I am, as many people know, a huge Matt Honeycutt fan. He’s my favourite character in the Vampire Diaries, and I’d go as far as saying that I may be Matt’s biggest fan. The reasons for this are many and varied, from the important role he plays in the story (he’s a lynchpin for so many events in the story that it would fall to pieces without him), to the fact that he’s such an all-round great guy. So when I see people dismissing him as a mere unimportant supporting character, I develop a twitch in my left eye and start getting all defensive about him. So I’d like to take some time now to explain just why I think Matt is so important to the story, why I think he’s so awesome, and hopefully I’ll convert a few of you into Matt fans in the process. ;)

 
The Awakening

Matt is the first of Elena’s friends that we ever meet in The Awakening, and it’s a scene in which she breaks up with him. By all rights, Matt should have started sulking, and that could have been the last we ever saw of him (aside from maybe a few scenes with him avoiding Elena or trying to win her back). Instead, he proves he’s a pretty special person. It’s obvious he loves her to bits, and that he wants to be with her. He says as much in this scene, and his words and actions through the rest of the series prove that beyond a shadow of a doubt. Matt seems a lot wiser than his years from the start; he loves Elena enough to let her go, because he knows that while she’s the girl for him, he’s not right for her. I’m not saying that if she wanted to get back together with him that Matt would say ‘no’. Quite the opposite, in fact; he’d welcome her back with open arms. But Matt understands people, and he understands that this is what’s best for Elena.

After all that, the guy then goes to buy Elena a donut. This may seem small, and inconsequential, but given the references that L.J. Smith makes to him being poor throughout, that’s pretty cool of him. He’s strapped for cash, but he’s still going to buy the girl who just dumped him a donut. This could verge into doormat territory, where Matt just has no common sense, but luckily he proves throughout the rest of the story that he’s just really that nice. His observations about Elena’s selfish streak and her treatment of others are just too spot on for him to be considered blinded by his love for Elena. He knows the score, he loves her despite all her obvious (and not-so-obvious) flaws.

This is really a good thing, because many of the events of the story hinge on Matt’s kindness, and his willingness to suspend his disbelief and go to the ends of the earth for his friends, not to mention his willingness to give a complete stranger (not to mention the guy his girl is interested in) a chance.

Matt is Stefan’s first – and only – real friend in Fell’s Church. Before Elena ever stood a chance, it was Matt who had the first relationship with Stefan. While she’s busy chasing after Stefan as an object of lust, Matt is getting to know him as a person. This friendship is key to quite a few events in the story. It’s this friendship that allows Matt to make the observation that Stefan isn’t a happy guy to Elena, noticing things that even she had no idea about, arming her with information, and – dare we say it – helps her to start seeing Stefan as more of a person herself. It’s implied that Matt is the one who was who persuaded Stefan to go to the dance. Certainly Stefan wouldn’t want to go by his own choice, and even Caroline doesn’t have the power to force him to go if he doesn’t want to. So we can conclude that Matt probably suggested that he go in order to mingle and try and make friends. A good job he did, as no Stefan at the dance would have meant he wouldn’t have snubbed Elena, and the chain of events leading to Stefan saving Elena from Tyler and finally causing him to give in to her would never have happened. Undoubtedly Elena would have formed yet another scheme, but there’s no certainty that it would have been successful. It took Elena being in real danger for Stefan to drop his guard, and that’s not something she knew until after the fact.

 
The Struggle

Moving on, we have one of the key scenes in The Struggle, when Stefan is missing and all the girls have to go on is an annoyingly vague and damp vision courtesy of Bonnie. It’s Matt’s love for Elena and his concern for his friends that has him following the foolish trio to keep them safe. While sceptical of Bonnie’s psychic powers, he’s still prepared to go along with the crazy in the hopes of finding Stefan, and it’s Matt who works out that Stefan has been dumped down a well. With the way that scene was heading, I remain unconvinced that the girls would have worked it out on their own, at least not in time to help Stefan. Even if they had worked it out, it’s also Matt who’s the one that reasons out the most likely well Stefan is wallowing in. Then, even with Matt’s testosterone-fuelled strength to help get the lid off, it’s a struggle. Without Matt there, I’m not sure how the girls would have achieved not only getting the lid off, but also managed to get Stefan out of the well by themselves. Matt is clearly a key character in saving Stefan’s life here, perhaps more-so than even Bonnie with her original vision. Without him, it’s very likely Stefan would have ended up dying from blood loss, or – worse still – been subject to Katherine’s tender mercies.

