‘The Wheel of Time’ Star Josha Stradowski Defends Changes to the Rand/Selene Storyline from the Books: “All the Characters Matured”

The first three episodes of The Wheel of Time Season 2 reveal that Rand al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) might have left his friends from the Two Rivers behind, but he’s hardly going it alone. Instead of leaning on the guidance of the Aes Sedai Moiraine Damodred (Rosamund Pike), Rand is cozying up to a beautiful innkeeper named Selene (Natasha O’Keeffe). We don’t know much about the older woman, but she certainly is savvy about the ins and outs of Cairhien. (And how to get in and out of Rand’s room.)

This relationship — and Rand’s prolonged detour working at a psychiatric hospital in the city — is a noteworthy departure from Robert Jordan’s books, where Rand stumbles upon the mysterious Selene in a far more fantastic location. In Robert Jordan’s The Great Hunt, Rand and his friends Loial and Hurin are transported to an alternate world where Rand rescues Selene from a monster. She joins the group for a time and later Rand rediscovers her in Cairhein. In the Prime Video show, however, there is no magical netherworld. Rather, Rand is just shacking up with Selene on the outskirts of the city.

Some fans might be disappointed that the show version of Selene is a far more grounded figure, but Wheel of Time star Josha Stradowski welcomed the changes. In an interview conducted before the SAG-AFTRA strike, Stradowski said, “I remember from the books that the only thing Rand says about beautiful women is that they are so, so beautiful. And that’s the only thing he thinks [about Selene]. He’s like, ‘Oh, she’s beautiful. How am I able to say something to her?'”

In the show version of the Rand/Selene romance, their connection seems forged by their ability to open up to one another. “So I like that in Season 2…I feel like all the characters matured. And that relationship, too, was great because Rand is trying to live life without getting close to anyone,” Stradowski said before pointing out that Rand’s new place of employment is one of the only places he can be close to another soul.

“I feel like that is inside of those walls that is like the only place where Rand can be himself. Once he goes out, he has to hide himself again, because he is the Dragon, a man who can channel, and that means you go even more mad than people inside of those walls,” Stradowski said. “But I feel like that’s a very, very lonely thing.”

“He has the feeling he doesn’t belong, that he can’t belong. But he’s still human… But I feel like, bit by bit, the light is slowly breaking through the clouds. And Selene is one of those characters [breaking through].”

Selene isn’t just there for Rand as a companion, but she also facilitates a little adventure into the heart of Cairhein for the farm boy from the Two Rivers. When Rand learns he’ll need a special vintage of wine to get Logain (Álvaro Morte) to open up to him, Selene suits him up in a red and gold jacket to sneak into an upper class shindig to filch the wine. The costume change is a clever nod to the red and gold jacket that Rand wears throughout the book series, but Stradowski felt it made the character feel uncomfortable.

“Well, I felt like when he was wearing it in the show, it didn’t feel like him. It felt like he was really uncomfortable in that jacket,” Stradowski said, before acknowledging its significance to the fans. “I know that’s one of the images that’s out there because of the books, and I feel like [costume designer] Sharon [Gilham] really did an amazing job on that coat.”

“It’s almost a pity that he didn’t wear it more. I wonder where that jacket is now,” Stradowski wondered.

“Could be in your apartment, isn’t it?” Wheel of Time co-star Rosamund Pike, who was sitting in with Stradowski, asked.

“Yeah, but I’m not gonna say that, obviously,” he replied. “But so, yeah, that’s one of the things that are in the books. And now we’re shooting Season 3 at the moment. And it’s, like I just said, it’s very nice to have the source material that you can just get ideas from.”

“There was a book cover with Rand in a shirt, and I really liked that shirt. And I was waiting for a moment where it would make sense. And in Season 3, I found a moment where it would and Sharon has made it and it looks really cool. So I can’t wait for the fans to see that,” Stradowski teased.

Now fans get to wonder which book cover Stradowski was referencing and which shirt it might be…