Magda is introduced as a cold woman. From the Pilot onwards, she is shown telling Petra what to do, meddling with Petra's marriage troubles with Rafael, and suggesting trickery and schemes to solve problems.

She calls Petra a 'selfish girl', telling her that she 'whored herself out' to Roman and generally berates her. When she's revealed to not be paraplegic, it is the start of an ongoing theme that Magda keeps secrets from Petra.

As the series progresses, Magda only reveals an increasing ability to commit awful acts, culminating in her first murder (that we know of) of Ivan Rogachevsky. Following this event, she has taken to openly threatening her own daughter.