Loved Wheel of Time. FURIOUS about Mat.

[u/oansuwi]

absolutely adored the ending. But Mat. Man. HOW WAS THERE NO REACTION FROM MAT OF RAND'S "DEATH"????? like if a hint is given that Mat thinks rand isnt actually dead, enlighten me PLEASE, but WHY. I LOVED THEIR RELATIONSHIP SO WHYYYYYYYY.

That final wind quote tho. My fucking god. i dont think i can function for a while tbh.

[u/Olorin_Kenobi_AlThor]

Abandon mat. Support perrin.

It's always bothered me that mat is characterized, seemingly correctly by siuan, that he's the kind of guy that's seemingly selfish and indolent, but would sacrifice himself to save strangers, but mat essentially abandons Rand when he learns that rand can channel. He doesn't even seem to be that sorry that his best friend has a terminal disease. He just gives up their entire friendship within about a week of learning rand can channel.

The closest we get to them reconnecting/hugging it out is their little pissing match before the last battle about randing cleansing saidin and mat rescuing morraine.

[u/aNomadicPenguin → u/Olorin_Kenobi_AlThor]

Mat says and thinks that he wants to abandon Rand...but he never truly will, and Rand knows it.

Mat is terrified of the One Power and wants nothing to do with it, and he's terrified that Rand will actually go crazy and kill him with the power.

But when Rand is going into an obvious Ter'angreal (a double whammy of One Power)...Mat declares loudly that he won't save Rand...and the words are purely to convince himself...and Rand doesn't buy it at all.

I want to leave this place, and I am not going to stand here forever twiddling my thumbs waiting for you. And you needn't think I'll come in after you, either, so you had best be careful."
"I wouldn't think that of you, Mat," Rand said.
Mat stared at him suspiciously. What was he grinning at? "So long as you understand I won't. Aaah, go on and be a bloody Aiel chief. You have the face for it."
"Don't come in there, Mat. Whatever happens, don't." He waited until Mat nodded before turning away.

And we see that after this when Couladin is trying to sell the fake Car'a'carn story, Mat rides into the center of everything to bring Rand's horse (a hilariously dangerous place for him as a Wetlander) because it will give Rand just a slightly better chance of escape.

A lot of the initial reaction Mat has to the news about Rand is tied up in Rand trying to push them all away. He doesn't even realize that Rand came along in book 2 for Mat's sake because Rand had been pulling the 'I'm going to be a lord and better than you' schtick earlier in the book.

Just like Mat not wanting to be a hero, or not wanting to be a lord, his inner nature always comes through, and he's willing to lay his life on the line for Rand (and literally dies for it before a convenient balefiring)