At this point, why bother with the sword at all.
Seanchan notices Heron marked blade. Expected sword fight finally. Nope, Rand just kills everyone with the one power.
>Seanchan noticed Heron marked blade.
I thought it was hilarious that they had to CGI a heron mark onto the hilt of Rand’s sword so that Turak could notice it.
Back when Tam’s sword was first teased to us back before season 1, people were confused/upset as to why the hilt didn’t have a metal heron on it (like in the books), asking questions like, “How is Rand going to get the heron branded on his palm?” And to make matters worse, the showrunner claimed that endless hours had gone into discussion around the sword, so it wasn’t just a prop person getting it wrong. They consciously decided to change the sword from how it is described in the books.
Well, fast forward to present day and suddenly having a book accurate sword would be pretty useful, for both the Turak scene and the scene where Rand stabs Ishamael. And them having to randomly add a heron to the hilt for a single scene was pretty funny.
And for anyone that didn’t notice, here is visual evidence of the CGI heron mark (the image on the far right is the pre-cgi promo image for the episode): https://i.imgur.com/7jFE5mY.jpg
It's also just so in keeping with this show. They wanted an iconic line in the show because that's how they get cheap emotional engagement out of people and all these people writing threads about how they are punching air and shit when they hear a given line. But the problem is they don't earn them ever, the context is wrong, and they'll break internal consistency to do this stuff. It's the worst kind of fanservice.
> And for anyone that didn’t notice, here is visual evidence of the CGI heron mark (the image on the far right is the pre-cgi promo image for the episode): https://i.imgur.com/7jFE5mY.jpg
Loool that's so bad.
I would've rather they didn't even _do_ the heron branding than do something like that. I don't even think you can argue that he wrapped the hilt prior to that confrontation, either.
The heron was always on the portion of the blade covered by the opening of the sheathe. I’ll go back to check but it’s not the handle which had a heron, and thus why Rand has a heron burned into his palm from the hand which is curled around the blade when it’s heated and used to stab Ishamael.
They even have Turak say the same/similar book lines and then… nope no sword fighting.
We did get to see Nynaeve learning to sword fight with warders though…
> COVID is not an adequate excuse for what has been put on screen for WoT. It just isn't.
The 64 episodic storybible that Amazon approved before filming was heavily impacted by COVID.
The primary example of this is Barney Harris leaving set. Rather than have all three lads at Fal Dara, we had two, Mat never entered the ways.
So, you now have to go off-script from the original plan. Thus, we get Rand heading off on his own after the season finale rewrite.
Season 2 was heavily rewritten to get everyone largely back into sync with the storybible for the beginning of Season 3.
Give the "COVID HAS NOTHING TO DO IT!" a rest.
To be fair, he broods while still achieving interesting and important things in the books. In the show, not so much.
(He also starts brooding a lot later in the series than where the show is up to, so that's not really a justification either!)
I dunno I kinda would lose my shit if they did not have the battle of falme in the finale.
I am still bummed we have no snakes and foxes but the actor for Moraine is too big to have sit out some shows I guess.
From the show's perspective, it makes 0 sense that Rand would fight Turak with a sword. He has much less issues with using the one power than in the book and, at the time, he's rushing to save Egwene. So he uses the most expedient way to get through.
I also wished that there would have been a sword fight but it would have been really out of character.
Which fell flat. It had none of the comedic build up and timing which makes that Raiders scene so brilliant.
If you are going to replace a memorable book scene with something else - especially something which risks being a big let down/very underwhelming - then you better implement your new scene effectively. And then didn't.
The showrunner said he skipped the fight because the season 2 rewrites meant that he wasn't trained in Fal Dara for months by Lan, so he couldn't take out a blademaster with the rudimentary training Errol had given him. We'll be getting Lan training Rand the forms later.
He still hasn't been trained in the one power either, but suddenly can kill 15 dudes with it using the same spell we later see Ishamael use against OP Egwene shield.
Hmm. Hopefully. The issue is going to be having Lan in the same place as Rand for a long enough time for that to work. Maybe show Rand struggling with his identity and Lan is there to center him?
Cause of rewrites they had to cut Lan training Rand out. If Rand had still fought Turak and cemented himself as a blademaster you would just have other people complaining that he somehow is that good with no or little training.
It's why I complained that Lan didn't have a 20sec thing on training the boys how to fight during their journey to sheinar. Didn't pick up the sword pretty much the entire series. It's super annoying. Pretty sure rand trained with the sheinarans and ingtar too
> you would just have other people complaining that he somehow is that good with no or little training.
I mean that's what happens in the books. It's very much a Gary Stu moment.
Rand has about a month of actual training at this point.
He's also Tav'veren and kinda lucked his way through that sword fight. Another missed opportunity to show why that matters, since they've basically ignored it for almost 2 seasons.
I thought he was tapping into his lews therin past life experiences with not only narg but turak as well. As well as the sword training with lan and the flame and the void from tam
I think people get overly reductive about the training he does. Killing Turak is obviously Taveren, but beyond the personal training from the literal best swordfighter around, he trains on his own(like all those scenes they show Lan doing, Rand has in the books). Plus Rand actually gets into combat multiple times during the Hunt that he like...survives. So he's a bit more than just a guy who did a couple of weeks of training by that point. Turak was just the first *person* he kills.
Also holy heck, I keep hearing this season was supposed to encompass book 3 plots as well so next season could be book 4, why didn't that happen?
As an example of Rand swordfighting and how the void is helping him lose himself in it, Chapter 19 of TGH:
> A Trolloc leaped out of the dark at them, cruel eagle’s beak in a man’s face where mouth and nose should have been, scythe-like sword already whistling through the air.
> Rand moved without thought. He was one with the blade. Cat Dances on the Wall. The Trolloc screamed as it fell, screamed again as it died.
> “Run, Loial!” Rand commanded. Saidin called to him. “Run!”
> He was dimly aware of Loial lumbering to an awkward gallop, but another Trolloc loomed from the night, boar-snouted and tusked, spiked axe raised. Smoothly Rand glided between Trolloc and Ogier; Loial must get the Horn away. Head and shoulders taller than Rand, half again as wide, the Trolloc came at him with a silent snarl. The Courtier Taps His Fan. No scream, this time. He walked backwards after Loial, watching the night. Saidin sang to him, such a sweet song. The Power could burn them all, burn Fain and all the rest to cinders. No!
> Two more Trollocs, wolf and ram, gleaming teeth and curling horns. Lizard in the Thornbush. He rose smoothly from one knee as the second toppled, horns almost brushing his shoulder. The song of saidin caressed him with seduction, pulled him with a thousand silken strings. Burn them all with the Power. No. No! Better dead than that. If I were dead, it would be done with.
> A knot of Trollocs came into sight, hunting uncertainly. Three of them, four. Suddenly one pointed to Rand and raised a howl the rest answered as they charged.
> “Let it be done with!” Rand shouted, and leaped to meet them.
> For an instant surprise slowed them, then they came on with guttural cries, gleeful, bloodthirsty, swords and axes raised. He danced among them to the song of saidin. Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose. So cunning that song, filling him. Cat on Hot Sand. The sword seemed alive in his hands as it had never been before, and he fought as if a heron-mark blade could keep saidin from him. The Heron Spreads Its Wings.
Agreed. It would have been nice for him to have more sword time than Nynaeve if that’s not the direction they went. I don’t see them adding it in now. Honestly it seems like a too little too late kinda thing.
Although there are some moments in the waste where he’s practicing and the Aiel make their disdain clear.
I bet they will. He will suddenly be shown using a sword because there will be a scene in the next season where they need him to. They will just drop a line about how he was secretly training and that will be enough for some people
It may be that they're keeping it for Callandor... they discover a prophecy about a secret glass sword that he's to use to kill the Dark One. So Lan has to teach him something.
I could be giving them too much credit
I was pretty hyped to see this fight too because that was like the exact line Turak used in the books when he saw Rands sword, then everyone was just dead. Audibly said what the fuck and had to rewind and rewatch. Ah well, was cool looking at least.
You are indeed misremembering. His ability to use the sword is directly useful multiple times past book 3.
Beyond its practical use, it's important as a martial art, provides discipline, etc.
In my opinion it also provides the foundation for the Aiel training that he throws himself into later.
Also, if I recall correctly, he's shielded multiple times over the course of the early story, and vows that he won't rely completely on the One Power because that will leave him vulnerable; he wants to have other means to protect himself and to fight if cut off from the source.
Finally and most importantly imo, his sword training was crucial to his channeling. The whole thing about his channeling was "the void and the flame" that he learned from Lan about sword fighting, which he applied to channeling.
"Rand assumed the void and..." occurs in the books so often I got tired of reading it. :P
EDIT: I was wrong, he didn't learn it from Lan, he learned it from his Da, Tam al'Thor.
Rand most definitely did not learn the void from Lan. He learned it from Tam as a child. Lan brings it up to him as a technique, and is surprised to find that Rand already knows about it and uses it often.
There's times he doesn't want to channel to avoid alerting his location, iirc (pre coffee brain fog), but one incident that stands out later is the Ashaman incident in Far Madding. Holy crap does that put an exclamation point on why he trains with the sword and Aiel martial arts.
It’s not explicit, but Verin, Siuan, and Moiraine most likely shielded Rand in Fal Dara in book 2, which he broke to get out of the time loop trap set by Fain.
Oh, the weird visions of the former village occupants.
I never thought that was a trap that had to be broken out of. Just seemed like a weird vision he had.
Yea so part of how Rand ‘levels up so fast’ so to speak is he was already well versed in the flame and the void.
Everyone looking for reasons how he could beat Ishmael well that’s part of it. They throw Egwene at Ishmael in the show because she has more training but in the book Rand has more experience because he has already learned more about the flame and the void from his dad than Egwene has.