While exploring The Struggle, let us not forget the entire road trip for the Vervain. It would have been so easy for Matt to have either told Stefan ‘no’ outright, or to lend him his car for the day. Matt also didn’t go along with Stefan for Elena. Why would he want to help another guy get flowers for the girl he still loves? The most logical – and awesome – explanation for Matt stubbornly inviting himself along on this trip is out of concern for his friend. At this point, Matt doesn’t know Stefan is a vampire, and after seeing his condition after they dragged him out of the well, it’s very likely that Matt doesn’t think his friend is healthy enough to attempt this trip yet, and definitely not on his own. So, concerned for Stefan’s health and recognising that there’s no talking someone out of doing something for Elena when they set their mind on it, Matt agrees to go with him to seek flowers for the girl that Stefan effectively stole from him, just to make sure the guy doesn’t drop dead on a roadside somewhere. How awesome is that? Would Stefan have found another car to use and got the flowers anyway? Quite possibly, but it wouldn’t have been easy, and it’s doubtful he had enough Power to influence anyone to hand over their keys. In fact, lack of Power aside, it speaks volumes that he doesn’t even think to influence Matt to hand over his keys. At this point, Matt is now important to him, and friends don’t mind-whammy friends just to get their cars. Though I admit I love the image of Stefan being reduced to grand theft auto in order to get what he needs. I’m not sure he even knows how to hot wire a car, but the image is entertaining.

Aside from the fact that this trip provides the vervain needed to help block Elena and the girls from Damon’s evil influences, it’s also a vital scene for what we don’t actually see. By the time they’re on the way home, it’s clear that the time spent with Matt was vital for Stefan, allowing him to get in touch with his own humanity and feel like an actual person again. This is something that Elena never manages to do. As much as they love each other, Stefan and Elena are caught up in a dark fairytale of love, and for Elena’s own safety, Stefan can never forget what he is. Elena makes him hyper aware that he’s not human, because he has to be so much more careful around her for fear of losing control and killing her. With Matt he’s able to forget he’s a vampire, even with a short while, and actually enjoy having a friend for the first time in 500 years. In many respects, Stefan’s relationship with Matt is as important as his relationships with Elena and Damon.

 
The Fury

Matt has less page time in The Fury, but his role is no less important despite this. Both Stefan and Elena note that Matt is the only person they can rely on to donate blood to Elena in her confused state after she awakens as a vampire. Damon would certainly have found her a source of blood, but Elena would not have been happy with a random, forced donor; she was dismayed enough that she took blood from Matt, and he was a willing donor. Anyone else would have had her as depressed as Stefan on a bad day. It had to be Matt and he had to be willing, and he certainly didn’t fall short of their faith in him. But noble as his blood donation is, this is actually not the reason for Matt being so fantastic here.

So, why is he so damned awesome in this scene? For the simple reason that he doesn’t care that Stefan is a vampire. He’s certainly shocked by the revelation, but he doesn’t run screaming, and not only does he give Elena his blood, he hangs around with Stefan after Damon takes Elena away, and even advises him to not underestimate Elena’s love for him. Matt understands at this point that his best friend isn’t human, and that he needs to drink blood to survive. He’s proving here that he’s one of those strong-minded people who can cope with being fed on without going completely insane. Not only that, but he’s open-minded enough not to be put off by his friends alternative lifestyle. It’s important to remember that while Matt is in denial about Elena being alive and a vampire for much of the book, this isn’t because of the existence of vampires. Matt’s mind only starts to rebel when Stefan (in his idiotic wisdom) decides to play up his attack of Tyler and friends in the quonset hut, and Matt is left with the horrifying realisation that his friend may be the evil monster he claims to be. If Stefan had actually bothered to explain what had happened, Matt would have understood. He’d have been disturbed by it, yes, but he’d still have had faith in Stefan. He wanted to give his friend a chance and believe in him. Stefan drinking blood? That’s fine. Stefan being evil, attacking people for fun and enjoying it? That’s too much for Matt and his need to see the good in people (he even manages to see some good in Damon, which is saying something). It’s really a testament to Matt’s character that despite this new discovery of Stefan being a monster, he’s spent the time thinking it over and come to his own conclusions. He practically kicks himself later on when Elena confirms his suspicions that Stefan was deliberately trying to make himself look bad and drive Matt away for his own good.

