To say I’m a fan of this series is an understatement; I live inside The Wheel of Time. It’s my special interest, my comfort brainfood. The audiobooks were my bedtime story every single night without fail for decades. I’m not exaggerating when I say I’ve reread and relistened to this series so many times that I practically memorized the whole thing. It has been my safe space since my early teens. This isn’t just a fantasy. It was the story that sealed my budding intersectional feminism as legitimate because I felt seen for the first time in my favorite genre, it was the backdrop to my most significant personal realizations as I related to different characters and their struggles at different points of my life, and it was my loyal companion amidst all the strife and trauma I experienced; to me, The Wheel of Time is a constant in the way the stars in the night sky are. Not to mention that it’s the light at the end of a cultural tunnel, a true progressive giant of its time.

When I learned The Wheel of Time would be adapted for the screen, I feared it would go the way of A Wizard of Earthsea, but I secretly hoped for a Lord of the Rings. I knew not all in our fandom would find it agreeable because this story is so expansive that it draws fans from all walks of life, and not all of us see eye to eye on what these books are about, why they’re important, and which details are the most relevant to our age. But I know I’m far from alone in thinking that what this cast and crew created went way above and beyond expectations—and every season outstripped the last. For the first time in decades, there was something new in Wheel of Time to look forward to; there were things that I didn’t know, despite knowing everything. At the same time, so many iconic scenes and characters had me raving in approval and laughing with delight as I recognized them or the many chapters in the book they were based on.

Every character introduction was phenomenal, every location took me back to their counterparts in the books, and every interaction vividly echoed the schemes and relationships as familiar to me as my family. I gloried in knowing what the myriad details in every scene symbolized or hinted at, and I’ve never been more adept at predicting the course of a story based on contextual clues alone; I regularly got that wonderful feeling of not knowing for sure but being right when I guessed where the show’s plot would take us next. I missed characters who didn’t make it in, of course, and I didn’t get to see every part of this journey I had hoped for, but every change, merge, and omission made sense to me. I admit, some changes I was actually grateful for or intrigued by; it may be my favorite book series, but as with all greats, this story, too, has its flaws and missed opportunities, and I wouldn’t have this adaptation any other way than the way this team chiseled some of its rough edges into everything it could be, and, perhaps, would have been had Robert Jordan written it today.

As I see it, the actors are each perfect choices for their respective roles; I felt these beloved characters come through strongly in everyone’s performance, and I could rant for days about my individual appreciation for all of you for bringing them to life with such skill and depth. At times, it was almost eerie how people who only existed in my head for so many years were suddenly given life; these performances were that good in my estimation. The set and costume design blew me away, every detail turned out every bit as meticulously nuanced and gorgeous as they should be in a series that placed such heavy emphasis on its diverse and distinct cultures and personalities. The cinematography, the soundtrack, the scripting, the direction—all of it shows that this is a series made by people who love and appreciate The Wheel of Time as much as I do and see the same spirit in it that made me fall in love with the books in the first place.

My appreciation for the art of this mythopoesis aside, I also feel that it has never been more relevant than it is today in these dark times to have media that represents people like me. There are as many ways to interpret and adapt The Wheel of Time as there are threads in the Pattern, and this show could have highlighted different aspects of it. The fact that you chose to show the side of it that mattered most to me, a world where women are in power as a matter of course, LGBTQIA+ identities are not just accepted but expected, BIPOC individuals aren’t marked out as segregated cultures, and a world of men who know how to love and cry, these are aspects all of you will always have my respect and gratitude for; our society can only evolve if we have good examples of where to evolve to. There’s so much more to explore in this story, and I won’t stop talking about its potential and merit in this regard. We all need symbols of hope, and the fact that you could make even this much of the show tells me there are so many people like me who appreciate the same things I do.

Tai’shar Wheel of Time cast and crew—you reminded me there is true love of fantasy out there worth fighting and writing for. I won’t give up hope so long as all of you live and movies are made.