But mostly, Rand's challenges are pretty huge (Forsaken, wars and the DO), whereas Egwene has basically tricked a bunch of old ladies. To her credit, I think she's been doing the right thing, but RJ and Sanderson just made her struggle too easy (mentally and emotionally that is: because she more or less ignores pain, it doesn't appear so severe. She never went through quite as much as Rand did, though her time in the cramped prison cell was good in that regard).

To be precise, I felt a bit like her struggle was forced into a weaker parallel of Rand's. Personal pain and torment, gathering allies, overthrowing the corrupt rulers, and applying her own sense of justice to situations rather than following the letter of the law.

I did love Elaida's character, she was well written as far as insane rulers go. Reminded me of Denethor from LotR, too strong to bend to the Shadow but too inflexible and weak to see how to effectively fight it.