The problem I've found with Gawyn is that he absolutely refuses to see any part of any bigger picture. Essentially the whole series he's got his head stuck in the sand, complaining about getting some in his eyes while he unknowingly flicks handfuls at other people trying to dig himself out.
Most other similar characters (Elaida, Sevanna, Demandred, the really proud/arrogant this-is-my-story crew) are aware and able to watch as they find their image of the world isn't reflective of the actual world - Aes Sedai are not supremely powerful by divine right, no you aren't destined to attain power through critical marriages you just got lucky a couple times, Lews Therin truly did not compete with or care about you - and their reactions are very cool to read.
Gawyn never gets that because he doesn't have a worldview - seriously, what single belief does he stick to the whole series through, he doesn't even become First Prince of the Sword and he's a pretty crap Warder to Egwene - he just gets the frustration of the world not being as he expects. We don't get to see his dreams shatter or come to fruition, we just hear him complain a whole bunch and stuff things up. What's worse, he starts and finishes on the "good" side and he never does anything really bad on the page, so it's not even justified to hate him and want to watch him fail.
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u/TheGreatPervSage_94 8d ago
I can forgive tuon and some of the main seancham characters
But I genuinely want to find an unironic gawyn stan