Maddy initially seems to be just a plot device in ‘Treason’ but an unpredictable plot twist makes her the protagonist of the show. Maggy is played by Oona Chaplin.
At first glance, Maddy seems to be nothing more than the wife of the protagonist, Adam; just another one of the insignificant female characters created to support the hero.
When Adam assumes the position of the chief of MI6, it becomes evident that Maddy’s character would definitely not be offering support to the hero; in fact, she might do the exact opposite.
A character aiding the plot
A plot device could be anything; it could be a character, an object, or a situation that furthers the plot. For the most part of the show, Maddy seems to be a plot device because she gets easily manipulated by her friend, Dede, who is a CIA agent.
Maddy used to be a soldier; she was posted in Afghanistan, where she met Dede. She is well aware that Dede is now a CIA agent who would do anything to rise through the ranks.
The fact that despite being a veteran, she unwittingly serves all the information regarding Adam’s activities on a silver platter to a CIA agent, who suddenly made a reappearance in her life the moment her husband becomes the chief, establishes her position as a plot device.
When her stepdaughter, Ella, gets kidnapped, Dede reveals her true motives. Maddy discovers that Dede is here because the CIA believes that her husband has been compromised.
Maddy agrees to do as Dede says in exchange for her help in finding Ella. She follows Adam, spies on him, and even plants a tracker in his wallet that would allow the CIA to trace his movements.
While it can be argued that her actions after Ella’s kidnapping are motivated by her desperation to save her child, Maddy being continuously manipulated by Dede even after Ella comes home safely makes no sense.
It is only when Maddy finds out that the CIA had kidnapped Ella that she decides to use Dede’s connections to find her children and Adam. This is the moment in which Maddy’s character shows that there is potential for her to be something more than a plot device.
Transformation into the protagonist
After finding Adam and the children, Maddy tries to make amends with Adam by being honest with him. When the assassin sent by Martin comes to kill Adam, Maddy and Kara save Adam’s life.
Unlike Adam and Kara, she is hesitant to kill the man, but she is forced to pull the trigger when the man does not give up. Killing a person takes a toll on her, but she pulls herself together for her family’s sake.
She tries to resolve the situation that she had a part in creating. She manages to meet Audrey Gratz and convince her to make a deal with her to get Adam immunity from prosecution.
When she goes to help Adam and Kara secure Martin’s files, she witnesses her husband getting murdered by Dede.
It now becomes Maddy’s responsibility to protect the family and clear Adam’s name. The odds seem to be against her when Gratz backs out of the deal. Maddy is ready to give up and run away with the children.
However, she decides to stay and fight with Kara. Maddy willingly becomes bait to lure out the real traitor.
She takes the files and goes to the meeting of the Commons Intelligence Committee, where Adam is labeled a traitor.
Outside the meeting room, she comes across Patrick, Adam’s friend and coworker. He offers his condolence and then asks her to give him the files, stating that Adam had promised to give them to him.
This time, Maddy, who has now learned her lesson, refuses to be manipulated. She catches his lie immediately and puts the pieces together, coming to the conclusion that Patrick is the traitor.
When he tries to snatch the files, she hits him and injures him. Furthermore, her presence in the meeting room encourages Gratz to speak up and reveal the truth. Maddy proves that Adam is not the traitor but the person who lost his life in the service of his country.
After clearing Adam’s name, Maddy must face life as a single mother. Putting her grief aside, she decides to be there for her children.
Adam’s death shifts the focus of the show from Adam to Maddy. With Adam gone, Maddy forces Martin, who believed Adam to be the traitor, to confront his own failures, an action that would have been performed by Adam, the protagonist.
She ties up all the loose ends. Her character development is evident in the scene where she threatens Dede. She promises to come after her career to avenge her husband’s death.
The spotlight is on her character in the last episode, and she assumes the hero’s mantle. Adam’s death was not the only twist that the show had in store. Maddy’s transformation was another surprise that no one saw coming.