Perrin's arc suffered simply because of how long it was. You can really tell that Jordan intended this series to be much shorter than it was when looking at his arc. It takes him thirteen books to resolve an inner conflict that started in the first one.

 

I like Perrin's character. I don't hate his arc. I actually like Faile and his romance with her. But ultimately the extension of this series hurt his arc. It would have been nice if he's resolved most of his inner demons far sooner.

Friend, the Shaido-episode contained three main factors, all of which will play an important role later on:

1. Perrin undergoing drastic character-change;

2. Perrin's biggest weakness, which had been hidden till now unlike Rand and Mat, has been exposed;

3. Perrin's deal with Seanchan. Mind you, this thing is going to play a very important role in AMoL, especially when Rand needs to strike an alliance with the Empire;

4. Shaido thrown back to the Waste;

5. Faile's attitude-change;

6. End of Masema; and

7. Beginning of Perrin's commandeering

Personally, I think no other character had this many factors counting in. Rand's wait for Sammael stretched for 3 books, his encounter with next Forsaken took another 4 books, Egwene's WT crisis took ridiculously 8 books, Elayne's recapture of Andor took 3 books, Mat-Tuon saga took 3 books and so on ...

And this was only for one factor. In Perrin-Shaido's case, there were seven. So it was expected to take time. Anyway, personally thinking, this whole matter was wrapped up pretty well.

Well, you can't expect your protagonist to be flashy all the time. Mat and Rand are enough for that. With everyone too fast, Perrin's character in the series is a breather.

Throughout the WoT, hundreds of characters have come forth. Some have enticed us. Some have irritated us. And some have literally sent us to sleep. These characters have been the work of genius from Robert Jordan, something which is very difficult to do. Even Malazan or LoTR could not develop such attachment to the character. (LoTR is still my favorite series, but it focused too much on Aragorn, Sam, Frodo and Gandalf to earn attachment for others)

However, one of the characters that actually stood out for me is Perrin Aybara.

Now I know how others in the forum feel about him. A whiner who should have taken things up headstart, a selfish person who was ready to deal with the DO for Faile, a light-blinded idiot who led many of his close ones to dangerous paths (Aram, anyone?), and so on ... Accepted the guy's PoV was sort of too lengthy for once liking, but it is this guy who is actually RJ's best character, according to me.

Perrin, at the very start, was shy, careful and meticulous. He did not have the looks of Rand or mischievous genius of Mat. He was merely a blacksmith, a very humble and boring background.

Then Moiraine came and whisked them off. Rand ended up being the Dragon Reborn and Mat become the gambler, son of battles and, eventually, a Seanchan king. On the other hand, Perrin was reduced to his village, married to Faile who had abandoned her household and devoid of his original family.

In such a case, bringing Perrin up from such desolation has always been difficult from a writer's point of view. Who will like a blacksmith whose only notable thing was he could talk with wolves over the one who can channel, kill the Forsaken, shake the nations to core and challenge the White Tower itself, or the one who never loses at chances, was of mischievous sort and faced creatures like Aelfinn, Elfinn and Gollum. Still Perrin is one of the ta'veren and one of the main characters. How can one actually rise when he can't even outshine a character like Tuon?

Rand was destined to be the emperor. Mat was already in the company of nobles that gave him some ideas about leading from the front. But Perrin had no one to look forward to. Faile was acting like a rich merchant's daughter. Berelain was acting like a flaunting pr********, and Alliandre was a queen in all but in name. Even Morgase was so determined to be a servant to offer Perrin any help. A wolf can't be expected to teach him to be a king, eh?

As all the paths to embracing leadership were closed, Perrin was obviously in dilemna over it, and it was understandable that he detested it, for neither he nor his village knew how to deal with a lord. This, along with his fears of a wolf inside him, was enough to give a writer a test for his skills.

This was why RJ wrote Perrin in such a manner. There was no other way. The guy was the most complex character of all, and that meant beginning from the scratch. If you read through Perrin's PoV, you can find it a contribution to Perrin's molding character. For instance, TGH talked about Perrin's trust on Rand. TDR talked about loss of Perrin's shyness and aloofness as he starts to stand up against Moiraine. TFH talks about Perrin's commanding skills. TLoC talks about Perrin's embrace of his duty towards the world. TCoS talks about Perrin's character-change, making him take up tasks which he hasn't been doing for long. TPoD talks about beginning of Perrin's ability to attract armies. WH talks about Perrin as a lover. CoT talks about Perrin's weakness of getting too much focused. KoD is one of the main books for Perrin's character upheaval. ToM talks about how Perrin closes up weaknesses to become a good leader and general.

In all, RJ kept Perrin true, the sole character whom one can actually relate himself/herself with. With everyone else already having some history, it was remarkable from RJ to create and develop a character like Perrin.

I respect RJ's character-development only because of Rand and Perrin.