The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

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Season 1
Season #: 3, 2, 1
User Score
3.0

Generally unfavorable reviews- based on 2938 Ratings

User score distribution:
  1. Positive: 711 out of 2938
  2. Mixed: 141 out of 2938
  3. Negative: 2,086 out of 2938

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User Reviews

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  1. DNA7052
    Sep 22, 2022
    0
    Laughably bad writing, a boring, meandering plot full of unlikable cardboard characters make this a show to avoid. Amazon mass deleting negative reviews of Rings of power AGAIN on their website. Hundreds vanished overnight in the UK alone while 5 star reviews sail through, whatever the content.

    Dishonest doesn't even begin to describe Amazon's approach on this expensive flop.
  2. Tsuriom
    Sep 18, 2022
    0
    Me parece un insulto hacia la obra de Tolkien

    Nada tiene sentido, no soporto el personaje de Galadriel (y los demas tampoco ), me aburre y realmente no veo razones para seguir viendola
  3. eriksl
    Sep 22, 2022
    1
    As a person inspired and engaged with Tolkien, I was looking enormously forward to this show. I can not describe in words how disappointed I am. Now 4 episodes in, I do not care one single bit about the characters, I can not recognize much of the history I have read in Tolkien's works, and even if I lay aside my love for his lore, I think the storyline is horribly written with giganticAs a person inspired and engaged with Tolkien, I was looking enormously forward to this show. I can not describe in words how disappointed I am. Now 4 episodes in, I do not care one single bit about the characters, I can not recognize much of the history I have read in Tolkien's works, and even if I lay aside my love for his lore, I think the storyline is horribly written with gigantic plot holes, ridiculous scenes that don't make sense when you think one second about them, and characters that live more up to tell-don't show when their motivations and drives are explored.

    A missed opportunity, I hope that they instead of cramming all of the Second Age into 5 seasons, had made different storylines with the Fall of Numenor, Galadriel's role in the Second Age, and the real story of the forging of the Rings of Power.    … Expand
  4. Romestamo
    Sep 22, 2022
    0
    Great cinematography but that's about it. The story is non-existent, the pacing is painfully slow, the script is amateurish, acting is poor and well-loved characters from the books are unlikeable here. The showrunners make a passing reference to Tolkien's characters whilst ripping the timeline to shreds and to what purpose? They say that such a long timeline couldn't be filmed withoutGreat cinematography but that's about it. The story is non-existent, the pacing is painfully slow, the script is amateurish, acting is poor and well-loved characters from the books are unlikeable here. The showrunners make a passing reference to Tolkien's characters whilst ripping the timeline to shreds and to what purpose? They say that such a long timeline couldn't be filmed without constantly killing off characters (something Game of Thrones did even with a shorter timeline). There are a number of ways this could have been done successfully such as compressing around the major events of the 2nd Age:

    Season 1: SA1200 - 1600 - The re-appearance of Sauron, forging of the rings
    Season 2: SA1600 - 1700 - War between Sauron and the Elves, Numenor saves the day
    Season 3: SA 2000 - 2300 - Origins of the Nazgul, shadow falls on Numenor
    Season 4: SA 3175 - 3319 - Sauron taken prisoner, Numenor destroyed, Elendil & sons escape
    Season 5: SA 3319 - 3441 - Foundation of Gondor & Arnor, War of the Last Alliance

    Another method, that would have allowed the showrunners to introduce characters earlier, would have been a Highlander-style reminiscing of past events.