 
Dark Reunion

Matt’s strength in Dark Reunion is less his contribution to key events, and more his courage and his ability to understand people and their motivations. It does have to be admitted that Matt takes on some of Stefan’s less desirable traits in this book, and spends a good chunk of the story being pretty depressed and pessimistic. However, this doesn’t stop him from rallying to save the town (again), and displaying the fact that he’s got brains and knows how to use them.

Astoundingly, Matt’s greatest achievement in this book is being one of the few humans ever to earn some respect from Damon. Matt stands up to the older vampire, knowing full well what he is and that he could well end up in a world of pain, if not plain dead. It never comes of as a display of machismo. Matt stands up to Damon because, in his view, someone has to. So Matt steps up to the plate. It’s at this point that the gears in Damon’s head start shifting, and he’s forced to see Matt – and other humans – as more than weak and bumbling snacks. Matt faces down Damon Salvatore, and not only survives the ordeal, but comes away having earned some respect. Given Damon has little respect for anyone, that’s no mean feat.

Matt further displays why he’s impressive when he makes a few observations about Damon. So few people bother to look at why Damon is the way he is, and why he does what he does, content to believe that bad-boy image that Damon likes to flaunt. Even Elena, who had more faith in him than most people, didn’t trust him right at the end, still prepared to believe the worst in him, that he was the Other Power, and later that he would betray them. After six months of living with him, Stefan knows that Damon isn’t as bad as he makes himself out to be, yet he’s still prepared to think the worst of Damon when he’s unable to save Vickie Bennett. It’s good old Matt who takes quite notice of these things and manages to nail Damon’s motivations on the head. In fact, Matt encourages Elena and Stefan’s offer for Damon to join them at the end of the story. He’s the only one who bothers to work out that Damon killed Mr. Tanner out of self defence. He’s the one who knows Damon came back to Fell’s Church by his own choice, confident that he sorted Stefan’s hair from Damon’s carefully for use in Bonnie’s spell. He’s also fully aware that Damon has a reason for not being able to save Vickie, just not what that reason is; I don’t think it was ever made clear to Matt that vampires needed an invitation to enter a house. Who would have ever thought that a regular, human boy would be the one to peg Damon so utterly? Not Damon, that’s for sure.

 
The Return: Nightfall

While I haven’t read Nightfall yet and can’t comment on his character in that, I have heard enough to suspect he’s still pretty much the good guy portrayed in the first four books. I am, however, dismayed to discover that Damon is reduced to treating him like a non-entity, which is rather perplexing. I don’t see Damon as one to treat a person who has earned his respect so appallingly as he seems to in Nightfall. I hope that’s as much down to his ‘possession’ than any strange lack of respect for Matt, and with any luck this will be better addressed in Shadow Souls.

 
The TV Series

((After seeing the TV series, I have to say that I’m a fan, and that Matt is actually the one character in the series who could have walked right off the page. He’s awesome, and Zach Roerig plays him well. I have issues, such as worrying about where his friendship with Stefan is going (which is to say ‘not at all’ right now), though that’s less to do with Matt and more to do with Stefan’s actions. I hope to expand on this a lot more at some point in the near future when I have time.))

So, there we have it, a compilation on my thoughts of Matt. The examples I’ve given are just a small sample of just how important Matt is to the progression of the story. I could literally go on and on about how fantastic he is; I have pages worth of notes on Matt complete with exclamation marks about all the small things that make him awesome (there may even be a few undignified ‘Eee!’s in there). But if I listed every single thing, we’d be here all night, and you’d all get bored. ;)

Suffice to say that Matt Honeycutt is a good, kind, loyal, courageous and intelligent character who sees the best in even the most wicked-seeming of people, and I love him for it. I hope you all do, too. At the very least, I hope this makes some of you realise that there’s far more to Matt Honeycutt than being a simple supporting character.

 
 
You can find out more about the Vampire Diaries at Vampire-Diaries.net, and more about Matt Honeycutt at Chivalry is not Dead, where you can find his fanlisting, along with Matt-centric fanfiction and fanart.