Wheel of Time and the Art of Romantic Subplots: Selling 'Love At First Sight'

So, there’s this bit in the second season finale of Amazon’s Wheel of Time show, and, while I do have some issues with how this show has adapted the books I love so very much, this detail does a lot to assure me that yes, the writers probably do understand the source material and are building up one of the most beloved elements from it in the form of protagonist Rand Al’Thor (Josha Stradowski) and one of his love interests.

The Dragon Reborn, fated to battle the Dark One for the fate of all humankind at the mythical Last Battle, has taken a fatal wound via a cursed dagger, and is in desperate need of healing. Only two healers are on hand, so one of them, Elayne Trakand (Ceara Coveney), daughter-heir to the Lion Throne of Andor (one of the most powerful nations on the continent where the story takes place), has to step up to heal him. And as she seals shut a wound that should never be able to heal, he looks up at this young woman whom he just met ten seconds ago and sees her bathed in light and surrounded by ethereal noise like some kind of beautiful angel:

Elayne Trakand Heals Rand al'Thor from Forsaken Wound - The Wheel of Time, 2x8 What Was Meant To Be

This a substitute for how these two meet in the source material. In the first book of the series, The Eye of the World, after being forced to leave his beloved home village of the Two Rivers, Rand finds himself in Caemlyn, Andor’s capital. He wants to get a better view of something, so he climbs up a high wall and… Immediately falls over to the other side. While there, hurting from the fall, he looks up and he sees… Her. The princess he’s heard so much about. Elayne, in the royal gardens of Caemlyn, pristine and beautiful and ethereal. She tends to his wounds, something she often does for strays she finds on the palace grounds because Elayne starts out as a low-key Disney Princess (she’s great). And she’s immediately charmed by this handsome, polite, endearingly dorky country boy who all but literally falls into her lap, just as he’s immediately taken by this regal, refined, kindhearted princess. Thus begins Rand’s longest standing romantic subplot (but not remotely his only one- we’ll get to that later).

Now, part of the reason I compare Elayne to a Disney Princess is because she falls in love with him at first sight, and he essentially does for her as well (buttoned-up hayseed that he is at the start of the series, he’s a little reluctant to admit it). And I know what some of you are no-doubt thinking: seriously? Love at first sight? That’s bullshit. That’s not realistic at all. There’s no way I’m gonna get emotionally invested in this nonsense. And I know some of you are thinking that because that is what I thought the first time I read this scene in Eye of the World many years ago.1

And then I wound up buying it. Getting heavily invested in it. One might even say I ship it (because I do). How and why did this come to pass? Well, I can explain, but first, a quick primer:

Wheel of Time is an epic fantasy novel series consisting of 14 core books, the first of which was published in 1990 and the last of which in 2013. Originally created by Robert Jordan, he passed away after completing the eleventh volume. His will stipulated that his wife/editor Harriet McDougal find someone to finish the series for him, and she ultimately chose Mistborn and eventual Stormlight Archive author Brandon Sanderson (a pre-established mega-fan of the series) to do so. Jordan left behind copious notes, and Sanderson turned them into three final volumes to tell the complete story as close to how Jordan envisioned it as possible.

WoT is set in a familiar yet fantastical world that was broken following a war with the Dark One three thousand years ago, in which a Chosen One called the Dragon Reborn sealed the Dark One away but in the process allowed the magic source that male mages channel to be tainted by the Shadow. As a cost of this, the Dragon, and all male channelers, slowly go insane the more they use their powers. At the start of the story, however, the Dark One’s prison is beginning to break open, meaning it is time for the Dragon Reborn to ride again on the winds of time. The series is also currently being adapted into a live action streaming series from Prime Studios, with two seasons (covering the events of the first three novels) already out, and a third season set to debut on March 13, 2025.

Everybody got that? Good. And yes, I’m aware, that doesn’t sound like anything too special at a glance, but trust me when I say that as the series goes on it becomes clear that it is very special indeed. I love these books. I love the way they play with, subvert, execute, and reconstruct time-honored fantasy tropes while giving every story beat as much breathing room as possible in order to justify every single one of them; I love its sprawling cast of diverse characters, every one of whom is the hero of their own story with rich inner lives and complex arcs; I love the worldbuilding and the way it incorporates gender, both in terms of personal identity and societal roles, onto every level of the setting (the Daoist overtones definitely help with that part); I love the unhinged, chaotic, terrifyingly realistic way Jordan2 writes combat and the over the top anime battle way in which Sanderson writes it; and yes, I love all the many, many romantic subplots. Including the ones that employ the ‘love at first sight’ trope in some capacity (which is most of them).

