Matt cin he's a fan favorite in The Wheel of Time book series that's probably even an understatement actually Matt is like the fandom's overall favorite character even if everybody is wrong because naive is clearly the best but there's lots of good reasons why people love Matt today we're going to talk about them join me today as we break down the top 10 Matt cin moments from The Wheel of Time book series now before we begin smash the like button and subscribe to the channel if you like Wheel of Time content and spoilers duh if you haven't seen one of my top 10 Style videos before I am incapable of just giving my opinion without creating some convoluted ranking system to help organize my thoughts so I asked myself what makes a moment great and here's what I came up with we'll be ranking these on first meaning to the story did the moment have significant impact on the story as a whole and on Matt's Arc second will rank on how fun I think they are yeah that's subjective but get over it it's my list and I'll rank each scene or moment that I thought was fun third emotional weight some of the most impactful moments are also emotional and last we'll rank if the moment was a strong payoff on a long-term setup the most satisfying moments in a series are the ones that are paid off to something that happened previously in the story I'll give each one of Matt's moments a rank out of 40 and there's the list so without further Ado let's let's get into it kicking things off with number [Music] 10 we'll kick off the list with a moment from the dragon reborn when Matt with juwel and sandar breaks into the stone of tear to rescue aain elain and naive of course that's an oversimplification he climbs on roof he meets the AIL he uses fireworks to blow a massive hole in the side of the Fortress and then he rescues them only be treated like he did something wrong so let's break it down in terms of meaning to the story this is quite a bit more meaningful than you might believe on the surface for one if Matt doesn't rescue the girls that would obviously have a significant impact on the plot for them but also Matt distracts the guards blows a hole in the stone which also allows the AIL to capture the stone which in turn helps Rand take kalor and don't forget he also used the fireworks which gave him ideas for future uses for them which would later turn into the dragons breaking into the Stone of tier gets an 8 out of 10 for meaning to the story and was the scene fun well it sure was Matt climbing around on buildings fighting off Defenders and he's always just funny to follow so seven out of 10 for fun emotional weight is where this one lags a bit this wasn't an emotional scene and really other than his sense of duty to protect elay n and naive at personal cost to himself that's pretty on par with Matt's character but that's really about it foral weight so three out of 10 there last in terms of a strong payoff we're middle of the road here the payoff wasn't necessarily breaking into the stone but more Matt following through on his goal of saving them I'll give it a 5 out of 10 in total breaking into the stone of tier to rescue The Supergirls from dark friends gets a 23 out of 40 and the number 10 spot on my [Music] list coming in at number nine we have Matt blowing the horn of valer and ending the great hunt he is dying of his exposure to the shatar loath dagger or I guess more his separation from it and they are surrounded on one side by the forces of the Shan Chan advancing on them and then on the other side the charging white cloaks completely surrounded and hopeless Matt doesn't think too much and just blows the Horn of air calling forth the heroes of the horn defeating the Shan Chan and watching Rand fight is Shamel in the sky over foam this also ties Matt to the horn as the horn Sounder and we learn that the heroes of the horn are familiar with him even if he isn't one of them for more on the Horn of Aer check out this video up here somewhere I did a whole video on it breaking it down is pretty cool but from meaning to the story perspective this one stands fairly High obviously blowing the horn of aier saves the lives of our main characters but it also defeats the Sha Chan temporarily Matt also becomes tied to the horn and even though that tie is later broken it cements Matt's importance to the White Tower and to dark friend plots nine out of 10 for meaning from a fun perspective I wouldn't say this scene is written to be fun necessarily it's more of a culmination culmination of a prophecy and out of necessity and while the battle is fun to watch I'm not sure that it really comes from Matt being a fun character necessarily because all he does is blow the hor that being said the scene is written so well and the buildup is awesome I will give it a six out of 10 there's not a ton of emotional weight in this scene in the book especially for Matt again it's not really written to be emotional this is more of an action scene and the only real emotions prior are those of hopeless about what is to come and the sense that there's a prophecy about to be filled so I'll give it a three out of 10 lastly for strong payoff this is both very true and not so much yeah that doesn't make sense but hear me out there was foreshadowing that there would be something with prophecy that would come especially with the five ride forth stuff from Veron Additionally the horn had been build up the whole book and some of it even in the first book but there wasn't much foreshadowing that this would happen or that it would be Matt somehow blowing the horn so I'll give a 6 out of 10 in total Matt blowing the horn of valer in the book gets a 24 out of 40 and earns the number nine spot on my list I should