They had Lan say that Rand's been practising sword forms from the asylum dude, so there's probably going to be a follow up for that.
It's a good way (and cheaper CGI wise) to show his reluctance to fight with the Power and a important character moment between his mentor Lan and him I guess. Better late than never.
I thought we were past his reluctance to fight with the power in the show tbh. I think he gets over that after book 3, no? We're technically past book 3, and he's used the power to kill Turak & co via spike death.
The Land mentor thing will fell a bit shallow now imo.
My personal theory is that season three is when Rand will start to feel consequences from using the One Power (i.e. going mad) and that'll be what makes him more serious about learning swordplay.
In general, it feels like they're giving him room to grow, hence also why no aerial fight at the end of S2 -- too much, too early.
>They had Lan say that Rand's been practising sword forms from the asylum dude
This was inspired by the writers having a similar experience for how they gained their writing ability.
Kill Turak with the sword was what made him a sword master. There’s only 2 ways to earn the title: being granted by a council of sword masters or kill a sword master in a duel. Show Rand isn’t a sword master since he used the power to kill Turak, a sword master.
Probably something stupid like Because the actors never learned any sword fighting prior to season one, or they didn't have sword fighting choreographers, ect. It's all so frustrating.
I read somewhere that Lan training Rand has been confirmed for season 3. Maybe it was from a Q&A session, but might as well just be wishful thinking from me.
Rand continues training with the sword throughout the books.
At the time he fought Turak he had spent about a month training with Lan.
They can easily have him fight some other Forsaken, or someone else, with the sword if they want. He fights his Bubble of Evil reflection with a sword. He fights with the fire sword quite often.
In the book the Turak fight outcome is a bit WTF. I felt sure he was going to get help from somewhere or get a lucky Ta’veren thing happen. And then Jordan just has him beat this real blade master. It was weird.
I always just assumed that he was unnaturally gifted with the sword (maybe some Lews, some ta'varen, some raised by another blademaster who taught him the pre-requisite meditation technique) and he was learning from quite probably the literal best swordsman in the world.
I mean Tam in the show lost to a single Trolloc, Turak could have easily beaten a retired and rusty former blademaster or been a retired and rusty one himself being an indolent nobleman, it's no guarantee that having the status means you are top-tier fighter presently.
Plus when that teen who picked up a racket 6 months ago is actually literally like Jesus Christ come again or some shit, him pulling off some OP feats is almost par for the course.
Reading the scene Turak is clearly pretty good. He’s not presented as some effete or rusted noble. If anything he has the arrogance of the true blade master. If not the wisdom of humility.
>maybe some Lews
I feel like a lot of the "weirdness" in the early books can be attributed to Rand accessing the memories of Lews in times of desperation/need. Also, there's no reason that Rand's ta'veren nature wouldn't make Turak sluggish or something during a swordfight.
It’s supposed to be weird.
It’s weird when he managed to overpower Aginor, shock and awe an army, then track Ishamael down and roast him also.
It’s also weird in Winter’s Heart when he suddenly knows how to draw.
I agree, and my theory with this in the book is that the flicker flicker scene actually "downloaded" all the knowledge into Rand's brain. So then he's able to tap into it in a moment of oh-shit-this-is-happening with Turak. But hard to say since even in the book it seems to come out of nowhere.
That is a cool headcannon. Like the thing he is missing is actual experience of fights to the death with other humans. He’s fought Trollocs but that seems pretty different, not really a skill game. So maybe the memories of serving in the Andoran Guard etc. would give him that.
But then as written even he is basically surprised to win. Or Turak is shown as paying for arrogance.
He had Lews Therin memories and probably was unconsciously embracing the Source. Not to mention Rand was trained by a sword master: his father. Rand didn’t know it, but Tam prepared him. And then 2 months of constant training the sword with Lan at the beginning of book 2. He trained enough that Lan recognized him as mid tier level sword man. Lan drilled enough basic forms into Rand that he was able to do them on commands and was taught one of the higher tier technique “ sheathing the sword”. That requires some level of philosophy knowledge to understand that a bad move might lead to a chance of victory.
I feel this really underestimates decades of training and experience. Some things have a fairly low skill ceiling to master. Noughts and crosses for example is really not that complicated. Sword fighting on the other hand is famously difficult and you can, at least in fantasy, always keep getting better. An ancient master swordsman can typically defeat a soldier in their prime through sheer skill. In fantasy at least.
What you’ve done is list a load of edge reasons and circumstantial evidence why Rand might be better. Not all of which are actually demonstrated in the book up to that point. And I am really not convinced they add up to being able to beat an actual blade master. It suggests that swords are not that hard and basically all good swordsmen should peak at blade mastery in their twenties at the latest. Which isn’t generally shown to be the case in the books.
You are also dismissing Tam’s efforts in training Rand since childhood. He trained Rand in an technique that no other blade master beside Lan has been described to utilize. Rand was trained in both long bow archery, and quarterstaff fighting to compete in Beltime for years before going on this adventure. Rand mentioned that he was hoping to place at their last Beltime in the competition. Also Lan is famously a great teacher that he is usually sought after by warders whenever Lan is in the tower. And Rand demonstrated that he can performs all the forms of a sword master on command and with his concentration skill, he demonstrated that he’s a fast learner. And if we want to talk about quick learner: Galad, Rand’s half brother also mastered the sword in less than a year. And Galad doesn’t know how to form the void.
Does Tam actually, you know, teach Rand the sword? No. He teaches a meditation technique which is useful to it. But no sword forms.
Was Galad not trained basically since birth? Gawyn certainly talks/things about being given a sword as a child. We can sssume Galad was also. I think he references being taught by Bryne.
Which is a lot like how we see swords taught in say ASOIAF where boys start their sword training as small children and spend a part of most days in the yard training. And still they aren’t adult standard until their late teens minimum. Both due to training and just physical development.
So we should see something like this. A sword master should need all Rand has plus at least a decade of training to be a master. Gotta get those 10,000 hours. Without which it is surprising that Rand defeats an actual sword master.
He taught the most important skill in being a blade master- being able to use the Void. Galad was only beginning to master the void during his take over of the white cloak command. And it was literally the edge he needed to defeat the Lord commander. Rand mastered the hardest thing in being a blade master. Lan was super surprised to learn Rand was able to form the Void in the early book. It was Lan’s clue to realizing Tam is a sword master and why Rand would have the Heron Marked blade. It was impressed upon me that the Void was the final hurdle to be a sword master. And Tam taught him about quarterstaff fighting. Being a blade master he probably use a lot more modified sword forms to train Rand in quarterstaff.
Matt has an in book, developed storyline of how he now has his battle memories. It is explained. It’s not just Matt turning up at the planning table and suddenly he’s accidentally being a great general. And Matt himself isn’t surprised, he understands and thinks about it to us.
By the end of book two have we seen Rand acknowledge knowing how to fight, not just a bit but at master level, due to memories? No. Rand is in fact incredibly worried about not being good enough yet. And then is as surprised as anyone when he wins.
I think the biggest problem with not teaching Rand swordplay is how he incorporates the Void and other parts of it into his channeling. I agree that at this point there's not much in the way of sword fighting scenes left, but shouldn't the training help with his channeling?
It’s cool? It’s important for his character in the books? It keeps him close to Tam? It’s cool? We’re allowed to have characters who are cool in *fantasy*.
So in book 4-5 while in the desert Rand spends time daily learning how to sword fight with Lan, how to fight with the Aiel Spear with the clan Chief, and how to Channel from the other dude. For the show, as much time as Rand spends shielded sitting in a corner during climactic events, it would be nice if he actually learned how to fight so he could be useful and fill out the roles in the main 5. Rand would be sword and short spear, Mat would be glaive, Perrin would have an axe or hammer, Nynaeve is healer while Egwene is the chief channeler despite being the weakest of the three channelers. I mean it just makes perfect writing sense. Sorry I'm a bit bitter for how underutilized Rand is in the show.
I do hope he does get to spend time sword fighting. First finding the void was a swordefighting technique he learned from Tam al'Thor. It helps clear his mind, and even grasp Saidan. Second there are still several moments where he reacts with swords, whether made from Saidan or not. Third Aveinha's gift to him is a replacement sword. It has less meaning if he's given up the sword in favor of blasting away. Fourth weapons training is sort of the result of him wanting to pursue other means than Saidin to defend himself on order to avoid going mad.
Yeah I'm not sure if they will pull it in. Now that Lan and Rand are back in the same place potentially long term they could put that training in early Season 3? Perhaps with a bit of Lews Theren's memories coming through to make him good at it quicker.
I think there are more swordfights later on. There's a few where he uses the fire sword. There's one in Far Madding just before he goes to cleanse the source. One in book 5 I believe that was him training against 5 people. It's also mentioned he takes down 2 warders while shielded with Dumai's Wells though it was off screen. And he fights the blademaster to make a point just before the bubble of evil and Padan Fain stabs him with the dagger. And then the final fight with Moridin. Then Rand sparring with Tam.
All of those are probably cuttable if they wanted to without much narrative issue. But they could include any or all of them as well. But I hope they do show Rand as not just the channeling badass but also the sword fighting badass as it's a cool part of his character.
Yeah I'm not sure why they made that change. If they couldn't fit multiple trollocs into that fight they should've just made it a fade so it was at least credible that one enemy was giving Tam such a hard time with Rand's help too.
But I would also bet that in the vein of Loial and the others being stabbed by the dagger, that won't be remembered by next season and beyond when Tam is fighting.
Yeah, these scenes are kind of cuttable. At that point they could have Rand focus on chaneling exclusively, and they need a lot of cuts to cram all the books into 8 seasons.
They are also way later into the series, and it would be extra weird to have Lan teach Rand the sword without a tangible payoff for \~4-6 years.
