Yeah, Barney leaving threw a wrinkle in things. But realistically, they should have just bit the bullet and have the actor change at the start of season 2. Not write him out of the ending. Yeah, Mat LITERALLY does nothing at the eye. But M tells Agelmar that the DO is stirring and they have to go to the Eye. It's one of the 3 boys and whatever has to happen will happen. Having Mat bow out early makes it lucky when it turns out he WASNT the dragon reborn and wasnt needed. it just flies in the face of all the set up that he isn't the dragon- it's limp and anti-climactic.
Having M reopen the ways then makes this a stupid and unnecessary cliff hanger. Cliff hangers should be meaningful or they are transparent audience manipulation.
Another option is Mat meeting with Fain (who i agree is the one Liandrin is meeting with) and Fain opens the ways, explaining that the ways are for non channeler use as well. (I think I read they merged ways and portal stones, but i am not sure. Portal stones are literally used in only 2 books and may not even be necessary if the plot is streamlines- despite the fact that that story was crucial to Rand coming into his own as a leader and also introduced Selene.) On the one hand, that's an interesting twist, to have Mat and Fain go, but if Mat was gonna go, why not just have him go? And doesn't that just add MORE STUFF that isn't in the book that has to happen just to get everyone to the Eye?
Look, the Eye had to change. On rereads especially, the ending made less and less sense. Again, RJ was still figuring out his rules. The situation doesn't really mesh very well with the more grounded and engineering like level of rigor his world attained. Then, too, having a pool of untainted Saidin only works if you KNOW the dragon will be born a man and will need it. Unless, ok, perhaps they assume Saidar can be used as well for the Dragon to finish. M commented that perhaps the Eye was REALLY meant to guard the seal, the horn and the dragon banner. That it wasn't what they thought it was for.
With all of that in mind, getting rid of the Eye and saying the E5 have to be there because whatever has to be done there will require them, well, that makes some sense. But they idea of the Dragon slaying the DO, or just throwing him at the DO is dumb, esp when you have all these prophecies of what he has to do. While we won't necessarily SEE them, they are clearly there, and big in enough that it was a big book Rand looked at. When Rand wanted to get to SG in the opening chaps of book 3, to bleed on the rocks, M calls him out, saying that is one of MANY prophecies to fulfill. The tack Rafe and co have taken is that there are multiple versions and competing prophecies and traditions. But having multiple types does not mean that the only real thing is to chuck the dragon at the DO and call it a day.
Again, there is so much to do! We are finally about to be at a parallel place in the books with the timing fairly right....and then Mat decides to bugger off. It just seems completely unnecessary when we are talking a literal 2 hours left of story.
But, I am talking as if I know. I haven't seen them. But I don't know how they can do this without the ending feeling a cop out or too rushed. WE keep saying rushed. What we mean is that we know things have to happen- story beats and crucial elements. And we are speeding along and picking them up almost as after thoughts. Where is Perrin's WC blood feud story now? That drove a LOT of Perrin interactions. The better ones, honestly. Now, we don't see that. Egwene stabbed Valda, not him.
Instead we slow and breath for things that- while awesome- weren't part of the story, at least the one being told. Again, yes. This is a series, not a single book. So they had to be put in. Fine. All the stuff I saw was great, honestly.
But the Mat thing? That honestly makes no sense and I don't know how you resolve it (a completely unnecessary dramatic point) without consuming time we honestly don't have. If the Ways can only be used by channeling, how did the Trollocs get to the 2R? And why do they need an Ogier guide?
talk about rambling....;-)
EDIT:
So from what I've seen online, Barney Harris left while filming the end of season. (And that is incredibly odd, so I hope that things are alright. Leaving in the middle of a season is not common.) So in hindsight, it makes some sense. They had to do something with what they had. With that in mind, I can see their hands were tied... Which mitigates my frustration.
Having M reopen the ways then makes this a stupid and unnecessary cliff hanger. Cliff hangers should be meaningful or they are transparent audience manipulation.
Another option is Mat meeting with Fain (who i agree is the one Liandrin is meeting with) and Fain opens the ways, explaining that the ways are for non channeler use as well. (I think I read they merged ways and portal stones, but i am not sure. Portal stones are literally used in only 2 books and may not even be necessary if the plot is streamlines- despite the fact that that story was crucial to Rand coming into his own as a leader and also introduced Selene.) On the one hand, that's an interesting twist, to have Mat and Fain go, but if Mat was gonna go, why not just have him go? And doesn't that just add MORE STUFF that isn't in the book that has to happen just to get everyone to the Eye?
Look, the Eye had to change. On rereads especially, the ending made less and less sense. Again, RJ was still figuring out his rules. The situation doesn't really mesh very well with the more grounded and engineering like level of rigor his world attained. Then, too, having a pool of untainted Saidin only works if you KNOW the dragon will be born a man and will need it. Unless, ok, perhaps they assume Saidar can be used as well for the Dragon to finish. M commented that perhaps the Eye was REALLY meant to guard the seal, the horn and the dragon banner. That it wasn't what they thought it was for.
With all of that in mind, getting rid of the Eye and saying the E5 have to be there because whatever has to be done there will require them, well, that makes some sense. But they idea of the Dragon slaying the DO, or just throwing him at the DO is dumb, esp when you have all these prophecies of what he has to do. While we won't necessarily SEE them, they are clearly there, and big in enough that it was a big book Rand looked at. When Rand wanted to get to SG in the opening chaps of book 3, to bleed on the rocks, M calls him out, saying that is one of MANY prophecies to fulfill. The tack Rafe and co have taken is that there are multiple versions and competing prophecies and traditions. But having multiple types does not mean that the only real thing is to chuck the dragon at the DO and call it a day.
Again, there is so much to do! We are finally about to be at a parallel place in the books with the timing fairly right....and then Mat decides to bugger off. It just seems completely unnecessary when we are talking a literal 2 hours left of story.
But, I am talking as if I know. I haven't seen them. But I don't know how they can do this without the ending feeling a cop out or too rushed. WE keep saying rushed. What we mean is that we know things have to happen- story beats and crucial elements. And we are speeding along and picking them up almost as after thoughts. Where is Perrin's WC blood feud story now? That drove a LOT of Perrin interactions. The better ones, honestly. Now, we don't see that. Egwene stabbed Valda, not him.
Instead we slow and breath for things that- while awesome- weren't part of the story, at least the one being told. Again, yes. This is a series, not a single book. So they had to be put in. Fine. All the stuff I saw was great, honestly.
But the Mat thing? That honestly makes no sense and I don't know how you resolve it (a completely unnecessary dramatic point) without consuming time we honestly don't have. If the Ways can only be used by channeling, how did the Trollocs get to the 2R? And why do they need an Ogier guide?
talk about rambling....;-)
EDIT:
So from what I've seen online, Barney Harris left while filming the end of season. (And that is incredibly odd, so I hope that things are alright. Leaving in the middle of a season is not common.) So in hindsight, it makes some sense. They had to do something with what they had. With that in mind, I can see their hands were tied... Which mitigates my frustration.
"Good and ill.
We're like the wind,
we blows both ways."
- Mad Sweeney, American Gods
- Mad Sweeney, American Gods