mention however that the show adaptation adds quite a bit more emotional weight to the scene for Matt's Arc and had an arguably stronger payoff for Matt as a character not necessarily comparing the two scenes but I'd say the way that it was done in the show would have likely landed this scene higher on my list if it had been done that way in the book number eight on my list brings I think not only one of my favorite Matt moments but also one that I frequently see book fans mention as one of theirs too this scene comes in the dragon reborn right after Matt is healed with from his connection to the shadar Loo dagger and he wakes up within the walls of taralon he has been recovering and was in a weaken State and he wanders down to the water practice yards looking to try to make some money and sees everybody gawking over gowin and Gad and their swordsmanship and the fact they have their shirts off and Matt challenges them both at once in a major bet and ends up soundly defeating both of them with a Quarter Staff while they use swords in terms of meaning to the story this doesn't have much meaning other than to demonstrate that Matt is a character to be reckoned with he's a badass I'll give it a three out of 10 as for fun that's where this scene truly shines this is one of my favorite scenes to read and I look forward to reading it every single time I'm reading the dragon reborn it's just fun to read it's always fun to watch people get knocked down a peg or 2 and it's fun to watch Matt do it as he's always underestimated by people in the series one of Matt's calling cards is that he is so much more than he seems on the surface and this is one of the first times that we truly see that in the series 10 out of 10 for fun as for emotional weight this is not a terribly emotional scene but it does carry some emotion to me in that we finally start to see Matt as a character that has some worth in the series he was truly the last of the em and field Group at this point to have something distinctive and Powerful about his character and this is where we first see it so four out of 10 for emotional weight lastly for strong payoff for the setup this rate's fairly High we've had 2 and a half books of Matt essentially being a funny tagalong character who was not contributing much on his own he didn't have special powers other than he was supposedly a tan but we never saw it and much of his character was defined by a dagger that made him very uninteresting to read compared to his M and SE old friends this is where Matt finally starts to come into his own and the reason this scene hits like it does is because all of the setup or I should say lack of setup of his character to this point so eight out of 10 for payoff in total Matt fighting and kicking gowin and gad's ass gets a 25 out of 40 and earns the number eight spot on my list the Golam is one of the more disturbing villains in the series it's almost invulnerable it's super humanly strong it's out to kill our main characters and there is almost no way to stop it the fear that the golom causes among our main characters especially Matt is high as he has to change where he sleeps and when and he's always conscious that he is being hunted all of this is why when Matt finally defeats the golom it is such a powerful moment for meaning to the story this is going to rate really high the golom represents a major threat to all of our main characters specifically Matt who plays such a large part in the story if the golom were to successfully kill Matt or Elaine or anyone else the shadow wins 7 out of 10 for meaning to the story for fun the plan and the way in which Matt disposes of the golom is intricate it's fun to watch it play out the fight the fires the use of a skimming Gateway they're all ingenious ideas and it's fun to see it wasn't as fun as something like gowin and golad getting their asses kicked but it was still fun I will give it a six out of 10 for fun for emotional weight this one goes a bit higher than you might think Matt was living in a constant state of fear of the Golan it had attacked his Camp it had killed his men threatened ol who was like a son to Matt not to mention it was after his other friends too the sense of relief of knowing that you're not being hunted by an Unstoppable killing machine that's palpable I'll give it a 6 out of 10 for emotional weight lastly for strong payoff this gets a fairly high score we had been watching these fights between Matt and the golom play out over the course of a couple books so finally seeing some resolution was fun I'll give it a 7 out of 10 for payoff in total Matt's defeat of the Golam gets a 26 out of 40 and earns the number seven spot on my list with the number six spot on the list we have Matt taking over the Army in kyrian up until this point Matt was trying to get away from Rand he wanted to get back to his own life he wanted to escape the Whirlwind of danger that came from being a companion to the dragon reborn that being said Matt's own tan nature wouldn't allow him to leave while trying to depart the Battle of kyrion against the Shido Matt comes across a whole company of Tyron and kyen and soldiers walking into what he can clearly see is a trap or an ambush by the shidow unable to let them die thatt takes command of the army defeats the Shido and continues to win battles throughout the day culminating culmination in a one-on-one clash with koledin himself and then he kills the shidow leader for meaning to the story this rates highly as this is the beginning of Matt's military skills being on full display it also starts the band of the red hand as soldiers that Matt commands and they end up play ing themselves to him and his private Army continues to grow throughout