There was legitimate hype going into The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power. Since it was the first Lord of the Rings content to come out since Peter Jackson’s trilogies, most fans were excited to see what the Prime Video series would offer. However, a portion of the fan base approached The Rings of Power with a more negative attitude.

Most of the skeptical viewers were upset that the series was reportedly playing fast and loose with J.R.R. Tolkien’s lore. While those fans’ complaints were justified on some fronts, their cynicism hindered their ability to enjoy The Rings of Power at all. That led to negative reviews for The Rings of Power after its debut. But later numbers showed that a lot of the negative reaction was put out by a small, vocal group of narrow-minded audience members.

Updated by Jordan Iacobucci on May 21, 2024: The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power Season 2 premieres on Amazon Prime Video on August 29, continuing the epic story set in J.R.R. Tolkien’s epic fantasy world of Middle-earth. While the first season was met with considerable pushback from fans, The Rings of Power may not be the failure that some naysayers claim it to be. In fact, the series may be more popular than many give it credit for.

Why Some LOTR Fans Thought the Rings of Power Was Bad

The Rings Of Power Ignores Some Pieces Of Middle-Earth Lore

The Rings of Power Season 1 Critics and Audience Ratings

Rotten Tomatoes Critical Score
Rotten Tomatoes Audience Score
IMDb Rating

83%
38%
7/10

The Rings of Power‘s 25 million global viewers on the day of its debut made it Prime Video’s largest premiere. However, many of those seemed unhappy because the Rotten Tomatoes audience score was only 37 percent. Amazon put a three-day pause on Rings of Power reviews because executives feared review-bombing. Yet after that, the audience score only rose to 38 percent — which signals that a large number of people really didn’t (and still don’t) like the series.

The primary reason for the dislike was due to lore-based decisions. LOTR fans tend to take Tolkien’s material very seriously, so when The Rings of Power started making changes to canon, it didn’t sit well with many of them. Rotten Tomatoes audience member Paul in the 6 wrote, “Maybe if the show was not an adaptation of LOTR and was something else. Maybe the ROP would have stood a chance in my eyes. But to be connected to JRR Tolkien’s work was a joke.” That and similar responses established a negative reaction to Rings of Power. However, viewership numbers may prove that the general reaction to Amazon Prime Video’s new series wasn’t as negative as it might have appeared.

Viewership Numbers Prove That Audiences Did Like The Rings of Power

Some Viewers Decided Whether They Liked The Rings Of Power Before They Watched It

The Rings of Power Season 1 Episodes

Episode Title
IMDb Rating

“A Shadow of the Past”
7.3/10

“Adrift”
7.4/10

“Adar”
7.3/10

“The Great Wave”
7.1/10

“Partings”
6.8/10

“Udun”
8.2/10

“The Eye”
6.6/10

“Alloyed”
7.8/10

Despite the considerable pushback that the series received in its first season, many Tolkien fans really did like The Rings of Power. Another Rotten Tomatoes audience review by derflA said, “I don’t get why this show gets so much hate. I can agree the first episode isn’t the best, but you can’t judge a show based on one of the episodes. The action is on point, the visuals are absolutely stunning. The way they reveal who Sauron was and who The Stranger was is great. The characters are good, the acting is good, I don’t see why people say the acting is bad. Amazing show.”

The series’ reviews ultimately matched the pre-release sentiments. Those who wanted to like The Rings of Power liked it, but those who were skeptical never gave it a chance. But there were a lot more people who liked the series than disliked it. After the Season 1 finale on Oct. 14, The Rings of Power‘s 55.7 times increase in viewership brought it to an all-time high. The above chart from IMDb reflects user ratings for the series. Most were either 1 or 10 stars — with very little ratings in the middle. These statistics, and the negative comments, suggest that the viewers who thought The Rings of Power was bad based that opinion on its non-adherence to Tolkien’s source material. They didn’t judge the series on its own merit. Hopefully, viewers will be a little more open-minded in Season 2.

Will The Rings Of Power Season 2 Win Over Some Fans?

The Rings Of Power Season 2 Promises To Be More Like The Films

 

The Rings of Power Cast & Character Guide

Character
Actor

Galadriel
Morfydd Clark

Elrond
Robert Aramayo

Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot
Markella Kavenagh

Arondir
Ismael Cruz Córdova

Bronwyn
Nazanin Boniadi

Elendil
Lloyd Owen

Isildur
Maxim Baldry

Durin IV
Owain Arthur

Halbrand/Sauron
Charlie Vickers

Queen Miriel
Cynthia Addai-Robinson

The Rings of Power Season 2 hopes to win back some fans who weren’t on board for the original season. The series, though it may still take some liberties with J.R.R. Tolkien’s original stories, seems to be gravitating more toward what fans appreciate about the franchise in future episodes. The cast and crew of Season 2 have hinted at major battle sequences, including one that may spill over several episodes, immediately bringing to mind epic battles like the ones at Helm’s Deep and Pelennor Fields in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films. The series may be attempting to focus on things that audiences liked about Jackson’s adaptations in an effort to win them over to future seasons of The Rings of Power.

Regardless of whether hardcore Tolkien fans change their minds, Amazon intends to continue with its version of Middle-earth. The Rings of Power Season 3 is already in development, with plans for additional seasons already underway to complete the story leading up to the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. If viewership remains as high as it was in the first season, no amount of pushback could ever stop The Rings of Power from being a success.