We're Never Getting to the Last Battle on ‘Wheel of Time'

It's a sad day for fans of Prime Video's The Wheel of Time, and an even sadder day for fans of that show who also loathe cliffhangers: it's been cancelled. There's no season four coming. The recently wrapped season three had yet to reach the Robert Jordan-adapted story's much-teased Last Battle, so the fate of the world may forever be left hanging in the balance.
This news comes from Deadline, which writes 'the decision … followed lengthy deliberations, sources said. As is often the case in the current economic environment, the reasons were financial as the series is liked creatively by the streamer's executives.'
The trade notes that while ratings for season three were decent, they represented a dip from the show's first two outings, and the 'overall performance was not strong enough compared to the show's cost for Prime Video to commit to another season … the streamer could not make it work after examining different scenarios and following discussions with lead studio Sony TV, sources said.'
Deadline also notes that season three's finale was 'designed to offer some closure' in the event that the show was cancelled. Fans may not agree with that—nor might showrunner Rafe Judkins, who told io9 ahead of season three that he was 'hopeful that even in the current world we get to tell the whole story of The Wheel of Time.'
He also teased that he already had the show's 'end game in mind,' and it didn't sound like the season three finale was designed to fulfill that.
'We're always plotting and planning how we want to do everything we've got,' he told io9. 'You'll see stuff falling into this season that [hints at our] plans for the top of season four or into season five. So, we're always approaching it from the writers' room as if we're going to make it to the end of this thing, and that this is how we want to tell that story. I think a lot of shows aren't given the benefit of as many seasons anymore, but I think Amazon's been an amazing network in terms of, from the outset on this, they really set out to tell the whole story.'
The Wheel of Time is drawn from a 14-book fantasy series that could presumably have sustained many, many more seasons. Now it seems fans will have to start turning pages to see what happens to Moiraine, Rand, and their friends and foes, while looking forward to the Wheel of Time video game that was very recently announced.
What are your thoughts on The Wheel of Time's cancellation? Did you think, as many fans did, that season three was the best yet? Let us know below.

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