the story and it plays a pivotal role in the last battle also without these successes Matt would never have been trusted to lead the last battle in the first place nine out of 10 for meaning to the story for fun I love watching this scene as Matt takes charge against his better judgment he is always the reluctant hero and while he is outwardly always coming across selfish he is anything but as he always seems to do the right thing it's one of my favorite Parts about Matt as a character I'll give this one an 8 out of 10 for fun for emotional weight the scene is more about Matt coming to terms with the fact that he is never getting away from the action outside of that not overly emotional four out of 10 lastly I wouldn't say this was totally set up to be a great payoff but seeing the memories that were planted in Matt's head having a direct effect on his life was fun to see and there was certainly a payoff around that so I'll give it a 6 out of 10 in total Matt taking over the Army at the Battle of kyrion gets a 27 out of 40 and it earns the number six spot on my list breaking into the top five we have a moment that actually comes from someone else's Viewpoint a large part of Matt's storyline takes place in and around Abu Dar when he meets and essentially kidnaps Tuan primarily because she carries the title of daughter of the nine moons and the fins told him that he would marry the daughter of the N9 Moons for most of the time that she is in captivity she treats him like a foolish boy who doesn't know what he's doing but when Matt and his party are finally reunited with the band of the red hand we get a very cool moment From tuan's perspective as Matt enters the camp she sees the organization and capability of the Fighting Force but most importantly she watches Matt carefully she sees how he takes charge how the men choose to follow him and she realizes that she has underestimated Matt completely she thought that she had someone that could be easily controlled and she realizes that she has followed a lion and now that lion is on the loose for meaning to the story this rates highly only because of what it leads to tuan's view of Matt from here is what leads her to finally marry him which in turn allows him to lead her forces in the last battle which is fairly important so I'll give it a s out of 10 as for fun to me this scene is quite fun I love watching People's expectations get flipped and seeing somebody like tuon who had been so self-righteous before have a change of perspective is quite fun I'll give it a seven out of 10 as to the emotional weight on the surface it doesn't seem like there is any but I think there is more than meets the eye here this is part of Tu on falling for Matt in her way I think when she realizes that he is a legitimate and serious leader that people want to follow it forever changes the way in which she views him so I'll give it a 6 out of 10 lastly as to the payoff there's quite a bit of payoff here Matt had been previously viewed by Tuan as being a useful idiot for the most part she had scolded him multiple times talk down to him and refus to call him by his name so to see her finally have a different View you was quite satisfying I'll give it an 8 out of 10 in total two on seeeing Matt for who he is gets a 28 out of 40 and ears the number five spot on my list coming in at number four on the list we have not only one moment but a set of moments that really Mark the beginning of the mat that we know towards the end of the book in the dragon reborn after recovering in the White Tower from his exposure to the shadar logo dagger Matt gets tasked to deliver a letter to morgase by elain AG and 9 he accepts because they also give him a letter that will allow him to get out of the city but he realizes he doesn't have any money remembering that he was always fairly decent at dice he goes out into the city to gamble and that's when he starts winning every hand he bets on he makes so much money that he's even shocked and leaves some of his winnings at a table this is the beginning of Matt being the nearly Unstoppable Force when it comes to games of chance and it defines his character for the rest of the story story for meaning to the story This is highly meaningful because it's one of Matt's defining traits in the story his luck is at the center of almost all of his story lines including the dice rattling in his head eight out of 10 for meaning to the story as for fun this was always a fun set of scenes for me to read I love seeing Matt striking it rich and the genuine surprise on his and everyone else's face when he realizes that he can't lose it's also very enjoyable to see Matt becoming rich after being a nobody and somebody without power so for fun I'll give it a 9 out of 10 for emotional weight this was really the weakest area for this this is just not an emotional scene so I'll give it a three out of 10 lastly for the payoff this is big to me Matt has been a fairly mundane and Powerless character up till this point in the story he was sick for the last two books he had not had much to show for it other than blowing the horn of Aer to see him finally begin to achieve power that's really a great long setup I I'll give it a nine out of 10 in total Matt's luck coming in gets a 29 out of 40 and earns the number four spot on my list the biggest moment in the series is arguably the last battle and Matt cin plays a very large role in that Matt who's married to Tuan at this point is second in command of the Shan Chan Army and as the generals for the the light are sabotaged with compulsion from grindall Matt is determined to be the safest person to leave the Army due to his fox head Medallion that blocks the one power after he takes over