But, and this is the question I’m going to try to answer today, why? How can a story take such a ridiculous, childish conceptualization of romance and make it work as a form of serious adult drama and character development in the context of an epic, good vs evil, high fantasy saga?

Well, for one thing, WoT is patterned heavily off of a variety of mythological and folkloric influences, which means yes, much of the lovey-dovey stuff is very much trying to invoke 'Fairy Tale Romance’ and all that entails. Thus, love at first sight is the proverbial soup du jour, much of the time. It’s all a part of the vibes.

For another thing, as is often the case in Chosen One stories, destiny is a factor. More specifically, the Wheel of Time itself refers to a sort of loom of fate, that which spins the threads of ‘The Pattern’, i.e. the cycle of life and destiny that sees souls reincarnated so the struggle between the Light and the Shadow can play out time and time again in a sort of proxy war between the Creator and the Dark One.3 So yes, in several cases, the couples are reincarnations of lovers who have fallen for each other time and time again, and others still are being guided by destiny itself to the person they’re fated to fall in love with. And Wheel of Time is all about playing up destiny as a thing the characters are aware of and actively try to game at certain points (especially Rand). So that provides an in-universe explanation for all the Love at First Sight, but why should you, the reader/viewer, care about these couples who are together because destiny says so?

Well, as with most things in this series, it’s partially a case of giving things enough time to develop properly, giving the characters the time to live in the reality of falling in love at first sight, and partially a case of the characters being aware of the red strings of fate around them and attempting to avoid being ensnared (unsuccessfully, much of the time).

And thus, we get back to Rand and Elayne. After meeting in the first book, they don’t really see much of each other again until book 4, as Rand is busy first trying to avoid and then trying to solo-run his messianic destiny (spoilers: it doesn’t work) and Elayne is going to the White Tower (witch school, basically) to learn magic alongside Rand’s friends Egwene and Nynaeve (who collectively form a trio affectionately referred to by fans as ‘The Wonder Girls’), but that first impression sticks with the both of them. They are CONSTANTLY at the forefront of each other’s minds, even as Elayne finds herself increasingly in over her head and Rand finds himself losing his feelings for his childhood crush Egwene and having a series of run ins with a demonic yandere named Lanfear (remember her, she’ll be important later). Rand quickly finds himself wanting to be with Elayne, and by the end of book 3, as he begins to truly accept his destiny after he’s bannered in fire in the skies above a major city while having a sword-fight with his own personal Judas Iscariot (in makes sense in context), he decides to commit to her. And, when they’re finally given some time to spend together in the first act of book 4, The Shadow Rising, they… Commit. And they’re like, super cute! Which definitely helps.

In a lot of ways, the Love at First Sight trappings are analogous to something that does actually happen in real life: sometimes, you meet someone and there’s a spark right away; you’re taken with each other rapidly, and it feels dangerous, it feels scary, but it also feels amazing, and all you want is to see that person again to see if it’s a real connection or just fleeting infatuation. In Rand and Elayne’s case, it’s more than fleeting. It also probably helps that Elayne is heavily implied to be the reincarnation of the previous Dragon’s wife, Ilyena, but on the whole, it’s two young people who see a possibility for happiness in each other and decide to take a risk. She teaches him about leadership and politics, and he teaches her about the little people in the kingdom she’s supposed to one day run (all in between make-out sessions, of course). Like I said, adorable.

But there’s a complication to this. The Pattern says Rand will fall in love with Elayne… But not just Elayne. In fact, the Dragon Reborn is fated to have an epic romance with no less than three beautiful women!

The Wheel Of Time | The Truth About Rand's Past - YouTube

So what about the other two? Is that also love at first sight?

Uh… Yeah, actually. Though it’s played differently in all three cases.

So, also in the first book, we meet Min, and she’s like no other woman Rand has ever met. For one thing, he thought she was a boy at first (sigh), with her short hair and breeches and scrappy personality. She’s older than him by a good four years and comes across as worldly and mature and cool. However, there’s something going on with her, something that keeps drawing her back to him. You see, Min is able to ‘read the Pattern’, which is to say she’s able to have visions of people’s destinies. Including Rand’s, which means she can see exactly which three women he’s fated to be with. And one of them is herself.

She reveals this when he’s splayed-out unconscious, asking herself why it has to be her, why she’s going to know the agony of loving this man, of loving a man at all (something she’s never experienced before), and moreover why he would ever want to be with a ‘barely a woman’ like her (relatable). Rand, obviously, is not privy to this conversation, but still: she stays on his mind. Every time he’s dealing with romantic woes involving Elayne or his other love interest, he thinks of Min, how easy she is to talk to, how much he wants to learn everything about this woman and what makes her unique. He dreams of her (and the other girls). Not a single volume goes by without him thinking about her. He’s drawn to her, and he can’t quite explain why.

