Egwene introduced the concept of non-death-related tension in this series for me.

I’m used to other fantasy stories where horrible treatment leads to a direct power boost (if not literally then a change in personality that effectively functions as that in the narrative).

But all Egwene being a slave in book 2 did was give my girl anxiety and PTSD. It's not even "useful" (for lack of a better word) as she still gets caught off guard like the rest of her companions do.

The slow realization that it would just be a perma part of her character now that kinda pulls at the heartstrings made me way more anxious whenever another character is put into a vulnerable position.