he has an outnumbered and outmanned group of forces against DeAndre the sh and armies and countless trols through skill manipulating the battlefield and great timing Matt is able to orchestrate a victory for the forces of the light and give Rand time to win against the dark one for meaning to the story it is hard to get more meaningful this is the last battle and Matt is truly at the center of winning it easy 10 out of 10 for fun I love watching Matt and his unorthodox communication and his style as he takes over his deception his knowledge that midon was buying they're all it's fun to watch and it's fun to see I'll give it a 9 out of 10 as for emotional weight again this isn't really an emotional thing there is death in the last battle that's sad but it isn't really tied to Matt being in charge I'll give it a two out of 10 lastly for the strong setup and payoff this is also a very high score this was essentially set up gradually for the entirety of the story Matt's battle prowess and ability to command had been hinted at and finally we get to see him command the largest army in the world I'll give it a 9 out of 10 in total Matt taking over the last battle gets a 30 out of 40 erss the number three spot on my [Music] list we're finally here the top two and for the number two spot we have Matt bowing to aain in saladar right after a was brought to saladar and raised to be amlin she was being undermined at every turn and not receiving respect from the ised ey that raised her after Matt shows up with his army to bring her back to Rand and he meets her and he sees what's happening he makes a scene as he leaves and he bows to her giving her the full respect that would be due to the amland seat and implying that he is there at her service with a large army which builds her standing and demonstrates that even though Matt was trying to take her away and not really respecting her as the amberland to her face he realized that he would always have the back of his friend and somebody from the two rivers for meaning to the story this isn't super meaningful in the sense to the whole span of the series but it is Meaningful to aain and to give her rise as a power F Amin and the leader of the I of die so I'll give it a six out of 10 for fun not necessarily a fun scene but I do enjoy it as it does demonstrate who mattz is as a character and he's trying to show up the other disrespectful is ey which I always love so six out of 10 for emotional weight this is one of the stronger scenes in the book for that the way that Matt intentionally shows immense respect publicly for igain when she needs it and he didn't have to shows the bond that they share and the real friendship they developed over their childhood and the two rivers this is really who Matt is at his core and it's one of my favorite Matt moments I'll give this one a 10 out of 10 for emotional weight for payoff again a super high score from me the reason the payoff went so well was that aain was struggling to gain respect and Matt had just disrespected her in private by not listening to her that she was the amerland in fact and it wasn't until Matt noticed that she needed his help that he realized the situation and acted accordingly I thought the setup and the situation made it more impactful give it a 9 out of 10 in total Matt B owing to a gets a 31 out of 40 and earns the number two spot on my list coming in at number one on the list is a massive moment from Towers of Midnight Matt rescuing morraine from the land of the fins this is a huge moment in so many ways Matt along with Jane farstrider and Tom they enter the Tower of Genji through a combination of both cunning and fighting skill they're able to rescue morine and escape with her despite losing null in the fight for meaning to the story morraine plays a pivotal role in the last battle and in getting the different factions to unite and helping also Rand at Sho ghoul while she wasn't completely instrumental she was very important to the success of the last battle so I'll give it a s out of 10 for fun this isn't my favorite Matt scene to read just for the fun of it it's exciting but it doesn't come across as fun in the same way that Gad and gowin getting their asses kicked did for example that being said is still fun and it's still fun seeing the freaky world of the fins I'll give it a 6 out of 10 for emotional weight this is where it truly hits home from losing null and to a sacrifice to seeing morine helpless to Tom finally being reunited with morine this scene had a lot of emotional weight behind it I'll give it a 9 out of 10 lastly for payoff this is an off- the charts payoff we had teases of marine being alive all the way back to the fires of heaven and hints from then on so to see this finally happen and in such a dramatic way it really hits the right notes to pay off such a long setup easy 10 out of 10 in total Matt rescuing morine gets a 32 out of 40 and in the number one spot on my list so that's my list of the top 10 Matt CN moments do you agree with my list what would yours be let me know in the comments of the video also like the video and subscribe to the channel to be updated when I release more Wheel of Time content remember also to sign up for watcon if you aren't already signed up because it's coming soon in July and ticketing is going to close for in-person tickets very soon more information at watcon dcom huge thank you to my patrons for your support of the channel and of the content if you want to support the channel consider checking out my patreon link that link is in the description of the video lastly if you liked this video you would probably like one of these here as well thank you for watching and I will see you in the next one peace out