Seemingly a heartless Aes Sedai at her core, Moraine is not the kind of character you should judge at first glance. When Rosamund Pike’s Moraine arrived in the Two Rivers for the first time, it was intensity boiling around the corners of her eyes. Her unmatched skill at portraying the Blue Ajah channeler, that look which some viewers would take as that of a manipulator, and others as of someone whose responsibility pressed them harder than anybody onscreen.

Even while the whole series revolved around the Dragon Reborn, Pike’s character was what brought the shades to a darker and grimmer saturation. Her performance was beyond splendid. May it be in sequences of intense magical combat, her seamless movements that harmonized with the visual threads of the One Power; or in the deep emotional relationship she has with Daniel Henney’s Al’Lan Mandragoran. Every expression of her face, the way she used her words, the way she moved in those long trailing robes, is a testament to how well she has played the role of Moraine Damodred.

I can go on writing about every actor that made the Wheel of Time such a heartful experience for me; Josha Stradowski’s embodiment of Rand Al’Thor was a perfect portrayal of a light-hearted man slowly descending into darkness. Sophie Okonedo’s performance of Siuan Sanche; her acting prowess was evident by the heartbreak of viewers on seeing the cruel murder of Moraine’s one and only love, let alone in the hallowed halls of the White Tower. Kate Fleetwood, Madeleine Madden, Dónal Finn; the list is a very long one.

The impact that Wheel of Time had upon my soul cannot be put into words, and the impact it had when I read a fateful post declaring its cancellation was beyond just heartbreak. It was anguish and despair. The evenings I had imagined sitting in front of my laptop, seeing the Dragon Reborn in full ‘dragon’ mode, the Last Battle with the Dark One, the satisfaction on the faces of the Five when they return to the Two Rivers after having saved the whole world: it was all broken.

Does it deserve to be like this? The whole earth knows it doesn’t. The memories of the first three seasons will remain in our hearts forever, and we’ll cherish them like anything, but don’t just grasp our hands. Take us into open ocean, wait for the big wave together, and just leave us stranded, alone, and with shattered dreams.

I know the decision to cancel WOT may be what the Big People think is best, but sometimes the best is just beyond the surface; the reflection on the water needs to be ignored in order to look deeper into it.

Please, for god’s sake and that of the creative spirit, pull the Wheel of Time above the ground; it doesn’t deserve this burial. Please, save it.
With Love and Regards from a Wheel of Time fan,
Pankaj Bansal