I think its safe to say that the new rand was intentional. the question is whether it was merely a plot device or part of his character due to his recent changes. imo it is really how rand would behave. i mean to suddenly gain the wisdom and experience of 400 years is going to change you. not to mention the fact that the biggest weight on rands mind was his death,and he now has the memory of going insane, killing his family and everyone he knew then becoming sane just long enough to kill himself. knowing the worst possible way he can die must make sacrificing himself to stop the dark one and save the world seem easy. these two things alone would explain his new "zen" attitude. as to the monologues with strangers thing; the two rivers was a quiet peaceful place where rand grew up honest and unafraid and as we see when he encounters daes daemar he prefers to be straightforward and it works. as he became darker he trusted everyone less and less and kept his thoughts to himself more which led to him becoming even darker. now that he has released that darkness he can return to the straightforward person that he is.