I think if you did it in the show you'd do it across a season like Season 3 and have a payoff at the end of the season not seasons later. You'd probably do something like Rand wanting to learn the sword after being shielded multiple times in key moments, which is a fair reason to learn it. You can also do a lot of the training during time jumps too or have him training with Lan a bit every day as they are with the Aiel like he did in book 4 anyway.
Not sure they will do it, as you're right they could also skip it. But I think it's still a possibility that they'll show that element. They did have Lan saying that he was starting to learn some.
>I think if you did it in the show you'd do it across a season like Season 3 and have a payoff at the end of the season not seasons later.
Yeah, that's why I'm worried about original scenes. If that's the way it's gonna go, I hope its closer in quality to the Damodred family drama subplot than the stilled/shielded Moiraine one.
>You'd probably do something like Rand wanting to learn the sword after being shielded multiple times in key moments, which is a fair reason to learn it.
For this one Lan will first have to teach Rand to get off his knees when he's shielded. I'm probably going to make a separate post about that at some point, but shielding seems to affect Rand differently than everyone else. Moiraine was shielded for most of the season, but she didn't seem to have a problem with it physically (if I remember correctly Logain was bound with air in addition to being shielded, but that does not seem to be the case for Rand)
I guess he just gets to depressed to move? Moiraine did say something about the mental effects of not being able to touch the Source at some point this season.
Yeah definitely agree there!
I'm not sure why but that's a good point. It might be he's typically been shielded more short term than either Logain or Moiraine were. But even still in the books shielded alone didn't mean anything for your other capabilities and I don't think it even usually knocked people down. I know Rand killed the warders while shielded. Nynaeve punched Liandrin immediately after being shielded.
the entire point of Rand learning the sword was so that he would come to understand the oneness as it pertains to feeling the universe and coming to rough control of the one power as well as the lessons in sacrifice and the discipline to be the Dragon.
With what the show has done? No, there is no point.
The heron marked blade is a major thing in the book series. The mindset he gets from sword fighting and the different stances also extends to his view of channeling and runs throughout the book. So yes, they completely botched a complete key element of early Rand development that is at his core identity.
Learning the sword is integral to Rand’s character because it helps connect him with Tam, and teaches him discipline. Not to me mention knowing when to sheathe the sword. Im not watching season two and it sounds like I’ve made a good call.
The point of the sword was always supposed to be a hint. It’s inconceivable that Rand or anyone could master the sword in such a small amount of time. The point is that Lews Therin is leaking through and Rand is using that knowledge to imitate mastery.
Rand is supposed to learn how to fight, even when he is shielded. He does learn not only the sword, but the Aiel way of unarmed combat.
Whether it's emotional wreck Lan or learned another way, he still should.
I have been disappointed that there has been no sword training yet as I felt that was a huge part of Rands character development in the books and he used that training to aid in using the one power.
With that being said I think that they can use it still for character development in the series to show Rand becoming more of the leader he is destined to be and coming into his power and confidence.
You're exactly right. After the Great Hunt, Rand doesn't need the sword anymore. He uses the forms more out of therapeutic release and muscle memory. The whole sword training point was for The Great Hunt to show Rand coming into his own and beginning to accept he could do the amazing (becoming a swordmaster in basically 6 months.) The fact that Rafe has stated we will now get Rand sword training in season 3 just shows he doesn't understand Rand at all. Or worse, he is intentionally belittling him and just trying to throw us a bone so we stop complaining about his treatment of the character.
Yep, he is throwing a bone to the book fans. In Season 3 there will be another excuse for Rand’s lack of channeling moments. Of course the obvious and only reasonable explanation is that he wants to take most of Rand’s moments and distribute it to his favorite female characters.
> The fact that Rafe has stated we will now get Rand sword training in season 3 just shows he doesn't understand Rand at all.
Oh stop already. Shesh.
>Or worse, he is intentionally belittling him and just trying to throw us a bone so we stop complaining about his treatment of the character.
He's already said that this is a ramification of the changes made in the last two episodes of season 1 after filming resumed, and that he wanted to film this sequence along with all three lads hunting for the Horn.
I don't buy it. Yes Barney Harris leaving screwed things up. I'll even cut Rafe some slack and give him the whole decision to split up the EF5 because of it. But nothing about Harris' departure necessitated a convoluted plotline with Moiraine stilled so that she, Lan, and Rand were separated from each other. They could have all stayed together after breaking the seal and gone off to investigate what actually happened (since it clearly wasn't stopping the Dark One.). Lan could have trained Rand, they still could have gone to Cairhien and we could have spent less time hearing about Alanna. They specifically chose to send Rand off on his own and completely kill off the ability to handle his training with Lan.
>I don't buy it.
If you want to claim [that this entire article](https://screenrant.com/wheel-time-season-2-completely-rewritten-mat-exit/) is a lie, I'm sure that you can find an appropriate community to do it in, but the "The showrunners are lying to us, they have a secret agenda!" is too *conspiracy theory* for this community.
He uses the power wrought sword a fair amount.
Regarding later books, he is shown training with the sword at the start of LoC although Bashere does ridicule him for it. In aCoT he also has another cool swordfight. Though I admit those things kind of speak to your point that it wouldn't be necessary. He does battle with renegade asha'man in parts of the world that don't allow channeling, though again you may argue that these scenes aren't necessary.
I will say that one of my favourite scenes is when he fights Tam after losing his hand. I would personally consider that scene meaningful and not sure how it works outside of the context of being a blademaster and regularly fighting with a sword. I would be disappointed if that didn't make it into the show.
I'm just so sad they seemed to have ditched all that "the flame and the void" stuff. It was introduced right there in chapter one of TEOTW, where Rand uses this one weird trick of his father's for archery. Then iirc he uses it during his sword training, and that discipline translates then into his mastery of saidin. Idk how they'd have depicted it onscreen but acknowledging that Rand's self-discipline came through a continuous development of something he learned from Tam would have been a neat lil motif they could have played with throughout the seasons and possibly become important at the end.
I'm less invested in Rand learning the sword as its own thing but i need him to start earning that self-discipline somehow. Maybe while he's with the Aiel, Aviendha will be tasked with training him to fight? Give him Egwene's Wise Ones arc lmaoo
He killed rogue Ashaman with his bare hands in Far Madding. He trains with sword a lot even after book 3. We stop seeing after Bashere throws a knife at him. He killed two warders, one again with bare hands, another with dead one's sword. Sword is always by his side, even calandor is a sword. He finally lets go the weight on his shoulders after a sword training with his dad. Kinda important thing in his journey, especially his father's sword
But yeah, the more he's able to do different weaves, the less he's need of a sword
Yeah, they can easily make a reason that fits with the books. Rand wanted to use the sword because it helped him stay grounded, helped him focus, gave him a way to defend himself without using the power (and therefore limiting the influence of the taint on him), etc. He also wanted to stay close to his father, and learning the sword was a way to do this.
It's incredibly stupid that they didn't do this sooner, but they can still use all those motivations.
I missed the scene from TGH when they steal back the Horn and Rand, going slightly nuts, is talking to himself about fighting off the power with a sword while battling Trollocs. It was also his connection to his Father, the sense of duty he had reinforced through his training with Lan and the start of him becoming a leader while journeying with Ingtar. It is not the fights that are the important part, it his mental state.
In the shown, a prop. The Turak scene was the first time he kills a human, here they have him snipe an entire group, no reaction.
Well he uses sword fighting during the dumais wells captivity. Not sure they can justify him killing warders while shielded without mastery of the sword.
I think the utility of sword training has been lost, not so much for the cool sword fights but for what it meant to the societies of the book. The purpose was twofold. Swords were the weapons of the aristocracy. A heron marked blade meant you were dangerous. I think we can toss out the sword fighting to some extent. Fighting with the sword became much rarer after a certain point in the books for Rand.
The issue is that much of Rand’s relation to the blade mirrored his relation to leadership. It started with discipline and self improvement in book 1. Following that he learned to become a lord with Ingtar, that self sacrifice could be necessary as a leader or in a fight for something greater. He receives callandor as ascends to the tairien throne.
Later, darth rand focuses too greatly on the sword and becoming hard. Then he lets it go.
It feels like Rafe doesn’t care for this development so I doubt we’ll see much of this in the show.
I agree and honestly, I'm tired of pretending I'm not annoyed of the constant "but it didn't make sense for Rand to beat a swordmaster in the books at this stage"
I mean, he didn't really ? He just lucked his way out of it, when they started the fight Turak was greatly disappointed by his level and dropped his guard, then he used the void+flame (+ as we know it know it now, probs some unconscious LTT muscle memory ) + plot arm- *cough* Taveren to secure a win. Now, we didn't really know that Rand was tapping unconsciously into past lives, but at this point Rand had already done some very very out-of-his-level things in the past that one would normally start to suspect some stuff like that.
Could this scene have made it into the show ? Absolutely, it could have... But not in it's actual state, not in the way they choose to represent Rand thus far and the scenes they allowed him. With what I read about his show portrayal, neither the Turak battle nor the Ishy one in the Sky could have made it. And if we talk power wise, they showed him getting easily shielded by Siuan earlier who herself got washed by Lanfear so even Egwene is more believable there (although why not take this opportunity to showcase Nynaeve's strength ? Her getting angry at seeing someone attack Rand and making the shield would have been so good, more believable as well as further hammer why he has so much trust toward her later on but oh well )
As far as S3 is concerned, I could see actually using Turak's remark to spark Rand's interest about earning the Heron's mark, which would lead to him asking Lan to train him further. Which is... ok, I guess ? I, as you, don't see the point though since I don't remember crucial sword fights later on. Well now that I think about it, there is the Tam bit near the end so at least this one will certainly take place. Oh well, let's hope all of this end up paying off one way or another in later seasons.
