Based on Robert Jordan’s beloved high fantasy book series, Amazon Prime Video’sThe Wheel of Timeis changing things up in season 3, with Mat’s story taking a sharp U-turn from canon. Played by British actor Barney Harris in season 1 and Irish actor Dónal Finn in season 2, Mat Cauthon continues to be a crucial main character inThe Wheel of Timeseason 3. However, this isn’t necessarily working out as book readers and diehard fans had expected, with the show continuing to take liberties with the book story.
Mat has been an integral part of Rand al’Thor’s journey thus far. As the Dragon Reborn, Rand (played by Dutch actor Josha Stradowski) needs Mat Cauthon more than he knows and will rely on him to win in many ways. That’s why, out of allThe Wheel of Timecharacters,Mat’s story is one of the most critical and needs to be done right. Although the show doesn’t need to be faithful to the books to the letter, it has to get to the same place eventually. Therefore, many may be wondering why Lan replaced Mat in the Melindhra plot.
Melindhra Was A Darkfriend In The Wheel Of Time Books
Melindhra Is More Than She Seems In The Wheel Of Time
Out of allThe Wheel of Timecharacters that may be darkfriends, Melindhra is the most suspect. Synnøve Macody Lund has joined the cast ofThe Wheel of Timeseason 3 as Melindhra, who is probably more than she seems, as per the books by Robert Jordan and Brandon Sanderson.Melindhra may appear to be forming a relationship with Lanof some description, but casual fans who haven’t read the books will probably be disappointed if they think Lan has a new love interest in Melindhra. Moiraine exhibits strong insight in her apparent suspicion of Melindhra.
Why Lan May Be Replacing Mat In The Wheel Of Time’s Melindhra Arc
Mat Isn’t Following His Canon Story In The Wheel Of Time
Lan Mandragoran, played by Korean-American Daniel Henney, appears to be replacing Mat in the Melindhra storyline to a certain extent. Mat’s arc was all over the place up untilThe Wheel of Timeseason 2’s ending, with many hoping that season 3 would get him back on track. However, he didn’t go to the Aiel Waste as he did in the books, and this lapse in faithfulness was disappointing to some. In the books,Melindhra tried to drive a wedge between Mat and Rand, but it seems that the show is dispensing with this part of the source material too.
How Rand’s Relationship With Lanfear Compares To The Wheel Of Time Books
The Wheel of Time season 3, episode 5 sees Rand’s relationship with Lanfear make a surprising change to their dynamic in the source material.
The Wheel of Timeseason 3 hugely changed Mat’s storyby keeping him out of Rhuidean, which was ultimately done to try to give Rand and Mat their own plots in a way that each character could shine separately. But since the show excluded Mat from the Aiel Waste story, it may have decided to use the Melindhra plotline, but with Lan instead of Mat. Perhaps Melindhra could be working toward causing a divide between Moiraine and Lan. In that instance,The Wheel of Timewould be changing her story a lot but still using her in a similar way.
The Wheel of Time
Cast
The Wheel of Time follows Moiraine, a member of the powerful all-female organization Aes Sedai, as she leads a perilous quest with five young individuals. Moiraine suspects one among them could be the prophesized reincarnation of a mighty figure destined to either save or doom humanity.
