The Big Picture

Rand and Lanfear’s complicated relationship continues in Season 3, says Wheel of Time’s Josha Stradowski, now that she’s revealed herself as “a friend of the Devil.” The balance between Rand’s Two Rivers upbringing and his Dragon Reborn persona is a gradual journey affected by the people surrounding him. Season 3 of The Wheel of Time will reveal more glimpses of what Rand can become, and Stradowski says he’s aware of where the character ends up in the story.

We’re further out now from The Wheel of Time’s Season 2 finale, but given everything that goes down over the course of that epic episode, we knew we needed the help of some of the show’s cast to unpack it all. Not only does Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) finally proclaim himself as the Dragon Reborn (with an assist from Rosamund Pike’s Moiraine), but we finally get to see the Two Rivers group reunited — overlooking the city of Falme in the aftermath of a big battle between Seanchan, Whitecloaks, Aiel, and… is that a new Forsaken (Laia Costa) hiding in the shadows?

Although there’s still a while to go before the much-anticipated third season drops, that leaves us with ample time to circle back over Season 2’s biggest moments — and throughout this week, we’ll have some of The Wheel of Time’s most recognizable faces to provide their thoughts on what their characters faced (as well as hint at what’s to come). Stradowski sat down with Collider via Zoom for a spoiler-filled interview discussing some of his character’s most important relationships — including his complicated connection with Lanfear (Natasha O’Keeffe) and that promising beginning with Elayne (Ceara Coveney). He also discussed his awareness of where Rand is heading as well as the balance of his Two Rivers and Dragon personas, and may have dropped a few hints about what Season 3 will have in store…

The Wheel of Time Set in a high fantasy world where magic exists, but only some can access it, a woman named Moiraine crosses paths with five young men and women. This sparks a dangerous, world-spanning journey. Based on the book series by Robert Jordan. Release Date November 19, 2021 Creator Rafe Judkins Main Genre Fantasy Genres Fantasy , Sci-Fi Rating TV-14 Seasons 3

Rand and Lanfear’s Complicated Relationship Continues in Season 3
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COLLIDER: I’m glad we can finally get into spoiler territory. Just diving into the Selene/Lanfear storyline, it seems like such a crucial emotional relationship for Rand. Here’s this woman he thought that he had a connection with, but her reveal doesn’t negate the complexity of that relationship either, later on. I would love to know about working with Natasha [O’Keeffe] and how you two wanted to play that early period in their relationship when Rand thought she was one person before she revealed herself as someone else.

JOSHA STRADOWSKI: I love those first scenes with Rand and Selene because they felt very honest. I was also very happy that we shot it in chronological order — so I met Selene as Selene, and though they couldn’t say everything to each other, and they knew they both had secrets, what they had did feel real. She didn’t know everything about him, but it did still feel like she fully understood him. And then comes the reveal, and that is that she is a friend of the Devil, and that makes it very, very complicated. That keeps going even into Season 3. She’s still in the story, and I’m very excited for people to see that.

Even though Lanfear is clearly going into this with a mission of her own, she’s still telling Rand things about herself and opening up to him in ways that maybe she didn’t expect. So even in Tel’aran’rhiod, you see there’s a tension. How does that relationship change Rand’s perception of his own power and his approach to romance in the future? How is this going to shape him heading into Season 3?

STRADOWSKI: I think Rand and Lanfear, their relationship showed them different parts. It revealed different parts of themselves. So for Rand, it’s that she shows him the darker parts in him, but it’s not only that, it’s also that he shows her the light parts in her, and that leaves room for a possible future, maybe. She is the only one who understands Rand, it seems, even though he’s with his friends at the start of Season 3, so that is something that Rand will explore. I’d love to get into that, but…

Josha Stradowksi Knows Where Rand Will End Up in ‘The Wheel of Time’
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In Season 2, you see the shift in Rand from Season 1 — not just the shaving of the head, which feels like a physical leaving behind of the Rand that was, but the emotional journey that he goes on. How do you balance Rand’s Two Rivers upbringing and perspective of the world with the Dragon Reborn persona and a greater acceptance of his power in your performance?

STRADOWSKI: That’s a very gradual thing. I’m aware of where he ends up, but I’m also very aware of where he came from, and I think it also depends on who he’s with. For me, Season 2, but also Season 3, it’s a lot of fun because every character brings something else out of him.

Some are like a father figure, some are more like brothers, some are more like sisters, some are more love relationships, and that is, I think, a real struggle. He needs to become the most dangerous man alive, but he’s also with people who shared his first birthday party with him, who know his dad, they played games when they were little, and all that kind of stuff. So that’s a very complicated thing to get to this image, to the symbol, to this prophesied warrior, and then also be reminded that you are also that shepherd. But that’s also the fun bit for me as an actor, and I’m very excited that in Season 3 we get to see more of those glimpses of what he can become.

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I’ve been reading the books, as well, and I think that’s one of the sadder parts of Rand’s journey, as you see how he’s viewed through other characters, and the sadness of them reconciling their memories of him with the person that he now is kind of forced to become. Speaking of love relationships, though, I talked to Ceara and Rafe about Rand and Elayne’s first meeting. What was important to capture in hinting at what this relationship is going to be, as well as the surprise of that connection? It feels like these are two people looking at each other for the first time and thinking, “You’re going to be someone special.”

STRADOWSKI: Yes. And that’s what I take away, quite often, from the books as well. I have that with Selene, for example. There are a lot of moments where Rand can’t get a word out of his mouth because he’s so in shock at the beauty of this woman in front of him — and we didn’t really have that with Selene, not like that in the TV show, but we did have it for Elayne. It’s, like you said, a hint of what it could be, but I feel like it’s subtle. It’s a gradual thing which needs to be organic, and we might have some of that in Season 3, but I can’t spoil that.

Josha Stradowski Is Looking Forward to More Swordplay in Season 3
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I talked to Daniel [Henney] as well, and one of the things that we touched on was something in the books that the show hasn’t been able to get to yet. In the final fight with the Seanchan, Rand uses the One Power, and it seems the implication there was a desire to prepare Rand a bit more in swordfighting before he busts out all these moves. Lan training Rand is something that I think fans are excited to see, so I’ll ask you the same question that I asked Daniel: can we look forward to that in Season 3?

STRADOWSKI: What did Daniel say?

He said he’s back on the Warder diet, but then he also referenced your recent Instagram post and said that he needs to trim up to stand next to you.

STRADOWSKI: Well, you can tell him I’m on the Dragon diet. Like you said, I’m also very excited to finally see some Lan/Rand swordfighting. I think it’s time.

Both seasons of The Wheel of Time are available to stream on Prime Video.

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