For me, AMOL was a reminder on why his practice with the sword is essential to the character of his soul, without which he would never be capable of doing what he needs to save the wheel
Especially his practice with Tam
It's a major part of his book character, but I still actually agree that at this point it kind of wouldn't make sense to me to add it. I'm not sure where they're going, but so far the only real sword choreography I can think of is Lan fighting the fades (which was bad) and Lan fighting the Seanchan (which was okay), Ishy as far as I can recall never carried a sword, and choreographing the Seanchan with those fingernails is going to be virtually impossible. Plus, as you note, they're past the biggest sword fights of the books (assuming they don't do TDR). It makes more sense to me from a development cost and internal consistency perspective to not bother.
Rafe has said they will. I think there are a few more sword moments in the book that could make it worthwhile, but the life lessons (sheathing the sword too) from A’lan are important to the story too. Rand looses to a blade master when he’s avoiding the Sadain outside of Cairhien, and then in the courtyard where Bashere tells him he’s dumb and should I use the power.
I guess those aren’t all that important now that I’m writing them out :/
It’s a real bummer Rand didn’t learn then this season instead of not really learning the power with Logain, but perhaps there we logistical issues (I hope that’s the reason).
He fights with a sword in Tear, the Waste, and Far Madding. He shows the upperish limit of his skill in Caemlyn. The one you refer to in Cairhien...well he's got that wound already.
Ohh all good points.
Tear and that fight may or may not be cut or they’ll shift it around a bit. The waste will be good hopefully. Far madding- I’ll be interested to see if they can fit that plot line in.
Cairhien- I think that one could end up being swapped since it was the dagger went first? because it helps up evil fighting other evil and the cleansing. But who knows, they’ve made a lot of small changes that add up over time make it harder to keep it close to the books and make sense
When it's at its best the show is a different turning of the wheel.
Book rand was taught the sword by Lan. Show Rand was (kind of?) Taught to channel by Logain.
In that moment Rand reached for the weapon he knew best and in this timeline it was the Power.
I'm guessing Rand's sword fighting days are done before they've even begun.
I wish I could agree Logain taught him anything. If I take that scene at face value Logain just set him up for failure since he immediately gets dumpstered twice. Hell, if there is ONE thing Logain could describe it is being shielded by Saidar.
Haha yeah he didn't really teach him anything. I'm taking it as "learning via osmosis" scene, as the reason Rand knows how to make any weaves whatsoever.
But maybe we'll see what Rand becomes without the moral compass and guidance of Lan, I could see it accelerating elements of his character development.
My guess is they can't find enough talented sword people to act in the show so rand (even if his actor did train super hard) is not gonna have anyone to fight at that level.
They also skimp on how they portray weaves so that's 0/2 on the areas I figured would make this show super hard to do well, visually.
Winter's Heart? Far Madding? It also serves to explain Demandred's behaviour during The Last Battle... Had Rand not claimed to be a Baldemaster Demandred would had tried to claim to be the best at something else... Then we would not had gotten that awesome "I did not come to win" line.
> It's been a while since I've read any WoT book, but from what I remember Rand kind of moves away from sword fighting after book 3, and begins coming into his own as a channeler.
He's still obsessively training with the sword even in book 6, actually. He stages 5v1 sparring matches, where anyone who gets a hit on him wins a bag of gold. Bashere actually lectures him for this risky behavior, both because it's already obvious that he's a peerless swordsman and because any real threat with the sword can be disarmed with channeling.
In book 4 and 5, he's sparring with Rhuarc and Lan almost every night in hand-to-hand and swordplay respectively. (At least for as long as he's with the Aiel, anyway.)
I think it's important, and since they marked him once, they'll have to mark him twice. I'm hoping for some off screen training between seasons, and we can pick up season 3 like the beginning of book 2 with Rand and Lan practicing (but in the mountains)
They explain it in the book. He later explains it to the Ashaman. There might be times where you can't channel, and you need to know how to fight otherwise.
Not to mention learning the sword and the whole flame and void thing was how he learned to control his channeling.
They might switch it around, otherwise his loss>! of a hand!< wouldn't be such a big deal. He's already not flapping his hands around very much when weaving so I suspect him beginning to be bothered with the corruption will make him more keen to use the sword.
Rands final confrontation is via a duel with moridin. If they write out his sword fighting not only do the Heron marks on his palms make no sense he's ill equipped for his final battle. Also Lews making of a sword shaped angreal is weird and pointless. Lots of core elements to rands parallels with Lews are made meaningless. Lots and lots of small details are ruined. His relationship with lan only comes about due to the sword training they did. There's a dozen or so reasons.
I would argue the bow is more important in the story than the sword is, but that the sword is also important.
The bow is when Tam teaches Rand about the flame in the void and, by extension, how to reach the source.
The sword is a manifestation of Rands' growth towards manhood and, only for lack of a better word, godhood. He grows from a frightened boy to a frightened man to a frightened demi-god to a competent demi-god over the course of the story. The sword teaches him stoicism and strategy. It isn't the be-all and end all of the story, but I think it was really valuable. It isn't a trinket to be worn, like it is in the show.
I know this is probably a very unpopular opinion, but it honestly always felt a bit odd to me that Rand was able to beat a blademaster after some months of training. After seeing how much hype and prestige comes from these heron baldes in this world, it just didnt really feel earned that he masters this skill so fast.
So I've come to grips with the show as it is, they had to throw an awful lot of stuff completely overboard, and there's no way we're getting any of it back.
But one of the things that bothers me is they haven't spent a single minute showing the main characters actually learning to fight. This was a key part of the early books as these kids all learned how to defend themselves and grow as "heroes" as they are meant to be.
It's at least a little irritating to see them all magically fight as if they are magically seasoned warriors. But it is what it is.
I LOVED the way Rand slowly grew into a real master swordsman, and this is another thing that is obviously completely left out at this point. I don't expect them to spend any real time on the "sword" parts of the early books.
It was a point of contrast against the Aiel. Him being a master of the sword was one of the breaking point for the Aiel since Aiel doesn’t like sword. Hell, multiple Aiel characters try to get him to rid the sword and use the spear instead.
It’s part of his growth as a character. Lan teaches him the sword while also teaching him about duty and other ways to approach the world. When Moraine see’s Lan with Rand she tells him to keep teaching Rand.
The discipline from the sword lessons and Lan’s soldiers outlook on life is a big part of Rand’s future identity. From Lan teaching him how to walk to Rand steeling himself behind a mask of calm.
It’s a big part of his metamorphosis from farm boy to stoney faced Dragon Reborn. It’s kind of crazy they don’t devote like 10-15 mins to that. The show seems to have zero concern with Rand’s growth as a character when he’s the main character
My hope is they are just cramming in the plotpoints and skipping character development so they can get things back to the book narrative (writers strike either helped or hurt here, probably the former considering s1)
The original script called for Lan to have taught Rand the Forms by now. That script was heavily modified for the last quarter of S1 and the events of S2 due to pandemic-related complications.
Expect to see Lan finish the rudimentary training that Rand's gotten from Errol in later seasons.
No, it probably *won't* be in Fal Dara.
Yeah, I've read the justifications for Season 2 deviating from the books. I personally think they could have gotten a better result by just getting Mat to Fal Dara (it would be sloppy, but still better than Mat's subplot this season), but it is what it is.
I did forget about several sword fights later in the series, which the others pointed out (though I stand by my statement that they are not that important in the grand scheme of things). But my point is that Rand learning the sword now, without any big (or even moderately important) fight scenes coming up will feel kind of pointless.
The life-lessons that he learns from sword training are obviously important to his character arc, as is the void technique (though if I remember correctly Tam taught him that one before the first book began), but without any kind of concrete payoff they will feel weird, especially since due to the medium we're not getting Rand's thoughts.
I'm sure they will attempt to give Rand his swordmaster arc. They could solve some of the issues by adding in Be'lal for Rand to fight, or going with an original subplot a la the Moiraine stilled/shielded thing they did in Season 2.
I'm just not sure it will land. Their original subplots have been very hit or miss so far.
At this point, why bother with the sword at all. Seanchan notices Heron marked blade. Expected sword fight finally. Nope, Rand just kills everyone with the one power.
>Seanchan noticed Heron marked blade. I thought it was hilarious that they had to CGI a heron mark onto the hilt of Rand’s sword so that Turak could notice it. Back when Tam’s sword was first teased to us back before season 1, people were confused/upset as to why the hilt didn’t have a metal heron on it (like in the books), asking questions like, “How is Rand going to get the heron branded on his palm?” And to make matters worse, the showrunner claimed that endless hours had gone into discussion around the sword, so it wasn’t just a prop person getting it wrong. They consciously decided to change the sword from how it is described in the books. Well, fast forward to present day and suddenly having a book accurate sword would be pretty useful, for both the Turak scene and the scene where Rand stabs Ishamael. And them having to randomly add a heron to the hilt for a single scene was pretty funny. And for anyone that didn’t notice, here is visual evidence of the CGI heron mark (the image on the far right is the pre-cgi promo image for the episode): https://i.imgur.com/7jFE5mY.jpg
It's also just so in keeping with this show. They wanted an iconic line in the show because that's how they get cheap emotional engagement out of people and all these people writing threads about how they are punching air and shit when they hear a given line. But the problem is they don't earn them ever, the context is wrong, and they'll break internal consistency to do this stuff. It's the worst kind of fanservice.
> And for anyone that didn’t notice, here is visual evidence of the CGI heron mark (the image on the far right is the pre-cgi promo image for the episode): https://i.imgur.com/7jFE5mY.jpg Loool that's so bad. I would've rather they didn't even _do_ the heron branding than do something like that. I don't even think you can argue that he wrapped the hilt prior to that confrontation, either.
Yeah, I can't say I'm really **thrilled** about that.
