Warning: This article includes spoilers for Wheel of Time season 1, episodes 1-3, and the identity of the Dragon Reborn in the Wheel of Time books.
The search for the Dragon Reborn has only just begun in Amazon’s Wheel of Time show and the series has already dropped a big hint about the character’s true identity. In the series, Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) has settled on four characters living in the Two Rivers village who could be the Dragon Reborn. To her, Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski), Mat Cauthon (Barney Harris), Perrin Aybara (Marcus Rutherford), and Egwene al’Vere (Madeleine Madden) are all potential candidates.
In both the Wheel of Time books and the TV adaptation, the Dragon Reborn is the prophesized reincarnation of a powerful male channeler of the One Power and the person responsible for a catastrophic event known as the Breaking of the World. At the end of the first book, The Eye of the World, it was discovered that Rand was the Dragon Reborn. As for the show’s interpretation of the story, the Dragon Reborn’s identity is a mystery to the main characters, and it’s not clear how long that will go on or how accurately the show will adapt this chapter in the saga. It’s already made a couple of notable changes to this, such as the reveal that the Dragon Reborn can be a woman, as well as the characters finding out right away about Moiraine’s secret mission.
A key scene in Wheel of Time season 1, episode 3 indicates that one thing the show won’t change is the Dragon Reborn’s identity. When Rand was trying to knock down the large door in the tavern, he was told by the Darkfriend that breaking it down would be impossible. Rand seemingly didn’t have the size or the physicality to pull it off, but managed the feat anyway, shocking the Darkfriend in the process. On the surface, this may have come across as a testament to Rand’s physical strength, but the show making a note of how impossible the task seemed suggests that it was actually a hint of something much bigger. Instead of just using brute force, it’s likely that Rand unknowingly channeled the One Power to destroy the door.
This is certainly something that a channeler could have accomplished. One of the five threads of the One Power is Air. By weaving flows of Air, a channeler can create powerful gusts of wind. Moiraine used it against the Trollocs in the series premiere, and this could very well be what Rand did in episode 3. Unlike women, men don’t have to be taught how to use the One Power, so Rand really could have unintentionally channeled the One Power and blew the door off its hinges.
Rand having the One Power would certainly solve the Dragon Reborn mystery. Of course, Egwene has it too, but her having One Power abilities means very little in regards to the Dragon Reborn prophecy, especially since most channelers in Wheel of Time’s world are female. The situation with men, on the other hand, is entirely different, as male channelers are incredibly rare. That’s why confirmation that Rand has the One Power would provide the answer to the Dragon Reborn mystery for audiences, just as it did for Moiraine in the Wheel of Time books. For now, Rand doesn’t seem to know what he did, but since one big clue has been dropped this early in the season, it may not be long before Rand or a different character puts the pieces of the puzzle together and figures out the unsettling truth about his destiny in Wheel of Time.