Why Mat Returned To Tar Valon In Wheel Of Time’s Finale

Warning: Contains spoilers for Wheel of Time season 1.

In The Wheel of Time season 1 finale, Mat Cauthon is briefly seen returning to Tar Valon but his motivation for this move is not explained. Tar Valon is home to the White Tower and while the nighttime scene of the city might appear to be Shadar Logoth at first, the White Tower is vaguely visible in the distance.  His departure from the group might have seemed very out of character based on the Mat from the books, but there are some possible explanations for his actions.

At the end of The Wheel of Time episode 6, “The Flame of Tar Valon,” Moiraine, Lan, Loial, and most of the Emond’s Fielders pass through a Waygate to head towards the Eye of the World. However, Mat (Barney Harris) stays behind. Once Moiraine (Rosamund Pike) arrives in Fal Dara she quietly requests that some Red Ajah Aes Sedai be sent after him. He is not seen again until the closing moment of The Wheel of Time season 1 finale as Padan Fain (Johann Myers) talks to Perrin (Marcus Rutherford) about the fact that some people turn to the dark.

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Given Padan Fain’s voiceover for the moment, it seems likely that Mat’s return to Tar Valon in The Wheel of Time finale is related to some dark element. Moiraine had previously separated him from the dagger that he obtained in Shadar Logoth. While the arc for Mat and the dagger seemed to be at an end it was significantly rushed in comparison to the books, in which he is first temporarily shielded from the dagger’s influence by Moiraine and then later severed from its power completely in the White Tower. If Moiraine unknowingly only shielded him, Mat might still be under the influence of the dagger and, believing it to still be in Tar Valon, could be seeking it out once again.

While this might be the route that The Wheel of Time TV series is taking, it does create a plothole based on the way the dagger works in Robert Jordan’s books. In the books, Mat is connected to the dagger and can sense it from a distance. Given that Padan Fain followed the group through The Ways and is seen holding the dagger in The Wheel of Time season 1 finale, Mat should have been able to sense its presence and would have wanted to remain as close to Fain as possible.

An alternative explanation is that Mat might instead be seeking out Logain Ablar (Álvaro Morte), the gentled False Dragon. During the parade through the street in The Wheel of Time episode 5, Logain and Mat share some intense eye contact and there seems to be some form of connection between the two in that moment. If Mat is scared that he can secretly channel or might be losing his mind, he might seek out Logain as a source of information about how to avoid going down the same path that he did.

Ultimately, Mat’s return to Tar Valon can set up some important plots for The Wheel of Time season 2. With Red Ajah Aes Sedai after him, Mat might be captured and brought to the Tower. As he cannot channel, he is not at risk of being gentled, but he might be healed from his darkness instead. This would easily lead into some storylines from the books that take place at the White Tower in Tar Valon as he meets the Warders in training and the mysterious Lanfear. It is also possible that his brief appearance at the end of The Wheel of Time season 1 is related to Mat being recast for season 2 with Dónal Finn, with Barney Harris not returning to film the final two episodes of season 1.

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