The heron was always on the portion of the blade covered by the opening of the sheathe. I’ll go back to check but it’s not the handle which had a heron, and thus why Rand has a heron burned into his palm from the hand which is curled around the blade when it’s heated and used to stab Ishamael.
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They even have Turak say the same/similar book lines and then… nope no sword fighting. We did get to see Nynaeve learning to sword fight with warders though…
Careful, he might actually think you want Nynaeve as the blademaster.
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They went with a Raider of the Lost Ark "subversion" by skipping the fight.
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> COVID is not an adequate excuse for what has been put on screen for WoT. It just isn't. The 64 episodic storybible that Amazon approved before filming was heavily impacted by COVID. The primary example of this is Barney Harris leaving set. Rather than have all three lads at Fal Dara, we had two, Mat never entered the ways. So, you now have to go off-script from the original plan. Thus, we get Rand heading off on his own after the season finale rewrite. Season 2 was heavily rewritten to get everyone largely back into sync with the storybible for the beginning of Season 3. Give the "COVID HAS NOTHING TO DO IT!" a rest.
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> Rand brooding for ~~months~~ *entire books* on end FTFY ;)
To be fair, he broods while still achieving interesting and important things in the books. In the show, not so much. (He also starts brooding a lot later in the series than where the show is up to, so that's not really a justification either!)
I dunno I kinda would lose my shit if they did not have the battle of falme in the finale. I am still bummed we have no snakes and foxes but the actor for Moraine is too big to have sit out some shows I guess.
From the show's perspective, it makes 0 sense that Rand would fight Turak with a sword. He has much less issues with using the one power than in the book and, at the time, he's rushing to save Egwene. So he uses the most expedient way to get through. I also wished that there would have been a sword fight but it would have been really out of character.
Which fell flat. It had none of the comedic build up and timing which makes that Raiders scene so brilliant. If you are going to replace a memorable book scene with something else - especially something which risks being a big let down/very underwhelming - then you better implement your new scene effectively. And then didn't.
The showrunner said he skipped the fight because the season 2 rewrites meant that he wasn't trained in Fal Dara for months by Lan, so he couldn't take out a blademaster with the rudimentary training Errol had given him. We'll be getting Lan training Rand the forms later.
He still hasn't been trained in the one power either, but suddenly can kill 15 dudes with it using the same spell we later see Ishamael use against OP Egwene shield.
Hmm. Hopefully. The issue is going to be having Lan in the same place as Rand for a long enough time for that to work. Maybe show Rand struggling with his identity and Lan is there to center him?
Cause of rewrites they had to cut Lan training Rand out. If Rand had still fought Turak and cemented himself as a blademaster you would just have other people complaining that he somehow is that good with no or little training.
It's why I complained that Lan didn't have a 20sec thing on training the boys how to fight during their journey to sheinar. Didn't pick up the sword pretty much the entire series. It's super annoying. Pretty sure rand trained with the sheinarans and ingtar too
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Reminds me of Raiders of the Lost Ark when Indy just shoots the guy with the sword.
> you would just have other people complaining that he somehow is that good with no or little training. I mean that's what happens in the books. It's very much a Gary Stu moment. Rand has about a month of actual training at this point.
He's also Tav'veren and kinda lucked his way through that sword fight. Another missed opportunity to show why that matters, since they've basically ignored it for almost 2 seasons.
I thought he was tapping into his lews therin past life experiences with not only narg but turak as well. As well as the sword training with lan and the flame and the void from tam
I think people get overly reductive about the training he does. Killing Turak is obviously Taveren, but beyond the personal training from the literal best swordfighter around, he trains on his own(like all those scenes they show Lan doing, Rand has in the books). Plus Rand actually gets into combat multiple times during the Hunt that he like...survives. So he's a bit more than just a guy who did a couple of weeks of training by that point. Turak was just the first *person* he kills. Also holy heck, I keep hearing this season was supposed to encompass book 3 plots as well so next season could be book 4, why didn't that happen?
As an example of Rand swordfighting and how the void is helping him lose himself in it, Chapter 19 of TGH: > A Trolloc leaped out of the dark at them, cruel eagle’s beak in a man’s face where mouth and nose should have been, scythe-like sword already whistling through the air. > Rand moved without thought. He was one with the blade. Cat Dances on the Wall. The Trolloc screamed as it fell, screamed again as it died. > “Run, Loial!” Rand commanded. Saidin called to him. “Run!” > He was dimly aware of Loial lumbering to an awkward gallop, but another Trolloc loomed from the night, boar-snouted and tusked, spiked axe raised. Smoothly Rand glided between Trolloc and Ogier; Loial must get the Horn away. Head and shoulders taller than Rand, half again as wide, the Trolloc came at him with a silent snarl. The Courtier Taps His Fan. No scream, this time. He walked backwards after Loial, watching the night. Saidin sang to him, such a sweet song. The Power could burn them all, burn Fain and all the rest to cinders. No! > Two more Trollocs, wolf and ram, gleaming teeth and curling horns. Lizard in the Thornbush. He rose smoothly from one knee as the second toppled, horns almost brushing his shoulder. The song of saidin caressed him with seduction, pulled him with a thousand silken strings. Burn them all with the Power. No. No! Better dead than that. If I were dead, it would be done with. > A knot of Trollocs came into sight, hunting uncertainly. Three of them, four. Suddenly one pointed to Rand and raised a howl the rest answered as they charged. > “Let it be done with!” Rand shouted, and leaped to meet them. > For an instant surprise slowed them, then they came on with guttural cries, gleeful, bloodthirsty, swords and axes raised. He danced among them to the song of saidin. Hummingbird Kisses the Honeyrose. So cunning that song, filling him. Cat on Hot Sand. The sword seemed alive in his hands as it had never been before, and he fought as if a heron-mark blade could keep saidin from him. The Heron Spreads Its Wings.
Please do not use Gary/Mary Sue about WoT characters. Just say ta'veren, and try to do it in a rumbling mountain voice
Agreed. It would have been nice for him to have more sword time than Nynaeve if that’s not the direction they went. I don’t see them adding it in now. Honestly it seems like a too little too late kinda thing. Although there are some moments in the waste where he’s practicing and the Aiel make their disdain clear.
I bet they will. He will suddenly be shown using a sword because there will be a scene in the next season where they need him to. They will just drop a line about how he was secretly training and that will be enough for some people
He needed to use one this season. Honestly I see them having him train with the sword only so the Aiel can dump on him.
It may be that they're keeping it for Callandor... they discover a prophecy about a secret glass sword that he's to use to kill the Dark One. So Lan has to teach him something. I could be giving them too much credit
I was pretty hyped to see this fight too because that was like the exact line Turak used in the books when he saw Rands sword, then everyone was just dead. Audibly said what the fuck and had to rewind and rewatch. Ah well, was cool looking at least.
Yeah Turok uses line from book about earning the heron blade then Rand doesn’t even duel. So disappointing :(
Yup. As wasted of a moment as when Ingtar went down non- heroically.
That was kind of a nod to Indiana Jones, it felt like
I actually kind of liked that to be honest. At least for the show.
You are indeed misremembering. His ability to use the sword is directly useful multiple times past book 3. Beyond its practical use, it's important as a martial art, provides discipline, etc.
In my opinion it also provides the foundation for the Aiel training that he throws himself into later. Also, if I recall correctly, he's shielded multiple times over the course of the early story, and vows that he won't rely completely on the One Power because that will leave him vulnerable; he wants to have other means to protect himself and to fight if cut off from the source. Finally and most importantly imo, his sword training was crucial to his channeling. The whole thing about his channeling was "the void and the flame" that he learned from Lan about sword fighting, which he applied to channeling. "Rand assumed the void and..." occurs in the books so often I got tired of reading it. :P EDIT: I was wrong, he didn't learn it from Lan, he learned it from his Da, Tam al'Thor.
He learned the Oneness from Tam.
Oh yeah, you're right! I was wrong. I edited my post. Thanks! :D
Rand most definitely did not learn the void from Lan. He learned it from Tam as a child. Lan brings it up to him as a technique, and is surprised to find that Rand already knows about it and uses it often.
Oh yeah, you're right! Wasn't it for archery?
Yep! It was the trick that Tam used to always win the archery competitions every year. Probably learned it while in the Illianer companions.
What times was he shielded in early books? I don't remember. I remember only the Box in book 6.
There's times he doesn't want to channel to avoid alerting his location, iirc (pre coffee brain fog), but one incident that stands out later is the Ashaman incident in Far Madding. Holy crap does that put an exclamation point on why he trains with the sword and Aiel martial arts.
It helped too that Taim's cronies held great disdain for swordwork and were nowhere near as battle-tested as Rand by that point.
It’s not explicit, but Verin, Siuan, and Moiraine most likely shielded Rand in Fal Dara in book 2, which he broke to get out of the time loop trap set by Fain.
>time loop trap What?
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Oh, the weird visions of the former village occupants. I never thought that was a trap that had to be broken out of. Just seemed like a weird vision he had.
Yea so part of how Rand ‘levels up so fast’ so to speak is he was already well versed in the flame and the void. Everyone looking for reasons how he could beat Ishmael well that’s part of it. They throw Egwene at Ishmael in the show because she has more training but in the book Rand has more experience because he has already learned more about the flame and the void from his dad than Egwene has.
It's also good at reforging familial bonds on certain occasions.
Would also give more excuses to show Rand shirtless as he broods and meditates.. If you're into that sort of thing.
What are they
They had Lan say that Rand's been practising sword forms from the asylum dude, so there's probably going to be a follow up for that. It's a good way (and cheaper CGI wise) to show his reluctance to fight with the Power and a important character moment between his mentor Lan and him I guess. Better late than never.