As for her, well, she’s freaking out about the whole thing while having to go on the run because her visions put her in danger, only to find herself at the White Tower and is forced to go in… Disguise. So, Min ‘wasn’t raised in dresses’ as we’re told time and time again. It basically comes off like she was raised as a boy, but while she’s in the tower, she poses as a high lady with a girly, simpering personality and is clad in fancy dresses and heavy makeup (neither of which she has ever worn before). In doing so, she winds up getting some insights into the power of traditionally feminine pursuits, which is important to her because she’s worried Rand doesn’t see her as a woman. And yes, I do consider Min to be trans girl coded, why do you ask? She incorporates this into her pre-established ‘masculine’ interests and by the time she’s reunited with Rand in book 6, she’s rocking a very strong aesthetic of colorful pantsuits with flower embroidery, high-heeled riding boots, curled hair, and just a touch of makeup. She’s great, just a full-on futch icon.

And she goes to Rand, sees him on a throne, and decides she’s going to prove to him ‘exactly how much of a woman she’s become’, and she does this by sitting on his lap and making out with him while whispering prophecies into his ears. Rand… Is still new to the whole ‘ethical polyamory’ thing, so he’s a bit slow on the uptake, but as time, proximity, common interests, strong chemistry, and shared trauma bring them ever-closer together, he realizes… He NEEDS her. Not her visions, her specifically. He loves her. She gives him something his other love interests can’t give him, an undefinable quality and a constant companionship. Because she fell in love with him at first sight, and she spent three books trying to run away from it, followed by two and a half more books sitting with what that means to her, letting it change her, letting it help her explore parts of herself she’s had to keep bottled up for her whole life. And because Rand, for his part, didn’t even realize he fell for her when they first met. They weren’t ready for each other yet. The chemistry, the attraction, was there right away, but it took time to build into something real. He had to sit with it, try out other things, other girls, in order to see the different ways in which something like this could work for him. He had to grow and change into someone who could be good for her, much like she changed for him. Which I personally think is a very clever thing the series does: falling in love at first sight does not mean getting into a relationship at first sight. Sometimes, in relationships, you need time to accept what it really means. It scares you, it overwhelms you, but the only way to be happy is to accept how you feel and take the risk.

It also helps that Min is at Rand’s side for quite literally the entire rest of the series. Where he goes, she goes. He wants to push her away, he desperately wants to keep her from getting hurt, but he can’t bring himself to. In part because he didn’t embrace the Love at First Sight initially, once he gets a taste, he never wants to let it go. And because Min has run from this for so long, once she’s with him, she realizes how stupid she was for avoiding it. She doesn’t beat herself up for it because she wasn’t ready yet when they first met, but having accepted her fate of loving this man, she finds happiness at his side. It’s honestly really beautiful.

And then, oh good golly, then there’s Aviendha.

So, context: Rand, who was adopted at birth, is ethnically one of the Aiel, the nomadic, Fremen-esque warriors who live in the continent’s northern wastelands. Part of his destiny is to unite the disparate Aiel clans under the banner of the Dragon and take his place as their messiah, the Car’a’carn (literally ‘chief of chiefs’). We first meet Aviendha in book 3, and she quickly buddies up to Elayne. The two become VERY close very quickly, even as Elayne starts to get with Rand. And Aviendha, initially, HATES Rand.

She hates how he’s an Aiel who doesn’t know anything of his people but is supposed to lead them; she hates how he wants to protect every woman he meets while barely understanding anything about them; she hates his old-fashioned, sheltered country boy schtick; she hates how he makes moon-eyes at Min and Lanfear when he’s supposed to be committed to Elayne (even as she and Elayne progress to a point where they’re sharing a bed and taking baths together; read into that as much as you want- I certainly do); she hates his stupid, handsome face and stupid, broad shoulders and stupid six-pack abs; she hates how he she’s assigned by her clan’s wise women to teach him the ways of their people and to guard his room every night; she hates how he brings a blanket for her every night and gives her fancy jewelry presents for no reason and is constantly going out of his way to be nice to her even when she insults him every time they talk.

Methinks the lady doth protest too much.

Rand doesn’t get it. He genuinely thinks she hates him, even though he can’t help but admire her strength, her prowess, her passion, her fire, her wild beauty. He dreams about her, just like Elayne and Min. And he hates how he wants her, because he’s still trying to stay monogamous for Elayne (even though, and I really cannot emphasize this enough, Aviendha and Elayne have so much sapphic subtext it frankly goes way over the line from queer-baiting into the realm of ‘this is as much as they could get away with showing in the 90s’). But he does fall for her, even if it takes a lot longer with her then it does with Elayne or Min. He doesn’t fall in love at first sight… But she does.