    Is it really a good idea to alienate what should be your core audience, the millions of book lovers worldwide that know the lore and chronology better than that of the real world? Would it not have made more sense to hire tried-and-trusted individuals to write/produce such a flagship production or maybe actually listen to the advice of learned Tolkien scholars such as Tom Shippey?    … Expand
  5. CFitz
    Sep 23, 2022
    1
    incompetent and infantile fan fiction. Unworthy of the name of Tolkien. If this was renamed Gladys the Warrior Princess and Tolkien's name was taken off it, then nobody would be angry and some people might even go on watching it.
  6. Herbzilla77
    Sep 20, 2022
    1
    I made it to episode 3 before I tapped out, terrible on all aspects. Slow,boring, no likeable characters , nothing to do with Tolkien, just a really bad show trying to hitch a ride off of a name.
  7. meltwich
    Sep 19, 2022
    3
    It looks great, but the writing and story development is amateurish. It’s a chore to watch, sadly. It’s better than the “Wheel of Time” series from Amazon, but that is a very low bar to step over.
  8. Flashrick
    Sep 18, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Wow thought wheel of time was bad. Bad characters, costumes and acting. And why is it so boring ? Smash 2k years together and this is why you get ? Junk… Expand
  9. Axeface
    Oct 5, 2022
    3
    I tried my best. I waited 5 episodes. But this show is corporate corruption personified. The art, the music and the acting, its all passable and at times those elements are actually good - I dont hold any of the actors or artists at fault. They have done good work and performed well within the confines of what they were given. The problem here is really shockingly bad writing along withI tried my best. I waited 5 episodes. But this show is corporate corruption personified. The art, the music and the acting, its all passable and at times those elements are actually good - I dont hold any of the actors or artists at fault. They have done good work and performed well within the confines of what they were given. The problem here is really shockingly bad writing along with the corrupt and frankly heinous undertone of shackled creativity.… Expand
  10. Preissnjaga
    Sep 22, 2022
    3
    There may be some good moments, but show is at times very boring and slow-paced. The writing is also more like a mediocre German soap-opera than Tolkien's "unwritten book".
  11. valekzendu567
    Sep 26, 2022
    1
    It breaks my hearth to say all of this, i wanted this to be good, but i will just be honest.
    This show is an absolute insult to Tolkien creations and his characters in every way possible, its a really below mediocre and generic tv series, if you manage to make Tolkien mediocre, generic and boring you failed miserably, you have no excuses, this should be the best tv show of the last years    It breaks my hearth to say all of this, i wanted this to be good, but i will just be honest.
    This show is an absolute insult to Tolkien creations and his characters in every way possible, its a really below mediocre and generic tv series, if you manage to make Tolkien mediocre, generic and boring you failed miserably, you have no excuses, this should be the best tv show of the last years considering the importance of the source material and its absolutely not, it should be way better than a game of thrones spin-off which itself is a deconstruction of Tolkien, if a show about the Targaryen civil war is WAY better than a Second Age tv show you made a failure beyond comprehension.
    And its the most expensive tv show ever made which makes all of this even worse, i have no words for this, this is the biggest failure ever made in pop culture history, maybe just the disney's star wars sequels can be compared to this, and maybe even not.
    Next time dont give to amateurs, social activists and people without real talent a task of this dimensions, i hope Hollywood will learn a lesson after this, i dont want to see this ever again, its such a wasted opportunity... it makes me so furious.    … Expand
  12. Smudge99
    Jan 12, 2023
    0
    Casting, acting, set design, effects, and much more was just done dirt cheap, and it look's that way. Just another boring and bland pile of stank that turned out exactly as they wanted. Summarily it's cheap, poorly acted and written, and it disrespects the source material.
  13. Urand
    Apr 6, 2023
    1
    This a very bad cinema. Peace of **** Very, very, very bad film. Idiots scenario
  14. Weidenwiesel
    May 2, 2023
    0
    Some shows are great. Most are bad. Very few rise to the level of "crimes against humanity".
    Truly, a remarkable achievement.
  15. Bobby51
    Oct 2, 2022
    1
    The most beautiful, yet most boring thing i've ever seen on tv. Even Disney's She Hulk has a more engaging storyline.
  16. Guimoo
    Oct 5, 2022
    2
    Galadriel is an awful main character and unlikeable here. I can't care about all characters actually. Some decisions made by her as a leader and by the Harfoots make no sense. This is also boring and WOKE to the extreme. Just too hard to watch. I dropped out after second episode.
    I love LOTR. Even if this may appeal to some as a stand alone series, there is too much baggage from the    Galadriel is an awful main character and unlikeable here. I can't care about all characters actually. Some decisions made by her as a leader and by the Harfoots make no sense. This is also boring and WOKE to the extreme. Just too hard to watch. I dropped out after second episode.
    I love LOTR. Even if this may appeal to some as a stand alone series, there is too much baggage from the excellent film and books that this mis-handles in an ignorant way.    … Expand
  17. fukringsofpower
    Oct 11, 2022
    0
    It's sad really.
    This show is a C- fantasy show on the SciFi channel. Something which is crappy, perhaps except the cinematography.
    It had the highest budget in history, a source material by the best author of fantasy who ever lived, the father of fantasy dungeons and dragons style. Putting aside the idiotic deviation from the source material, it's just really bad. The characters are    It's sad really.
    This show is a C- fantasy show on the SciFi channel. Something which is crappy, perhaps except the cinematography.
    It had the highest budget in history, a source material by the best author of fantasy who ever lived, the father of fantasy dungeons and dragons style.
    Putting aside the idiotic deviation from the source material, it's just really bad.
    The characters are flat and we can't emphasize and root for them (with 1-2 minor exceptions, like Durin perhaps).
    The writers rely too much on mystery boxes to build suspense, and not on actual story building.
    The logic of events is flawed, it just doesn't make sense (within the rules of that particular fantasy world of course) - like a river on water which creates a volcano to erupt with any steam pressure.
    The dialogue most of time tries to sound smart, but actually falls flat, just no intelligent enough unfortunately.

