Warning: This article contains spoilers for Wheel of Time season 1, episode 8.
Rand’s decision in The Wheel of Time season finale could be what paves the way for the show to deliver his missing story. An important event from the first Wheel of Time book, The Eye of the World, was notably skipped in season 1 – but can still happen. A choice made by Rand in the finale could allow the show to move it to season 2 without creating too many issues for his next major storyline.
Wheel of Time incorporated several important developments from Rand’s Eye of the World journey. Like his book counterpart, Rand met Loial in a library, watched a laughing Logain get paraded around by the Aes Sedai, and discovered a startling truth about his birth during the Trolloc attack. That being said, Rand’s story in season 1 wasn’t exactly a faithful adaptation to Robert Jordan’s books. The series admittedly took multiple liberties with the source material. One of the biggest changes it made was how it dropped its Dragon Reborn reveal and the way Rand handled it. Instead of hearing it directly from the Amyrlin Seat in Fal Dara, Rand figured it out on his own and told Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) to let his friends think he’s dead.
While it’s true that Rand wasn’t supposed to go off on his own at the end of the Eye of the World, Wheel of Time moving in this direction can allow the series to make up for skipping Rand’s trip to the capital city of Andor, Caemlyn. In the book, Rand and Mat rendezvoused with the rest of their group in Caemlyn, not Tar Valon. As a result of his efforts to get a peek at Logain, Rand fell over a wall and landed in the gardens of the royal palace. This was how he met Elayne Trakand, the daughter-heir of Andor and one of his three major love interests. By isolating Rand from the group and sending him away from Fal Dara, Wheel of Time may have laid the groundwork for Rand’s Caemlyn story to finally happen.
Going to Caemlyn and meeting Elayne came with new headaches for Rand. Being inside the palace and in the company of the daughter-heir earned him the unwanted attention of the palace guards, an Aes Sedai of the Red Ajah, and Queen Morgase herself. On top of all that, Rand’s unplanned visit to the palace provided the introductions of several characters – aside from Elayne – who went on to play vital roles in the books that followed. Queen Morgase, the Red Ajah’s Elaida, Galad (Elayne’s step-brother), Gawyn (Elayne’s biological brother), Captain-General Gareth Byrne, and Guardsman-Lieutenant Martyn Tallanvor all factored heavily into future stories.
If the show had adhered to the books’ timeline, viewers would already be familiar with Elayne and all the other characters tied to the Andorian royal family. However, it could be that there wasn’t room for such a substantial pitstop or another new location in Wheel of Time’s eight-episode first season. But since Elayne has been cast for season 2, it’s likely that the time for her introduction is arriving soon. In fact, meeting her in Caemlyn could be the first thing Rand will do when the show returns.
In the books, Rand was among those who participated in the hunt for Padan Fain and the Horn of Valere after returning from the Eye of the World. It’s possible that The Wheel of Time sent Rand off alone in the finale to give him time for a short, solo adventure. Once Rand crosses paths with the Andorian royal family at Caemlyn, the show can put him back on his correct course.