Changes to Mat’s character

[jeffreycwagner]

12 minutes ago, Elder_Haman said:

Whoa there, cowboy! I didn't say that "Perrin is wrecked" because I don't think he is. And I don't think it will "take something incredible to salvage him" because I don't.

 

Perrin did not seem like a neglectful husband or like he was uncommitted to work. There does seem to be some backstory of his that we don't have full knowledge of. Whether its a bad marriage, or an unplanned pregnancy, or some lingering jealousy over something.

 

?? I said from what we have seen so far, most of those these could be possible and we have nothing else to go on - for me, right now, he is not Book Perrin - it does not ruin the show, but changing him is ruining him for me - so wrecked is short for he is no longer the character I loved in the books.  And it does need "something" to salvage Book Perrin.

[Dozer]

It seems to me that they are trying to condense Mat's character with the changes to his family background. 

 

Early in the story he is just the complaining prankster (under the daggers influence mostly) and not the lovable gambler that leads the Band.  Face it, for all his bravery and impact in the Final Battle, he is still a complaining, womanizing gambler and partier ( a la Doc Holliday).  They furthered this development by changing his upbringing and therefore introducing him as a poorer version of the Mat we see him grow into in the later novels (after MANY trials and tribulations) 

[DojoToad]

37 minutes ago, MasterAblar said:

 

I think if anything needed to be shortened its probably the battle. Nyneave and Moiraine have a very confrontational relationship in the books, I wasn't bothered with them trying to bring it across early.

Yes, they did.  But the sacred pool was contrived and unneeded.  Moiraine poked her once by ignoring her at the inn entrance.  She could have poked her again in the aftermath of the battle. Etc.

[TheTuna450]

18 hours ago, flinn said:

 This really isnt the line I draw in the sand. I dont like they made Mat a thief, but it isnt a deal breaker.

 

 But come on now... how anyone can see Mat doing it as honorable is beyond me.

 

 Rand said he "lost count" of how much Mat lost... he only needed 1 mark from Fain to get the lanterns...

 

 I guess we now can say Rand cant count past 1?

 

 or lets go with the simple thing... they made Mat into a thief.

 

it really only bothers me because Mat (who is one of my all time favorite characters in any genre) was always a really good person, no matter what his mouth said. He may grumble and complain and say "I would never do such a thing", but when push comes to shove, he always ALWAYS did the right thing.

 

 that is no longer Mat.

Mat in the first 2 books bears very little resemblance to the Mat we all love. I have every confidence that the show Mat will get over these issues and grow as a person. This is simply being set up as an early conflict for him because he really doesn't have much to work with from EotW and tGH.

[KakitaOCU]

On 11/22/2021 at 9:05 AM, TheTuna450 said:

I don't mind the Mat changes because (if we're being honest) Mat sucks in EotW and tGH and doesn't become the Mat we all know and love until tDR. He has basically no real character in the first 2 books and is completely insufferable. That works OK for the books due to the way they're set up, but the show had to give him more of a meaningful conflict early on, and I think the family drama is a fine way to do it.

This.

Let's be honest, do we even see Mat before Shadar Logoth?  He plays some pranks and has some lines and... Yeah...

Then all of a sudden in Book 3 he's really skilled in Gambling and has very quick hands..  He had to learn those skills somewhere.