    Also please be advised that Amazon has went into extreme spin mode, trying to attack the critic of the show, using bot-reviews, and using defamation of fans who love Tolkien's work who are finding this show to be an insult to the beauty of the world he created.

    The only thing which is truly amazing about this show is the contrast between its potential to the outcome, as it is baffling to watch how they've managed to do such a bad job at this.    … Expand
  18. Antek
    Oct 9, 2022
    2
    Boring, horrible uninspired script writing, flat characters. Gave up on the 3rd episode.
    Good CG though.
  19. nhand42
    Oct 4, 2022
    1
    I had dismissed the early negative reviews as insincere - the rantings of reactionaries are not to be trusted - but if anything they had understated the awfulness of this show. The writing is banal, the acting is wooden, and the world is inauthentic. The production somehow achieves the impossible of being overdone and looking cheap. I gave up after two episodes because I would honestlyI had dismissed the early negative reviews as insincere - the rantings of reactionaries are not to be trusted - but if anything they had understated the awfulness of this show. The writing is banal, the acting is wooden, and the world is inauthentic. The production somehow achieves the impossible of being overdone and looking cheap. I gave up after two episodes because I would honestly rather watch paint dry.… Expand
  20. Reos44
    Oct 10, 2022
    0
    Bad scenerio
    Bad characters
    Bad dialogue
    Bad costume designs
    Boring scenes
    Weak timeline
  21. Jhawk0
    Oct 11, 2022
    0
    Gotta love whomever is getting paid by Amazon to write positive reviews for this show… I’ve read things like 10/10! Faithful to the book(s). Lmao. The writing is terrible. The activists they hired as actors and show runners twisted this series in such a way that it’s laughable at this point. I’ve read EVERYTHING that Tolkien has ever put out, and to say this is faithful to his compendiumGotta love whomever is getting paid by Amazon to write positive reviews for this show… I’ve read things like 10/10! Faithful to the book(s). Lmao. The writing is terrible. The activists they hired as actors and show runners twisted this series in such a way that it’s laughable at this point. I’ve read EVERYTHING that Tolkien has ever put out, and to say this is faithful to his compendium is blasphemous.
    It is more like a fleeting memory of a show, that seems like it’s happened before, but trying to remember the details from a dream that has passed; Hollow, and grasping to recapture the wonder that was faithfully captured by Jackson on film. For $60,000,000 an episode, I’d expect a more flushed out narrative rather than a lifetime movie with incredible CGI.    … Expand
  22. Teresa_Claymore
    Oct 14, 2022
    0
    Made by people who don't understand Tolkien and want to subvert his creation. Acted by talentless nobodies, badly cast - the worst being the arrogant black elf, Lenny Jamaica Henry and the far left activist (and gurning champion) who they got to play Galadriel. This is a stain on Tolkien's name. Utter woke garbage.
  23. Mcgreen_21
    Oct 8, 2022
    0
    They took the lord of the rings world, of heroic men great deeds and thoughtful writing. Threw it on the trash and decided to write this woke billion dollar garbage. Where every man is Weak stupid or mean. They jammed actors into roles that they are doing well, and should never have been considered for. They are not trying to live up to the world we love they want to wokify and destroy it.
  24. Astrocitos
    Oct 11, 2022
    0
    This is by far the worst written piece of entertainment I’ve ever seen, in fact can’t say if it has anything good at all. Has nothing to do with TLODR and is just a bad TV show.
  25. Jtburkh
    Oct 9, 2022
    2
    Yawn. This is just more woke nonsense. I'm sure I am just racist or phobic or this is my fault for not liking it. Yawn.
  26. redbutnotdead
    Oct 14, 2022
    0
    I see people/bots downvoting blindly the low rating reviews. Fock your paid bots, fock amazon, fock your correct shiet. RoP is a hot pile of horseshiet with bad writing, degrading tolkien's legendary work, degrading fans' dreams and intelligence. Well no matter how much you pay for downvoting low rated reviews, people are not dumb so you can kiss your dream goodbye you worthless pieces of shiaet.
  27. Kai82
    Oct 8, 2022
    3
    While visually impressing it is just a generic fantasy show with mostly poor writing and an unlikable main character. If you are a Tolkien fan and / or read the books it is even more painful. They made a lot of poor decisions for the show like developers with barely any experience for the most expensive show ever made. Galadriel is nothing like in the books or movies and is only defined byWhile visually impressing it is just a generic fantasy show with mostly poor writing and an unlikable main character. If you are a Tolkien fan and / or read the books it is even more painful. They made a lot of poor decisions for the show like developers with barely any experience for the most expensive show ever made. Galadriel is nothing like in the books or movies and is only defined by being always angry and burning bridges with other characters and often also viewers. As a sidenote even one of her enemies named Adar says that the search for Morgoths (Big bad guy before Sauron) successor should have ended in her mirror and at that point I agree as she wants to kill all Orcs he considers his children painfully before his eyes just to torture him (By the way Adar is a great character and worthy addition). This is monstrous and unforgivable if you are the hero of the show. Then there are the Hobbits which they have to rename Harfoots because they have only the right to the appendixes of LotR (Why was this greenlighted?). They are not different from Hobbits being just the most common type of all Hobbits. Those are horrible people that abandon everyone to death that falls back behind on their travels. This made it hard to like them. To be fair there are some good parts. I like the Dwarven stuff and characters and this includes Disa who is great (many did not expect this). Gil-Galad is also good and I can see sparkles of something that could be an amazing story. Sadly the slow pacing and horrible dialogues ruin a lot of the story. While the visuals aka the CGI effects are amazing I wonder where all the money was used. The settings, costumes and armor often look cheap. Also they name everyone who criticize the show as istaphobs. Has ever insulting your core audience helped to make a show a success? Lastly I ask myself why buying the rights Tolkien if you abandon most of what is Tokien. At the end you have a generic fantasy show that is Tolkien in name only with poor writing and not many characters I liked. I give a 3/10 and if you are more of a Tolkien fan than me you should read this as 1/10.… Expand
  28. Hakisak
    Oct 8, 2022
    2
    although the scenery, cgi, some of the sets are amazing. Its not enough the carry the show on its own. The story is so poor and I'm not talking about its accuracy to the source material, on its own its just bad story writing.
  29. evyatar
    Oct 8, 2022
    2
    omg this is so bad, i give it more then one chance. they destroy my beloved story. maybe only in 20 years from now they will make LODR good again. how its possible
  30. yozoraskoln
    Oct 8, 2022
    0
    Poor acting; poor writing; needlessly sabotaged lore from an established story with woke garbage.
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Awards & Rankings

