sees. I think that’s really what Egwene needs in that moment. Although perhaps it might make you wince, that she’s so honest and so direct, actually, it’s exactly what Egwene needs. That lack of a filter in that situation really allows that relationship to grow.”
Working Together on The Wheel of Time Season Two
Elayne and Egwene’s friendship and then Nynaeve and Elayne having to team up in Falme to rescue Egwene meant Coveney, Madden, and Robins worked together a lot in season two of The Wheel of Time.
Coveney said of Madden and Robins, “They are both amazing. They’re incredible actresses. And it was such an interesting dynamic in a way, because obviously they’ve already done a whole season together before I was introduced. It almost really fed into the situation of the show that they grew up together in the Two Rivers, and Elayne is this new person. A lot of our work was done for us in a way. I felt like, as Elayne the character was making friends with Egwene and making friends with Nynaeve, slowly, and I was making friends on set with Maddie and Zoë, so it felt very reflective and very natural, and they were both absolutely incredible. I learned so much from both of them and in the same way that Elayne learned so much from both Nynaeve and Egwene.”
“We are all so close,” Madden said. “Zoë and I have known each other for years now, but getting to know Ceara was just so easy. She’s our perfect Elayne, because like Elayne, she’s an amazing listener and is such a wonderful kind person. And I think Egwene really finds comfort in her and security, and they’re unlikely friends. But it’s also an interesting dynamic. Three is definitely a crowd, and we see there’s a bit of tension there. Elayne’s helping Egwene with her jealousy that she’s feeling towards Nynaeve, but then Nynaeve is also feeling, I think, maybe a bit of jealousy at the relationship or confusion as to what Egwene sees in Elayne.”
“But when Egwene thinks she’s lost Nynaeve, and also feels she’s lost Rand,” Madden continued, “Elayne’s really there to help her pick up the pieces and to comfort her, which is really beautiful. I love—episode three is one of my favorite episodes of how amazing Zoë is, but I really love the scene where Elayne talks Egwene off the edge and just knows what she needs in that moment.”
Robins shared similar sentiments about The Wheel of Time season two. “Working with those two women is amazing. Maddie’s like my little sister now, so it’s really not that hard to conjure up those emotions when I’m being Nynaeve. And we were so happy that Ceara was cast as Elayne because she’s such a sweetheart and so genuine and we have such a great time together. I love doing those scenes with those women. Obviously, their relationship and friendship becomes a little bit more complex, and there is some jealousy and hurt feelings and all the things, but that’s just actually real life.”
Like Robins points out, Nynaeve and Elayne wouldn’t naturally be friends, but circumstances force them together. They come from opposite backgrounds but find common ground. Coveney noted their relationship had a slow start, but she had fun bickering and taking out frustrations about the situation on each other. “I’m really excited to see where their relationship goes in the next season and how it develops, because I think they’ve really found a respect and understanding for each other in season two eventually,” Coveney said.
Nynaeve’s Thoughts on the Aes Sedai
The Aes Sedai put Nynaeve through no shortage of hardship in The Wheel of Time season two. They continually push her about her block with the One Power. Liandrin encourages her sisters to raise Nynaeve to Accepted despite that. The Accepted test in the One-Power activated Arches is traumatic. And that’s all before Liandrin betrays her and tries to turn her over to the Seanchan.
Robins explained, “Nynaeve’s thoughts on the Aes Sedai probably haven’t changed much from her first perception of them at the beginning of season one and what she’s been told about them her whole life. We find her at the beginning of the season questioning her own thoughts and beliefs and opening up a little bit to them. I think the betrayal of Liandrin is very, very deep in a way that I think will hurt Nynaeve for quite some time and I think will inform a lot of her decisions and choices in the future.”
In one of the Arches, a possible future, Nynaeve lived for years with Lan by her side. Their story ended in tragedy as she got stuck inside the Arches. Nynaeve temporarily had a joyful existence. “I was so happy for her to have those moments, even though they weren’t necessarily real,” Robins remembered. “It was nice to have moments of levity for her. The whole Arches experience for her, though, obviously she’ll never be the same again. All I want for her is to have peace at some point.”
Under the Seanchan’s Control in The Wheel of Time Season Two
Liandrin set a trap for Nynaeve and Egwene and happened to catch Elayne in it, too. She took them all to Falme as a present for the High Lady Suroth. Nynaeve and Elayne escaped, but the Seanchan sul’dam captured Egwene and enslaved her with a One Power-imbued bracelet and collar. Egwene’s sul’dam, Renna, exerted control over Egwene, pushing her to the edge. The series took a paragraph from the books that described Egwene’s experience as a damane and expanded it into a powerful, intense episode.
“I think it was probably the hardest thing I’ve had to do as an actor,” Madden recalled. “Staying in that physical but also psychological state for an extended period of time—I think we were in the cells for about eight days—was really difficult. I was lucky enough to shoot chronologically, so then that really helps all of us, but particularly me, to go on that emotional journey.”
Madden continued, “And also the breakdown of the Egwene’s mental wellbeing, but also her physical wellbeing, I was really lucky to work with Scarlett Mackmin, who’s our fantastic movement coach. It was really important for me to nail the physicality and also to show different ways that the a’dam inflicted pain, whether it was in your head, or full body spasms, or whether it was throwing up. I pulled a bunch of inspiration and images from artworks, dance pieces to try and figure out how pain holds itself in the body.”
Madden continued, “Xelia [Mendes-Jones] was fantastic to work opposite. They just hold such a power on-screen, and their acting is just so… I don’t know, you feel like you love them, you love Renna, but you also hate Renna. And I think Xelia just did such a fantastic job at showing that vulnerability in ‘I’m trying to be nice to you,’ but then also the cruelty. They were amazing to work opposite against.”
“While it was very difficult for me physically and emotionally, our director Maja [Vrvilo], was so wonderful in nurturing me and also allowing me to try new things and to experiment and to play, which was really important,” Madden said. “It’s one of those things where you just had to give a hundred percent all the time in your physicality. So there’d be moments where I was exhausted, but just would have to keep going because you can’t half-ass that kind of thing.”
Egwene transforms in her time as a damane. By the time she touches the pitcher, Madden said Egwene has lost her sense of self, escape, and hope. But she’s still defiant. When Renna takes her braid, a core part of who Egwene is, it sparks something. “She’s trying to find the last bits of herself so she can build herself back up again,” Madden noted, “And Renna is just cutting off limbs and things that connect her to herself. And I think once she loses that [her braid], she’s completely transformed into something different. She’s already felt different, but now she looks different, so she’s an entirely different beast at this stage.”
A Lesson from Falme
The group that stands atop the tower in Falme, fiery dragon swirling around them, is not the same group that left the Two Rivers. As the one-time Wisdom of their village, Nynaeve has seen herself as a protector of everyone. However, things are changing.
“As Nynaeve is one who doesn’t like to give up control, I think she’s desperately holding on to that idea and that hope and want of protecting her people—her people specifically from the Two Rivers,” Robins said. “Where we see her at the end of season two, that ideal is being challenged massively because of where she finds herself and not being able to access the Power. Then looking around, she can see that her friends, a lot of them can protect themselves on their own. There’s quite a big crisis of confidence and we will then see her having to accept where she is and what life is throwing at her. I think Nynaeve’s whole journey basically is about acceptance, to be honest.”
You can watch the entirety of season two of The Wheel of Time on Prime Video now.
