When The Wheel of Time Season 3 premieres tomorrow on Prime Video, fans of Robert Jordan’s epic fantasy series will finally get see some of their favorite iconic scenes from the books brought to life. They’ll get to meet the august Queen Morgase of Andor (Olivia Williams) and her slippery Aes Sedai advisor Elaida (Shohreh Aghdashloo). Mat Cauthon (Dónal Finn) will get to play a round of the classic Aiel game of “Maiden’s Kiss.” Oh, and Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) will finally — finally — get to practice sword forms with Lan Mandragoran (Daniel Henney).
Although we’ve seen Lan practice his sword forms in seasons past, the moment where the swordmaster guides young Rand al’Thor through the basics is something of a pivotal sequence in Jordan’s books. It’s a bonding moment for the two characters. Lan steps in as a trusted confidant and advisor for the overwhelmed young man from the Two Rivers and Rand, in turn, begins to show his commitment to preparing himself in every way possible for the Last Battle.
Because it’s a small scene, it’s easy to understand why Wheel of Time showrunner Rafe Judkins didn’t make room for it earlier in the story, where Jordan placed it. However, because it’s so emotionally meaningful, many fans have been clamoring for it for years. Wheel of Time star Daniel Henney is one of those fans.
“I’ve been looking forward to it for so long and to finally have those scenes has been very rewarding,” Henney told DECIDER.
For Henney, the sequence wasn’t just about bringing Lan and Rand’s relationship to life, but honoring what he and co-star Josha Stradowski have been through together.
“It’s strangely like art imitating life,” Henney said. “Josha and I have grown together, this is our sixth year knowing each other. I’ve seen him grow up. He was very young when he started and he’s just such an amazing actor and he’s grown so much.”
As Henney continued to heap praise upon Stradowski, the parallels between the actors and their characters seemed to only compound. In just three seasons, Rand has gone from naive farmboy to the Dragon Reborn. Stradowski, in turn, steps up in Season 3, firmly asserting himself as a captivating leading man.
“He has so much to do. It’s such a heavy load for an actor. Rand is such a large character and so important, and he’s doing such a wonderful job. So I’m so proud of him,” Henney said. “And just spending that one on one time on camera with him was so much fun.”
Prime Video has used footage and photos of the Lan/Rand scene in trailers and promotional materials, so it’s not a spoiler to say that it’s indeed happening — and in the batch of episodes set to debut on Prime Video tomorrow, March 13.
The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time premiere on Prime Video on Thursday, March 13.