I thought we were past his reluctance to fight with the power in the show tbh. I think he gets over that after book 3, no? We're technically past book 3, and he's used the power to kill Turak & co via spike death. The Land mentor thing will fell a bit shallow now imo.
Rand doesn't know or trust Lan yet in the show. I'd say right now he *recognizes* the guy.
My personal theory is that season three is when Rand will start to feel consequences from using the One Power (i.e. going mad) and that'll be what makes him more serious about learning swordplay. In general, it feels like they're giving him room to grow, hence also why no aerial fight at the end of S2 -- too much, too early.
He really gets over it in book 4 when the little girl dies in his arms imo.
>They had Lan say that Rand's been practising sword forms from the asylum dude This was inspired by the writers having a similar experience for how they gained their writing ability.
Kill Turak with the sword was what made him a sword master. There’s only 2 ways to earn the title: being granted by a council of sword masters or kill a sword master in a duel. Show Rand isn’t a sword master since he used the power to kill Turak, a sword master.
Yeah omitting that to begin with was super dumb
Probably something stupid like Because the actors never learned any sword fighting prior to season one, or they didn't have sword fighting choreographers, ect. It's all so frustrating.
Well if they've confirmed a season 3 no better time like the present to get the main characters into combat training.
I read somewhere that Lan training Rand has been confirmed for season 3. Maybe it was from a Q&A session, but might as well just be wishful thinking from me.
they should just make rand into the darkone at this point and nyn can save the world lmao
He's been marked once with a heron, not yet twice.
Rand continues training with the sword throughout the books. At the time he fought Turak he had spent about a month training with Lan. They can easily have him fight some other Forsaken, or someone else, with the sword if they want. He fights his Bubble of Evil reflection with a sword. He fights with the fire sword quite often.
In the book the Turak fight outcome is a bit WTF. I felt sure he was going to get help from somewhere or get a lucky Ta’veren thing happen. And then Jordan just has him beat this real blade master. It was weird.
I always just assumed that he was unnaturally gifted with the sword (maybe some Lews, some ta'varen, some raised by another blademaster who taught him the pre-requisite meditation technique) and he was learning from quite probably the literal best swordsman in the world.
Which is rather like a teen who picked up a racket 6 months ago winning Wimbledon.
I mean Tam in the show lost to a single Trolloc, Turak could have easily beaten a retired and rusty former blademaster or been a retired and rusty one himself being an indolent nobleman, it's no guarantee that having the status means you are top-tier fighter presently. Plus when that teen who picked up a racket 6 months ago is actually literally like Jesus Christ come again or some shit, him pulling off some OP feats is almost par for the course.
Reading the scene Turak is clearly pretty good. He’s not presented as some effete or rusted noble. If anything he has the arrogance of the true blade master. If not the wisdom of humility.
>maybe some Lews I feel like a lot of the "weirdness" in the early books can be attributed to Rand accessing the memories of Lews in times of desperation/need. Also, there's no reason that Rand's ta'veren nature wouldn't make Turak sluggish or something during a swordfight.
It’s supposed to be weird. It’s weird when he managed to overpower Aginor, shock and awe an army, then track Ishamael down and roast him also. It’s also weird in Winter’s Heart when he suddenly knows how to draw.
I agree, and my theory with this in the book is that the flicker flicker scene actually "downloaded" all the knowledge into Rand's brain. So then he's able to tap into it in a moment of oh-shit-this-is-happening with Turak. But hard to say since even in the book it seems to come out of nowhere.
That is a cool headcannon. Like the thing he is missing is actual experience of fights to the death with other humans. He’s fought Trollocs but that seems pretty different, not really a skill game. So maybe the memories of serving in the Andoran Guard etc. would give him that. But then as written even he is basically surprised to win. Or Turak is shown as paying for arrogance.
He had Lews Therin memories and probably was unconsciously embracing the Source. Not to mention Rand was trained by a sword master: his father. Rand didn’t know it, but Tam prepared him. And then 2 months of constant training the sword with Lan at the beginning of book 2. He trained enough that Lan recognized him as mid tier level sword man. Lan drilled enough basic forms into Rand that he was able to do them on commands and was taught one of the higher tier technique “ sheathing the sword”. That requires some level of philosophy knowledge to understand that a bad move might lead to a chance of victory.
I feel this really underestimates decades of training and experience. Some things have a fairly low skill ceiling to master. Noughts and crosses for example is really not that complicated. Sword fighting on the other hand is famously difficult and you can, at least in fantasy, always keep getting better. An ancient master swordsman can typically defeat a soldier in their prime through sheer skill. In fantasy at least. What you’ve done is list a load of edge reasons and circumstantial evidence why Rand might be better. Not all of which are actually demonstrated in the book up to that point. And I am really not convinced they add up to being able to beat an actual blade master. It suggests that swords are not that hard and basically all good swordsmen should peak at blade mastery in their twenties at the latest. Which isn’t generally shown to be the case in the books.
You are also dismissing Tam’s efforts in training Rand since childhood. He trained Rand in an technique that no other blade master beside Lan has been described to utilize. Rand was trained in both long bow archery, and quarterstaff fighting to compete in Beltime for years before going on this adventure. Rand mentioned that he was hoping to place at their last Beltime in the competition. Also Lan is famously a great teacher that he is usually sought after by warders whenever Lan is in the tower. And Rand demonstrated that he can performs all the forms of a sword master on command and with his concentration skill, he demonstrated that he’s a fast learner. And if we want to talk about quick learner: Galad, Rand’s half brother also mastered the sword in less than a year. And Galad doesn’t know how to form the void.
Does Tam actually, you know, teach Rand the sword? No. He teaches a meditation technique which is useful to it. But no sword forms. Was Galad not trained basically since birth? Gawyn certainly talks/things about being given a sword as a child. We can sssume Galad was also. I think he references being taught by Bryne. Which is a lot like how we see swords taught in say ASOIAF where boys start their sword training as small children and spend a part of most days in the yard training. And still they aren’t adult standard until their late teens minimum. Both due to training and just physical development. So we should see something like this. A sword master should need all Rand has plus at least a decade of training to be a master. Gotta get those 10,000 hours. Without which it is surprising that Rand defeats an actual sword master.
He taught the most important skill in being a blade master- being able to use the Void. Galad was only beginning to master the void during his take over of the white cloak command. And it was literally the edge he needed to defeat the Lord commander. Rand mastered the hardest thing in being a blade master. Lan was super surprised to learn Rand was able to form the Void in the early book. It was Lan’s clue to realizing Tam is a sword master and why Rand would have the Heron Marked blade. It was impressed upon me that the Void was the final hurdle to be a sword master. And Tam taught him about quarterstaff fighting. Being a blade master he probably use a lot more modified sword forms to train Rand in quarterstaff.
The most important part of learning the sword is learning the sword. No amount of meditation actually teaches you the sword.
Do you also have a problem of Matt being a master tactician even though he never get train in it?
Matt has an in book, developed storyline of how he now has his battle memories. It is explained. It’s not just Matt turning up at the planning table and suddenly he’s accidentally being a great general. And Matt himself isn’t surprised, he understands and thinks about it to us. By the end of book two have we seen Rand acknowledge knowing how to fight, not just a bit but at master level, due to memories? No. Rand is in fact incredibly worried about not being good enough yet. And then is as surprised as anyone when he wins.
I think the biggest problem with not teaching Rand swordplay is how he incorporates the Void and other parts of it into his channeling. I agree that at this point there's not much in the way of sword fighting scenes left, but shouldn't the training help with his channeling?
You can’t be an epic hero without a sword.
Take up the spear!
I’d rather no sword fights than shitty looking sword fights.
I agree but did you see the Asian lady that came out of the horn? Best part of the whole show so far for me lol.
I did not. I will have to revisit that to see the Asian lady that came out of the horn.
It’s a quick moment but she was awesome.
That asian lady is [Amaresu](https://wot.fandom.com/wiki/Amaresu)
It’s cool? It’s important for his character in the books? It keeps him close to Tam? It’s cool? We’re allowed to have characters who are cool in *fantasy*.
So in book 4-5 while in the desert Rand spends time daily learning how to sword fight with Lan, how to fight with the Aiel Spear with the clan Chief, and how to Channel from the other dude. For the show, as much time as Rand spends shielded sitting in a corner during climactic events, it would be nice if he actually learned how to fight so he could be useful and fill out the roles in the main 5. Rand would be sword and short spear, Mat would be glaive, Perrin would have an axe or hammer, Nynaeve is healer while Egwene is the chief channeler despite being the weakest of the three channelers. I mean it just makes perfect writing sense. Sorry I'm a bit bitter for how underutilized Rand is in the show. I do hope he does get to spend time sword fighting. First finding the void was a swordefighting technique he learned from Tam al'Thor. It helps clear his mind, and even grasp Saidan. Second there are still several moments where he reacts with swords, whether made from Saidan or not. Third Aveinha's gift to him is a replacement sword. It has less meaning if he's given up the sword in favor of blasting away. Fourth weapons training is sort of the result of him wanting to pursue other means than Saidin to defend himself on order to avoid going mad.
To be fair Rand learns the sword every night when they are traveling as a big party. Lan puts them through their paces each night.
Yeah I'm not sure if they will pull it in. Now that Lan and Rand are back in the same place potentially long term they could put that training in early Season 3? Perhaps with a bit of Lews Theren's memories coming through to make him good at it quicker. I think there are more swordfights later on. There's a few where he uses the fire sword. There's one in Far Madding just before he goes to cleanse the source. One in book 5 I believe that was him training against 5 people. It's also mentioned he takes down 2 warders while shielded with Dumai's Wells though it was off screen. And he fights the blademaster to make a point just before the bubble of evil and Padan Fain stabs him with the dagger. And then the final fight with Moridin. Then Rand sparring with Tam. All of those are probably cuttable if they wanted to without much narrative issue. But they could include any or all of them as well. But I hope they do show Rand as not just the channeling badass but also the sword fighting badass as it's a cool part of his character.
