What is Olver's purpose?

[joeron bigelow]

So in that "olver is not gaidal" thread...there is a quote from RJ that Olver has a purpose, he is not a red herring...

 

Has that purpose been revealed yet? Because I haven't seen any of it, or maybe i'm too dense to understand.

[XoMeltdownoX]

At the risk of sounding like a meegerling: RAFO

 

Joking...

 

I have a few ideas, but I have not fleshed out the theories enough to post.

[Neophyte]

To find out from Birgitte how to get into the Tower of Ghenjei ...

 

To open Verin's letter to Mat ...

 

...

 

...

 

... and to kill Daved Hanlon!

[F Horn of Valere]

To discover Bela's true identity.

[lolguy26]

To discover Bela's true identity.

 

Who is BELA

 

The story of a village working horse to the horse of aes sedais

 

 

[Southpaw89]

I do think he will die

[Zorlon]

Is it impossible, either logically or thematically, that Olver is a Darkfriend?

[Sasha Grayes]

He is Matrim Cauthon's Uncle Ben Reilly.

[FarShainMael]

I think he's Mordred to Mat's Arthur. See sig.

 

http://www.dragonmou...caemlyn-battle/

[he who comes with a bong]

i think oliver is in the story to help mat become more responsible towards his duties.

[b3arz3rg3r]

Me too. Mat is someone who needs someone else he can look after to remind him of his own responsibilities. RJ filled that role with the terrible trio in distress and with Olver.

[Maleshub]

Olvar could be Mat's weakness after he has come to terms with his destiny. Min was Rand's weakness that broke him during the Semirhage incident. Faile's abduction broke Perrin. Harm to Olvar, if Mat sees it as his responsibility, will probably have a similar effect on him.

[b3arz3rg3r]

Olvar could be Mat's weakness after he has come to terms with his destiny. Min was Rand's weakness that broke him during the Semirhage incident. Faile's abduction broke Perrin. Harm to Olvar, if Mat sees it as his responsibility, will probably have a similar effect on him.

 

It's too late for that. Mat can't afford to go into a deep depression at this point. Or he will miss everything important in the book.

[FarShainMael]

If anybody was Mat's weakness, it was Tylin.

[Luckers]

To be a creepy little son of a....

 

 

Lol. Although actually I've always said it'd be interesting to see one of the characters actually go through the process of joining the Shadow, and Olver's PoV in TofM was genuinely creepy.

[yoniy0]

You're the only one I've seen say that, boss, and I still maintain you can't psychoanalyze a teenager.

[bsmnt23]

Olver is being groomed to become the next Jain Farstrider. Think about it. He's getting the best education anyone could ever hope for. Court politics, intrigue and history from Thom (and knives). Holms-like thinking from Julien. Soldier's skils from the cream of the crop of the Band. Riding and horse husbandry from Mat and Vannin. Nobles' behavior from Talmanes and the other nobles who've adopted him. And everything else he's picking up from Mat, too: the dark one-may care attitude and the player's smile (wich is a thing that he probably wont appriciate for a few more years, not fully, but he will). Pluse the lust for adventure and strange lands he's been picking up from Noal (the man himself!)

 

He's gong to be the one to go out into the new world that's being forged in the aftermath of TLB and he's going to be the best-suited to continuing the exploring and learning of strange lands begun by Jain and enjoyed by the (aparently millions) peoples of Randland for decades.

 

And there's nothing creepy about the little guy; he's just a little seed of awesomeness.

[MarkDiLillo]

It is not typical of Jordan, but i had always figured Olver was going to die and "break" Mat into finally growing up.

 

I get the feeling this wont be the case anymore though.

[Rocky_Outcrop]

i think oliver is in the story to help mat become more responsible towards his duties.

 

I think this is it exactly. I would also suggest he was in the story so someone could play snakes and foxes etc and flesh that whole part out. Both of these things have happened though so maybe his days are numbered... Ha no, he will grow up to be the next Farstrider or Thom, or a great general. Mat's protogy.

[Lurk No More]

He will help Mat grow up, by dying.

[flinn]

Olver is going to save Camelyn, of course.

[Luckers]

You're the only one I've seen say that, boss, and I still maintain you can't psychoanalyze a teenager.

 

Meh. Diagnosing sociopathy in children is somewhat controversial, much the same of the question of other personality disorders in children, but there is research into it going on.

 

For all that I truly suspect that the elements in Olver that are suggestive of that--his strictly literal quid pro quo perception of his relationship with Mat, his abstract expectation of sexuality (as opposed to mimicry of adult relationships) and so forth are really just Brandon's blunt informing of character motivation at play. In truth its no different from what he did with Mat or Cadsuane or Rand, but the reason its striking some of us as creepy is because instead of it being a blunt adults perception of inner motives portrayed in an adults POV (which just feels clunky) its a blunt adults perception portrayed in a child's POV--in effect its a child character informed by an adults perspective, which feels off and--when it comes to an assessment of sex and debts and so forth it does feel creepy.

 

Olver winning snakes and foxes just topped it off.

 

As for only me being the only one to say it, lol--with the exception of this thread, I havn't even been the one to raise the issue any of the times its come up.

[Aebram]

Olver is being groomed to become the next Jain Farstrider. Think about it. He's getting the best education anyone could ever hope for. Court politics, intrigue and history from Thom (and knives). Holms-like thinking from Julien. Soldier's skils from the cream of the crop of the Band. Riding and horse husbandry from Mat and Vannin. Nobles' behavior from Talmanes and the other nobles who've adopted him. And everything else he's picking up from Mat, too: the dark one-may care attitude and the player's smile (wich is a thing that he probably wont appriciate for a few more years, not fully, but he will). Pluse the lust for adventure and strange lands he's been picking up from Noal (the man himself!)

 

He's gong to be the one to go out into the new world that's being forged in the aftermath of TLB and he's going to be the best-suited to continuing the exploring and learning of strange lands begun by Jain and enjoyed by the (aparently millions) peoples of Randland for decades.

 

And there's nothing creepy about the little guy; he's just a little seed of awesomeness.

 

I think this pretty much nails it. Basically he's a future badass.

 

Not to mention the fact that he beat Snakes and Foxes, which is supposed to be impossible. I wonder if his beating Snakes and Foxes happened almost simultaneously with Mat and Thom rescuing Moraine (seeing as they are not back with The Band yet)

 

I have a feeling he's going to do something pretty essential during the battle for Caemlyn

[Suttree]

As for only me being the only one to say it, lol--with the exception of this thread, I havn't even been the one to raise the issue any of the times its come up.

 

Indeed, I have seen it mentioned a number of times since ToM was released. I always chocked the whole thing up to bad writing personally.

[yoniy0]

its a child character informed by an adults perspective

Abomination!