The Wheel of Time Turns, I Just Didn’t Want to Admit That

I’m about to spoil episode 7 of The Wheel of Time. If you do not want to see spoilers for this week’s episode of Wheel of Time, do not continue until after you have watched it. This is your final warning.

Spoilers ahead …

You still here? Cool. I’m going to first preface with, I love The Wheel of Time. The show is so great on so many levels that I could easily gush about just that.

But I’m not going to.

Before I get into it, though, I’m going to start with: I don’t care how this is set up in the books, I don’t care about what kind of characterization is given to the character, and I don’t care what set up this revelation pays off. We’re talking the TV show, which is an adaptation, not a continuation, so it should be able to stand on its own.

Good?

So let’s talk about Dragons Reborn and why if we are going to be honest with ourselves, Rand was exactly who it was going to be from episode 1, and how disappointing that is.

Rand had a lot of indicators from the word go that held up huge signs saying “Here’s your Dragon Reborn! Come and get him!”

• He may not be from the town he was raised in (this comes later)
• Raised with a woodsy kind of upbringing
• Attention paid to a sword Dad pulls out from hiding under the bed
• The general “look” of a pretty standard hero (you know I’ll be coming back to this)
• Doomed love
• He’s stronger than the average dude (this comes later)

The hallmarks of “Here is your Big Hero” were all there.

The problem, though, is that Rand is, in the first 7 episodes, one of the worst developed characters in the show. His motivations have been, love Egwene, be mad at Egwene, pine after Egwene, and look after Matt. The latter is the best part of his character thus far but took up the least amount of his character development.

So, I said I don’t care how Rand is set up in the books, and that still holds true. I don’t care. I haven’t read the books. I’m watching the show and we’re talking about the show. I have a horrible feeling that most of the points I listed above are easier to recognize and understand IF you read the books.

But again, this is the show. In the show, this reveal is not earned for this character. It doesn’t feel like Rand should be the Dragon Reborn. It feels like they’re telling me that Rand is the Dragon Reborn. As much as I love the show, I am going to tell you now, that gives me big pause because this is not a small problem.

The Problem with TV Diversity

I warned you we’d be talking about this.

One of the things I absolutely love about WoT is the diversity of the cast and characters. It is great to see protagonists on the screen who are not just a bunch of white kids. It’s even better that these characters get given the kind of weight, importance, and development that protagonists should have. For the world-building, the diversity also helps the world feel lived in and huge. The show limits exposition to when it’s needed, which is very good. See Folding Ideas Chronicles of Riddick for just how powerful this can be for creating a world that feels real.

But … with lack of Telling means that you have to be fully devoted to the Showing. It also means that when something you’re showing is a clue to the mystery that you’re putting out there, you have to give some kind of context for your viewer to recognize the clue and put it together. It means that you have to interject just enough Telling to make what you’re Showing make sense.

What does this have to do with the diversity element of the show? If you’re going to reveal that among a diverse cast, the Big Hero is the white guy with light hair … you need that to not feel like it’s because he’s the white guy with light hair.

From the first episode, I have been afraid that the white guy with light hair was going to be the Dragon Reborn, and nothing up to Episode 7 made me confident that he had earned that.

Let’s Talk about Planting and Payoff

Do you remember the indicators I talked about above? Maybe they were set up in the books, but those things were not planted well enough for the TV viewer to catch why they matter over the things we have learned about other characters. Why does woodsy-ness matter above being able to calm oneself and match flow with the river? Why does a sword matter over obviously being connected to the wolves? Why does devotion to Matt matter more than Matt’s devotion to his sisters?

Why is being able to break down a reinforced door better than FREAKING HEALING EVERYONE AROUND YOU FROM NEAR DEATH?

These questions are why planting in a way that makes sense matters, even when and especially when you’re playing with a mystery.

When the Trollocs attacked, the Sword was planted (In a Trolloc’s back!). No, but seriously, it was planted for us that this sword mattered somehow. Dad pulls it out from a hidden place, uses it as a skilled fighter, and Rand is surprised by both of these things.

It’s planted for us a couple of times that maybe Rand isn’t actually from the Two Rivers like he believes himself to be.

In Episode 7, we’re given the payoff. The Sword his dad had is what the seer saw in her Prophecy, part of what marks the rebirth of the Dragon. We learn that Rand was born not in the Two Rivers but at some winter battle on presumably a mountain to a woman who was so kick-ass that she was slaying men while giving birth.

I’m not going to lie. Mom was freaking epic. I LOVED that battle because, like, what are you made of that you can fight like you own the place while you’re in labor?

But if you didn’t read the books and you’re not into getting spoilers for the show by looking up information, then you don’t know why the planted things build to the payoff. Until the seer talks about the Sword, I had no idea what his Dad’s sword was supposed to be tied to or why that tie could be important.

I can’t even tell you the name of the place (it started with an A) that people thought Rand was from, much less why it might matter that it was important the maybe Rand wasn’t actually FROM the Two Rivers.

Those things were planted. Their story elements, however, were not set up. These things could have been used to develop Rand’s character. But they weren’t. They were abandoned for a love story that, I’m going to be honest, doesn’t make Rand look like a very good character. When he “lets Egwene go” so she can apprentice to the Wisdom, it doesn’t feel like he’s respecting her as a person.

The way he broods about it and the way he’s so clearly angry with her later … it comes off as he accepted she wasn’t going to be his baby-maker. And before you try to say something to me about that feeling, I’ll point you to the vision the seer has at the Tavern when she’s looking at the kids for Moiraine.

So yeah, up to the end of Episode 7, Rand’s primary characterization has centered not around his devotion to his friends, but his pining after Egwene. Even the fight about Egwene “abandoning Matt” felt hollow because devotion to his friends was never what his development centered on. Remember, he doesn’t decide to continue to the White Tower because he thinks everyone will be there.

He decides to because Egwene will be there (and remember she thinks that he would have gone home and it’s actually Perrin who convinces her otherwise).

Sure, he’s devoted to Matt’s safety for a couple of episodes. But Rand isn’t the villain. He’s not going to abandon Matt when his friend obviously needs him.

The lead was buried too deeply.

My hope is that with the mystery revealed, the showrunners will take time to make Rand EARN being the Big Hero of the story. But I’m not going to hold my breath on that. The way that we’re brought here doesn’t leave me confident that will happen. Instead, I’ll just enjoy the diversity and the depth in the rest of the cast. Rand will probably stay as poorly developed as he is now. The showrunners went with “He’s fated” as being justification for him getting here, and I have little doubt that will continue on as his defining character trait.

And here is the real pisser. As a woman who is currently working on an epic fantasy where the protagonist with a fated destiny is a woman, and a lesbian at that … well, let’s just say that I would never get away with pulling for Kathryn what these showrunners pulled with Rand.