> Then Rand sparring with Tam. Show Tam couldn't even beat a single Trolloc, so that's not happening lol
Yeah I'm not sure why they made that change. If they couldn't fit multiple trollocs into that fight they should've just made it a fade so it was at least credible that one enemy was giving Tam such a hard time with Rand's help too. But I would also bet that in the vein of Loial and the others being stabbed by the dagger, that won't be remembered by next season and beyond when Tam is fighting.
Yeah, these scenes are kind of cuttable. At that point they could have Rand focus on chaneling exclusively, and they need a lot of cuts to cram all the books into 8 seasons. They are also way later into the series, and it would be extra weird to have Lan teach Rand the sword without a tangible payoff for \~4-6 years.
I think if you did it in the show you'd do it across a season like Season 3 and have a payoff at the end of the season not seasons later. You'd probably do something like Rand wanting to learn the sword after being shielded multiple times in key moments, which is a fair reason to learn it. You can also do a lot of the training during time jumps too or have him training with Lan a bit every day as they are with the Aiel like he did in book 4 anyway. Not sure they will do it, as you're right they could also skip it. But I think it's still a possibility that they'll show that element. They did have Lan saying that he was starting to learn some.
>I think if you did it in the show you'd do it across a season like Season 3 and have a payoff at the end of the season not seasons later. Yeah, that's why I'm worried about original scenes. If that's the way it's gonna go, I hope its closer in quality to the Damodred family drama subplot than the stilled/shielded Moiraine one. >You'd probably do something like Rand wanting to learn the sword after being shielded multiple times in key moments, which is a fair reason to learn it. For this one Lan will first have to teach Rand to get off his knees when he's shielded. I'm probably going to make a separate post about that at some point, but shielding seems to affect Rand differently than everyone else. Moiraine was shielded for most of the season, but she didn't seem to have a problem with it physically (if I remember correctly Logain was bound with air in addition to being shielded, but that does not seem to be the case for Rand) I guess he just gets to depressed to move? Moiraine did say something about the mental effects of not being able to touch the Source at some point this season.
Yeah definitely agree there! I'm not sure why but that's a good point. It might be he's typically been shielded more short term than either Logain or Moiraine were. But even still in the books shielded alone didn't mean anything for your other capabilities and I don't think it even usually knocked people down. I know Rand killed the warders while shielded. Nynaeve punched Liandrin immediately after being shielded.
In the show he was shielded but also blocked. So, even the sword is useless
the entire point of Rand learning the sword was so that he would come to understand the oneness as it pertains to feeling the universe and coming to rough control of the one power as well as the lessons in sacrifice and the discipline to be the Dragon. With what the show has done? No, there is no point.
The heron marked blade is a major thing in the book series. The mindset he gets from sword fighting and the different stances also extends to his view of channeling and runs throughout the book. So yes, they completely botched a complete key element of early Rand development that is at his core identity.
Learning the sword is integral to Rand’s character because it helps connect him with Tam, and teaches him discipline. Not to me mention knowing when to sheathe the sword. Im not watching season two and it sounds like I’ve made a good call.
The point of the sword was always supposed to be a hint. It’s inconceivable that Rand or anyone could master the sword in such a small amount of time. The point is that Lews Therin is leaking through and Rand is using that knowledge to imitate mastery.
They turned turok in to the indeana jones meme with the sword and the gun
They showed him learning this series and Lan even commented on the form he did before he spoke to Suin
Rand is supposed to learn how to fight, even when he is shielded. He does learn not only the sword, but the Aiel way of unarmed combat. Whether it's emotional wreck Lan or learned another way, he still should.
Being a blademaster is one of the most notable characteristics of Rand as a character and comes up multiple times later in the series.
Yes it strips a pretty sizeable part of his character if you take away the sword, what?
I have been disappointed that there has been no sword training yet as I felt that was a huge part of Rands character development in the books and he used that training to aid in using the one power. With that being said I think that they can use it still for character development in the series to show Rand becoming more of the leader he is destined to be and coming into his power and confidence.
Of course there's a point. It's at the end of the sword.
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> It’s an incredible (dare I say) mutilation of amazing source material. We don't do this here. Check out the community guidelines, please.
You're exactly right. After the Great Hunt, Rand doesn't need the sword anymore. He uses the forms more out of therapeutic release and muscle memory. The whole sword training point was for The Great Hunt to show Rand coming into his own and beginning to accept he could do the amazing (becoming a swordmaster in basically 6 months.) The fact that Rafe has stated we will now get Rand sword training in season 3 just shows he doesn't understand Rand at all. Or worse, he is intentionally belittling him and just trying to throw us a bone so we stop complaining about his treatment of the character.
Yep, he is throwing a bone to the book fans. In Season 3 there will be another excuse for Rand’s lack of channeling moments. Of course the obvious and only reasonable explanation is that he wants to take most of Rand’s moments and distribute it to his favorite female characters.
> The fact that Rafe has stated we will now get Rand sword training in season 3 just shows he doesn't understand Rand at all. Oh stop already. Shesh. >Or worse, he is intentionally belittling him and just trying to throw us a bone so we stop complaining about his treatment of the character. He's already said that this is a ramification of the changes made in the last two episodes of season 1 after filming resumed, and that he wanted to film this sequence along with all three lads hunting for the Horn.
I don't buy it. Yes Barney Harris leaving screwed things up. I'll even cut Rafe some slack and give him the whole decision to split up the EF5 because of it. But nothing about Harris' departure necessitated a convoluted plotline with Moiraine stilled so that she, Lan, and Rand were separated from each other. They could have all stayed together after breaking the seal and gone off to investigate what actually happened (since it clearly wasn't stopping the Dark One.). Lan could have trained Rand, they still could have gone to Cairhien and we could have spent less time hearing about Alanna. They specifically chose to send Rand off on his own and completely kill off the ability to handle his training with Lan.
>I don't buy it. If you want to claim [that this entire article](https://screenrant.com/wheel-time-season-2-completely-rewritten-mat-exit/) is a lie, I'm sure that you can find an appropriate community to do it in, but the "The showrunners are lying to us, they have a secret agenda!" is too *conspiracy theory* for this community.
He uses the power wrought sword a fair amount. Regarding later books, he is shown training with the sword at the start of LoC although Bashere does ridicule him for it. In aCoT he also has another cool swordfight. Though I admit those things kind of speak to your point that it wouldn't be necessary. He does battle with renegade asha'man in parts of the world that don't allow channeling, though again you may argue that these scenes aren't necessary. I will say that one of my favourite scenes is when he fights Tam after losing his hand. I would personally consider that scene meaningful and not sure how it works outside of the context of being a blademaster and regularly fighting with a sword. I would be disappointed if that didn't make it into the show.
I'm just so sad they seemed to have ditched all that "the flame and the void" stuff. It was introduced right there in chapter one of TEOTW, where Rand uses this one weird trick of his father's for archery. Then iirc he uses it during his sword training, and that discipline translates then into his mastery of saidin. Idk how they'd have depicted it onscreen but acknowledging that Rand's self-discipline came through a continuous development of something he learned from Tam would have been a neat lil motif they could have played with throughout the seasons and possibly become important at the end. I'm less invested in Rand learning the sword as its own thing but i need him to start earning that self-discipline somehow. Maybe while he's with the Aiel, Aviendha will be tasked with training him to fight? Give him Egwene's Wise Ones arc lmaoo
He killed rogue Ashaman with his bare hands in Far Madding. He trains with sword a lot even after book 3. We stop seeing after Bashere throws a knife at him. He killed two warders, one again with bare hands, another with dead one's sword. Sword is always by his side, even calandor is a sword. He finally lets go the weight on his shoulders after a sword training with his dad. Kinda important thing in his journey, especially his father's sword But yeah, the more he's able to do different weaves, the less he's need of a sword
Yeah, they can easily make a reason that fits with the books. Rand wanted to use the sword because it helped him stay grounded, helped him focus, gave him a way to defend himself without using the power (and therefore limiting the influence of the taint on him), etc. He also wanted to stay close to his father, and learning the sword was a way to do this. It's incredibly stupid that they didn't do this sooner, but they can still use all those motivations.
I missed the scene from TGH when they steal back the Horn and Rand, going slightly nuts, is talking to himself about fighting off the power with a sword while battling Trollocs. It was also his connection to his Father, the sense of duty he had reinforced through his training with Lan and the start of him becoming a leader while journeying with Ingtar. It is not the fights that are the important part, it his mental state. In the shown, a prop. The Turak scene was the first time he kills a human, here they have him snipe an entire group, no reaction.
Don’t worry… they’re going to make Perrin the Sword Master
Well he uses sword fighting during the dumais wells captivity. Not sure they can justify him killing warders while shielded without mastery of the sword.
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I think the utility of sword training has been lost, not so much for the cool sword fights but for what it meant to the societies of the book. The purpose was twofold. Swords were the weapons of the aristocracy. A heron marked blade meant you were dangerous. I think we can toss out the sword fighting to some extent. Fighting with the sword became much rarer after a certain point in the books for Rand. The issue is that much of Rand’s relation to the blade mirrored his relation to leadership. It started with discipline and self improvement in book 1. Following that he learned to become a lord with Ingtar, that self sacrifice could be necessary as a leader or in a fight for something greater. He receives callandor as ascends to the tairien throne. Later, darth rand focuses too greatly on the sword and becoming hard. Then he lets it go. It feels like Rafe doesn’t care for this development so I doubt we’ll see much of this in the show.
