Thinking a bit more about #5.... When I stayed up too late reading an archive of Rafe Judkins's public comments on WoT a few weeks ago one of the things I saw was that Mat was recast for Season 2. I wonder if him getting left behind at the Waygate is related to that. I haven't researched what the conditions of his (the actor's) departure were. Like, was this a last-minute script change due to the actor having a personal emergency or a sudden falling out with the director?