5 ways The Wheel of Time improved the books (and 5 ways it failed them)

Improvement: Mat’s backstory makes him more sympathetic

Okay, it’s time for me to admit something: I do not like Mat Cauthon very much in the books, particularly in the early going. He’s always asking what’s in it for him, or being irresponsible, or cursing his supposed friends for daring to ask him to help with a valuable mission. After the Aes Sedai heal him of the demonic infection he picked up after stealing a cursed dagger he was told not to take, he has the gall to act like he doesn’t owe them anything and that they’re all out to get him.

I mean…he’s just a little sh*t. I don’t know how else to put it. I feel like Robert Jordan was aiming for “devil-may-care Han Solo-esque scoundrel” but landed on “entitled manic pixie dream boy.”

On the show, Mat is still an entitled maladjust, but this time there may be a reason for it. In the premiere, we see that Mat has a rough home life; his father is an alcoholic and his mother emotionally abusive, and it falls to him to look after his sisters. This is a change from the early books, where we didn’t hear much about his family at all.

I know a lot of fans didn’t like this change, but for me, it made Mat snap into place. I can understand why this Mat might act so poorly, why he might resent Moiraine for taking him away from his sisters who need him, why he has a hard time trusting people and prefers to look out for himself. Without this setup, Mat’s just acting like a turd because he’s a turd, which is one way to go, I guess, but this is better.

Failure: Loial is lame now

On the other hand, the show takes a lot of personality away from Loial, the lovable Ogier (a non-human race that built a lot of the impressive structures in this world) who encounters Rand in Tar Valon (Caemlyn in the books). The show gets the outline right: Loial (played by Hammed Animashaun) is tall, and calm, and they need him to get through the Ways, but it’s just…

To start, Loial doesn’t look right. Yes, he’s taller than the rest of the cast, but in the books he towers over them, and has big pointy ears that droop and peak with his moods. I don’t blame the show for losing that stuff — I’m sure it’s about the budget and not a lack of will — but I can blame it for not getting across Loial’s dorky personality, his genuine fascination with all things human, his endearing vulnerability when things go sideways. Loial is a highlight of the books for me, but in the show he feels like an afterthought.

At least so far; hopefully they do a better job with Loial in season 2 and beyond…after they bring him back from the edge of death, I mean, which is another thing that didn’t work.

I expect the show will have to make even more changes the further they get into the story. Bring on season 2.

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