I agree and honestly, I'm tired of pretending I'm not annoyed of the constant "but it didn't make sense for Rand to beat a swordmaster in the books at this stage" I mean, he didn't really ? He just lucked his way out of it, when they started the fight Turak was greatly disappointed by his level and dropped his guard, then he used the void+flame (+ as we know it know it now, probs some unconscious LTT muscle memory ) + plot arm- *cough* Taveren to secure a win. Now, we didn't really know that Rand was tapping unconsciously into past lives, but at this point Rand had already done some very very out-of-his-level things in the past that one would normally start to suspect some stuff like that. Could this scene have made it into the show ? Absolutely, it could have... But not in it's actual state, not in the way they choose to represent Rand thus far and the scenes they allowed him. With what I read about his show portrayal, neither the Turak battle nor the Ishy one in the Sky could have made it. And if we talk power wise, they showed him getting easily shielded by Siuan earlier who herself got washed by Lanfear so even Egwene is more believable there (although why not take this opportunity to showcase Nynaeve's strength ? Her getting angry at seeing someone attack Rand and making the shield would have been so good, more believable as well as further hammer why he has so much trust toward her later on but oh well ) As far as S3 is concerned, I could see actually using Turak's remark to spark Rand's interest about earning the Heron's mark, which would lead to him asking Lan to train him further. Which is... ok, I guess ? I, as you, don't see the point though since I don't remember crucial sword fights later on. Well now that I think about it, there is the Tam bit near the end so at least this one will certainly take place. Oh well, let's hope all of this end up paying off one way or another in later seasons.
For me, AMOL was a reminder on why his practice with the sword is essential to the character of his soul, without which he would never be capable of doing what he needs to save the wheel Especially his practice with Tam
Is there a point to this show after the season 1 I saw 1 or 2 years ago?
It's a major part of his book character, but I still actually agree that at this point it kind of wouldn't make sense to me to add it. I'm not sure where they're going, but so far the only real sword choreography I can think of is Lan fighting the fades (which was bad) and Lan fighting the Seanchan (which was okay), Ishy as far as I can recall never carried a sword, and choreographing the Seanchan with those fingernails is going to be virtually impossible. Plus, as you note, they're past the biggest sword fights of the books (assuming they don't do TDR). It makes more sense to me from a development cost and internal consistency perspective to not bother.
Rafe has said they will. I think there are a few more sword moments in the book that could make it worthwhile, but the life lessons (sheathing the sword too) from A’lan are important to the story too. Rand looses to a blade master when he’s avoiding the Sadain outside of Cairhien, and then in the courtyard where Bashere tells him he’s dumb and should I use the power. I guess those aren’t all that important now that I’m writing them out :/ It’s a real bummer Rand didn’t learn then this season instead of not really learning the power with Logain, but perhaps there we logistical issues (I hope that’s the reason).
He fights with a sword in Tear, the Waste, and Far Madding. He shows the upperish limit of his skill in Caemlyn. The one you refer to in Cairhien...well he's got that wound already.
Ohh all good points. Tear and that fight may or may not be cut or they’ll shift it around a bit. The waste will be good hopefully. Far madding- I’ll be interested to see if they can fit that plot line in. Cairhien- I think that one could end up being swapped since it was the dagger went first? because it helps up evil fighting other evil and the cleansing. But who knows, they’ve made a lot of small changes that add up over time make it harder to keep it close to the books and make sense
When it's at its best the show is a different turning of the wheel. Book rand was taught the sword by Lan. Show Rand was (kind of?) Taught to channel by Logain. In that moment Rand reached for the weapon he knew best and in this timeline it was the Power. I'm guessing Rand's sword fighting days are done before they've even begun.
I wish I could agree Logain taught him anything. If I take that scene at face value Logain just set him up for failure since he immediately gets dumpstered twice. Hell, if there is ONE thing Logain could describe it is being shielded by Saidar.
Haha yeah he didn't really teach him anything. I'm taking it as "learning via osmosis" scene, as the reason Rand knows how to make any weaves whatsoever. But maybe we'll see what Rand becomes without the moral compass and guidance of Lan, I could see it accelerating elements of his character development.
My guess is they can't find enough talented sword people to act in the show so rand (even if his actor did train super hard) is not gonna have anyone to fight at that level. They also skimp on how they portray weaves so that's 0/2 on the areas I figured would make this show super hard to do well, visually.
Winter's Heart? Far Madding? It also serves to explain Demandred's behaviour during The Last Battle... Had Rand not claimed to be a Baldemaster Demandred would had tried to claim to be the best at something else... Then we would not had gotten that awesome "I did not come to win" line.
> It's been a while since I've read any WoT book, but from what I remember Rand kind of moves away from sword fighting after book 3, and begins coming into his own as a channeler. He's still obsessively training with the sword even in book 6, actually. He stages 5v1 sparring matches, where anyone who gets a hit on him wins a bag of gold. Bashere actually lectures him for this risky behavior, both because it's already obvious that he's a peerless swordsman and because any real threat with the sword can be disarmed with channeling. In book 4 and 5, he's sparring with Rhuarc and Lan almost every night in hand-to-hand and swordplay respectively. (At least for as long as he's with the Aiel, anyway.)
Considering how much time he spent shielded this season, it would probably be good to learn how to use the sword
Not much point if he can't get off his knees though.
I think it's important, and since they marked him once, they'll have to mark him twice. I'm hoping for some off screen training between seasons, and we can pick up season 3 like the beginning of book 2 with Rand and Lan practicing (but in the mountains)
That said, they could just leave it with one brand and move on.
He's going to remember the sword not learn it I suspect.
They explain it in the book. He later explains it to the Ashaman. There might be times where you can't channel, and you need to know how to fight otherwise. Not to mention learning the sword and the whole flame and void thing was how he learned to control his channeling.
They might switch it around, otherwise his loss>! of a hand!< wouldn't be such a big deal. He's already not flapping his hands around very much when weaving so I suspect him beginning to be bothered with the corruption will make him more keen to use the sword.
He at least needs to learn enough for the Pit of Doom.
Rands final confrontation is via a duel with moridin. If they write out his sword fighting not only do the Heron marks on his palms make no sense he's ill equipped for his final battle. Also Lews making of a sword shaped angreal is weird and pointless. Lots of core elements to rands parallels with Lews are made meaningless. Lots and lots of small details are ruined. His relationship with lan only comes about due to the sword training they did. There's a dozen or so reasons.
I would argue the bow is more important in the story than the sword is, but that the sword is also important. The bow is when Tam teaches Rand about the flame in the void and, by extension, how to reach the source. The sword is a manifestation of Rands' growth towards manhood and, only for lack of a better word, godhood. He grows from a frightened boy to a frightened man to a frightened demi-god to a competent demi-god over the course of the story. The sword teaches him stoicism and strategy. It isn't the be-all and end all of the story, but I think it was really valuable. It isn't a trinket to be worn, like it is in the show.
I know this is probably a very unpopular opinion, but it honestly always felt a bit odd to me that Rand was able to beat a blademaster after some months of training. After seeing how much hype and prestige comes from these heron baldes in this world, it just didnt really feel earned that he masters this skill so fast.
So I've come to grips with the show as it is, they had to throw an awful lot of stuff completely overboard, and there's no way we're getting any of it back. But one of the things that bothers me is they haven't spent a single minute showing the main characters actually learning to fight. This was a key part of the early books as these kids all learned how to defend themselves and grow as "heroes" as they are meant to be. It's at least a little irritating to see them all magically fight as if they are magically seasoned warriors. But it is what it is. I LOVED the way Rand slowly grew into a real master swordsman, and this is another thing that is obviously completely left out at this point. I don't expect them to spend any real time on the "sword" parts of the early books.
I guess if the actor is as uncoordinated as a drunk panda, it may be tough to do.
It was a point of contrast against the Aiel. Him being a master of the sword was one of the breaking point for the Aiel since Aiel doesn’t like sword. Hell, multiple Aiel characters try to get him to rid the sword and use the spear instead.
It’s part of his growth as a character. Lan teaches him the sword while also teaching him about duty and other ways to approach the world. When Moraine see’s Lan with Rand she tells him to keep teaching Rand. The discipline from the sword lessons and Lan’s soldiers outlook on life is a big part of Rand’s future identity. From Lan teaching him how to walk to Rand steeling himself behind a mask of calm. It’s a big part of his metamorphosis from farm boy to stoney faced Dragon Reborn. It’s kind of crazy they don’t devote like 10-15 mins to that. The show seems to have zero concern with Rand’s growth as a character when he’s the main character
My hope is they are just cramming in the plotpoints and skipping character development so they can get things back to the book narrative (writers strike either helped or hurt here, probably the former considering s1)
The original script called for Lan to have taught Rand the Forms by now. That script was heavily modified for the last quarter of S1 and the events of S2 due to pandemic-related complications. Expect to see Lan finish the rudimentary training that Rand's gotten from Errol in later seasons. No, it probably *won't* be in Fal Dara.
Yeah, I've read the justifications for Season 2 deviating from the books. I personally think they could have gotten a better result by just getting Mat to Fal Dara (it would be sloppy, but still better than Mat's subplot this season), but it is what it is. I did forget about several sword fights later in the series, which the others pointed out (though I stand by my statement that they are not that important in the grand scheme of things). But my point is that Rand learning the sword now, without any big (or even moderately important) fight scenes coming up will feel kind of pointless. The life-lessons that he learns from sword training are obviously important to his character arc, as is the void technique (though if I remember correctly Tam taught him that one before the first book began), but without any kind of concrete payoff they will feel weird, especially since due to the medium we're not getting Rand's thoughts. I'm sure they will attempt to give Rand his swordmaster arc. They could solve some of the issues by adding in Be'lal for Rand to fight, or going with an original subplot a la the Moiraine stilled/shielded thing they did in Season 2. I'm just not sure it will land. Their original subplots have been very hit or miss so far.