Dear Cast and Crew of The Wheel of Time,

Hi. This feels surreal, and I never thought I would pen these words. The news that we were cancelled hit me like a gut punch, and I cannot begin to imagine what you are going through.

With that being said, I want to share what the Wheel of Time means to me.

I grew up in a very pragmatic, small-town, small-farm family in the middle of the prairies in Southern Alberta. My family was literate in sports, trades, religion, and basic education. Somehow, though, ten-year-old-me picked up Tolkien, and thus the bug for epic fantasy began. I devoured every book I could get my hands on. I loved nothing more than to disappear into these worlds.

Then, one day, my older sister showed me a home video that her group of friends made. Two characters named Tam and Rand walking down a dusty dirt road with a horse behind them. Rand sees something like a wraith in the distance. And when they get home to their farm, a “trolloc” (think an actor covered in so many layers of fabric as to be unrecognizable) attacks them, and an epic sword fight ensues. They defeat the Trolloc and escape, and thus the short film ends, but I remember getting shivers up and down my spine. What. Is. This. I was fascinated.

Within a few days, The Eye of the World was checked out of the library.

I don’t remember much from that first read-through. Rhuidean comes to mind as something that stuck in my brain forever. But it was unlike anything in epic fantasy that I had ever come across, and I was struck deeply by the characters and the story. I got to book 10 on that first read-through. When Season 1 of this show came out, it inspired me to restart and read until the end.

This turning of the wheel, this show, was something special. I found myself hungrily anticipating every episode, and what surprises and familiarities we’d get to see to bring even more depth to these stories and characters. By season 3, I had tears in my eyes almost every episode. I praise the writing, the design, and the performances. So much was resonating.

Beyond merely being a fan of the show, I’m an actor, and I cannot tell you how inspired I was watching the cast work. It gave depth to my drive to work on my craft and make a plan to break into bigger markets. I told my Manager, “Season 5 of Wheel of Time is on my vision board. I’m GOING to make it happen.”

A part of me still has faith that it can. So I’m keeping my vision board up, thank you very much.

I promise to do what I can and join in the efforts to get this show renewed. After all, we need something to go right in this timeline. And if the fates are good to you, just know that I trust in you all to do this story justice, and then some. I believe in you. And thank you for what you’ve given so far.

Lews Therin isn’t going to lose this time.

Sending love,
Rachel Bennett