The Rainmaker‘s Madison Iseman broke down how Sarah’s assault will have a lasting impact on her journey.
During an October episode of the USA Network series, Sarah continued to explore her connection with Brad (Wade Briggs) after her split from Rudy (Milo Callaghan). Things were going well until Brad started to choke Sarah during sex without her consent.
“It’s a very important moment in Sarah’s story. Finally [earlier in the episode], we see Sarah start to gather more information that she hasn’t had. Rudy has had a plethora of information. Sarah is being fed information from Rudy, being fed information from her law firm. At the same time she’s being manipulated and being told [in the workplace],” Iseman, 28, exclusively told Us Weekly. “She’s at a crossroads at this moment, where she starts to gain all this information.”
Sarah’s experience at work ultimately played a role in her personal life.
“With Brad, there’s a bit of a power play where she knows she’s a small fish woman in a male-led law firm. She knows her place and she knows what she needs to do to get on top. Some people might have an issue with that but I think she’s smart and she wants to win,” Iseman explained. “In the same way that Brad is playing her, she’s playing Brad a bit. In the beginning [at least] and then they start to help each other out. She starts to lean into it and starts to trust him — especially when Rudy starts to fall off and their relationship falls to shambles.”
She continued: “She finally falls under Brad’s spell after he’s giving her all the information that she’s asked for. But then there’s that one episode where he flips a switch and we see his true colors. At that moment, she knows enough information where she probably should leave the case and leave the law firm. But I think at that moment she knows if she goes then Brad wins.”
Ahead of the season finale, Iseman teased where Sarah goes from here.
“After this assault takes place, she’s not willing to let him win. Maybe there’s a world in the show where if this never happened — if Brad never assaulted Sarah — she would maybe go,” she noted. “She would maybe pick the high road and she would maybe say, ‘No, this is not for me.’ But because of the position Brad puts her in, she’s not willing to back down and not willing to let these toxic men win and so she’s going to pick the dark side and manipulate the manipulator.”
Based on John Grisham‘s 1995 novel of the same name, The Rainmaker follows young lawyer Rudy, who is fired from his prestigious white-collar firm and signs on with small-time ambulance chaser Bruiser. Rudy subsequently faces off against his former boss in court. The book was adapted into a movie by Francis Ford Coppola in 1997 starring Mickey Rourke and Matt Damon.
USA Network’s version of The Rainmaker features several changes from the book and movie — including more screen time devoted to characters including Sarah.
“When I first read for Sarah, I very much knew who she was in the beginning of the show. I felt very, very close to her. As I read episode to episode, I was just so impressed by the complexity of her character and what she goes through,” Iseman shared with Us. “It’s very interesting to tap into young women who make questionable decisions even though some people might disagree with a lot of the decisions that Sarah makes.”
She added: “As an actor, those are the stories that are more fun to tell. I like trying to find this young and innocent woman who’s so naive about life and the world of law and justice and where the corruption takes her and why she makes the decisions that she does. Even from episode 1. I was able to start spreading the seeds of why she does what she does.”
The Rainmaker airs on USA Network Fridays at 10 p.m. ET.
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