Alder was great though. He showed that the Champion was more than just being strong, it was about being wise and more importantly being a person, not a monolith. Dude's going through a mid-life crisis after his partner died, he sees Cheren going on about needing to be the Champion without actually knowing WHY and his grandkid basically hates him for not living up to the "idealized" figure of a Champion.
Losing to N was the best way his arc could have gone; his faith and convictions were shaken and thus got his shit pushed in by someone with nigh-absolute belief in his worldview. And the best part is that N himself takes on that arc in BW2.