And it INFURIATES her.

Have you ever liked someone who you wish you didn’t? Have you ever felt that kind of frustration as this person you want to hate starts taking up more and more space in your head, and you start seeing more and more of their positive qualities and the internal image of them you’ve built up as this obnoxious cad just crumbles? I sure fucking have. It’s human. The only real exaggeration is that for Avi the attraction hits hard right away, and so she has a knee-jerk reaction of ‘reeee I hate you’ to compensate!

So, she runs from it, runs from it so much that she nearly dies of hypothermia because of it. But Rand is gonna Rand, and by ‘Rand’ I mean save her but inadvertently wind up in a compromising position as a result… And well, it can be difficult to keep up the pretense you’re not into someone when they’re literally on top of you. Naked.

It makes sense in context.

So yeah, Avi even says something about how she can’t stop herself and is just gonna let herself give in this one time. And give in she does. Rand, for his part, freaks out and says they have to get married now, but Avi just rolls her eyes and says they need to prostrate themselves to Elayne now. Elayne, who is just OVERJOYED that her boyfriend and her girlfriend are now also dating each other.

Avi tried to run from Love at First Sight. She made a truly valiant attempt. But LaFS cannot be denied. And honestly, I think this is probably the best-executed rendition of it in all of WoT, in part because Avi is both bothered and intrigued by what she feels for Rand and because Rand himself does not experience it with her, so we get to watch him slowly develop feelings for Avi that are as strong as hers for him over the course of multiple books. And once they do, Avi is reduced to a state of furious blushing every time she’s near him or even when she thinks about him, like she can’t believe how good this feels. Their final notable solo scene together in the last volume, A Memory of Light is legitimately adorable and heartwarming because of all this. It’s a really sweet examination of what it’s like when you fall for someone very quickly and, slowly, they come to see you the same way.

After this, followed by Min’s ascension to Rand’s main squeeze in book 6, the polycule, such as it is, has been formed. All three girls are on the same page, Elayne and Avi are clearly also dating each other based on the sheer amount of face-touching and mutual admiration and Elayne dressing Avi up in pretty clothes and the two of them doing an elaborate ceremony that also ends with them naked on top of each other (yes, really), and by book 9 (Winter’s Heart) they’ve all accepted what’s happened to them. Rand is still baffled by the whole thing, but he accepts it.

Because that’s what these books are all about. I’ll talk about this more next time I write about WoT, but a core theme of the series is accepting that sometimes you are powerless in the face of the universe. That your life has been shaped by people and forces outside of your control, and that the only way to gain agency is to surrender to the path that has been laid out for you. And that’s true of love, really. It can override our reason, make us stupid, make us courageous, make us feel more happiness and hurt than we ever thought possible. And while you can ring your hands together trying to understand it like Rand, while you can run away from it like Min, while you can try to fight it like Aviendha… Sometimes, the best thing to do is just accept it and let yourself be happy. All the LaFS’ in this series are just an extreme version of it, heightened for the sake of the bombastic high fantasy story WoT tells. Through Rand and his women, we see variations on this idea, and by taking the time to explore how this would feel, to try to find workarounds, and to actually give into it and let yourself be carried away with the power and might true love like a rushing river, it sells you on the validity of relationships that, in theory, should be ‘completely unrealistic.’

And, befitting the character-driven nature of WoT, these romantic subplots directly inform the plot-centric direction of its cast, tying into the theme of surrendering control as a form of gaining agency in the face of a universe too complicated for any one person to ever fully control. It not only executes beautifully on a trope most people would scoff at but makes it a thread in the majestic tapestry of its wider saga.

I love the hell out of these books, and Rand’s polycule gives me life as a bisexual woman. If any of all that sounds cool or interesting or swoon-worthy to you, well, give the books a read or give the show a watch! Either way, I think you’ll find something you like!

Happy reading and happy viewing, y’all! And remember: the wheel weaves as the wheel wills (and apparently it wills super cute fairy tale romances!)

1 Seven years ago, as of this writing. I was all of twenty-one years old, still the impression I was a straight boy when I would eventually realize I was neither of those things, and still enjoying the honeymoon phase of my first ever long-term relationship… so naturally, I assumed I knew all there was to know about love in my ‘infinite wisdom.’

2 A veteran of the Vietnam War who served as both a grunt and then later an officer.

3 ‘Abrahamic Daoism with a side order of Norse Mythology’ is the quickest way to describe the cosmology of the setting, though there’s also noticeable streaks of Hindu, Buddhist, and Celtic mythological influences as well.