1
#1 Most Discussed TV Season of 2022

Critic Reviews

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Metascore
71

Generally favorable reviews - based on 40 Critic Reviews

Critic score distribution:
  1. Positive: 31 out of 40
  2. Mixed: 9 out of 40
  3. Negative: 0 out of 40
  1. The New Yorker
    Reviewed by: Jo Livingstone
    Sep 16, 2022
    80
    Adar’s début drips with signifiers. ... When Adar informs Arondir in Episode 4 that he has been told many lies, some that “run so deep even the rocks and roads now believe them,” it is still a thrill. Tolkien succeeded in creating a mythic world, one that has now grown vast enough through acts of typological repetition and imitation to conquer television, too.
    Read full review
  2. Slant Magazine
    Reviewed by: Chris Barsanti
    Sep 16, 2022
    63
    With war brewing and the forging of the rings seemingly still far off, the first half of The Rings of Power’s first season constitutes little more than stage-setting for the struggle to come. Given the lack of quests and central commanding figures, it often makes for less-than-gripping drama. However, given that there are four more seasons already planned, and potentially dozens of new characters to be introduced, the slow and throat-clearing build is possibly a good sign.
    Read full review
  3. TV Guide Magazine
    Reviewed by: Matt Roush
    Sep 9, 2022
    90
    The Rings of Power is a reminder of what drew many of us to epic fantasy in the first place: wonder. ... This series set in an ancient realm displays one dazzling and painterly landscape after another. Power also doesn't skimp on action. [12 - 25 Sep 2022, p.10]
    Read full review
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