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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  1. RVandini
    Sep 3, 2022
    1
    Un insulto a la obra de J. R. R. Tolkien, una manera de deformar una historia.
  2. bino1191
    Sep 5, 2022
    0
    Evil cannot create anything new, they can only corrupt and ruin good forces have invented or made
  3. Cristianfuentes
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    2 episodes in and we're already overwhelmed by the whole brainlessness of this project. We are fed up to be subjected once again to the insanity of political correction like seeing black and ethnically "right" characters filling many roles just to adjust to the insanity of the times. We Tolkienists disapprove this farce, seeing in discomfort how the impertinent people in charge of the show2 episodes in and we're already overwhelmed by the whole brainlessness of this project. We are fed up to be subjected once again to the insanity of political correction like seeing black and ethnically "right" characters filling many roles just to adjust to the insanity of the times. We Tolkienists disapprove this farce, seeing in discomfort how the impertinent people in charge of the show leaves heavy stains on a formerly respected saga. In addition, the story and subplots are riddled with so much incoherences and poorly written threads, the show frankly looks ridiculous and feels tedious. Once, I had the slight hope they would make a worthy spectacle translating The Silmarillion to the screen, now I can just realise what a wasted opportunity this is.… Expand
  4. majmaster15
    Sep 3, 2022
    1
    Poor casting choices. Could be a good tv series, but followed on the imposed standards. Also creators are racists - I didnt find any asian character
  5. Adramelech_cpr
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This is not LOTR!! Amazon took the name to force woke indoctrination,don’t waste your time watching this,this es the most expensive woke garbage ever made
  6. AAWarren
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    It’s got nice visuals. The music is so-so…..everything else? Poor dialogue, dull acting….and dear God!!! Grace Randolph was so right about the character of Galadriel, it was painful!!!! She is quite possibly the worst thing about all of this!!! She’s so bland, obnoxious and one-dimensional, it’s depressing. It amazes me that somehow Amazon is doing everything to protect what’s essentiallyIt’s got nice visuals. The music is so-so…..everything else? Poor dialogue, dull acting….and dear God!!! Grace Randolph was so right about the character of Galadriel, it was painful!!!! She is quite possibly the worst thing about all of this!!! She’s so bland, obnoxious and one-dimensional, it’s depressing. It amazes me that somehow Amazon is doing everything to protect what’s essentially a vanity project, completely disrespect the world Tolkien built and came up with something so creatively bankrupt that it can’t present a world (shamelessly hijacked as it is) where both men and women can be layered, compelling, and strong without crapping all over each other. This show is essentially self-aggrandizing fan-fiction.… Expand
  7. Axwel
    Sep 3, 2022
    2
    I leave my review of the first two episodes of the series.
    In my personal opinion the beginning of the series is quite weak. The interpretation of some canonical characters are far removed from their literary counterpart. Lady Galadriel shows an unseemly and annoying rebelliousness, adding that she shows no wisdom. Especially the fact that she lived in the kingdom of Doriath in Beleriand    I leave my review of the first two episodes of the series.
    In my personal opinion the beginning of the series is quite weak. The interpretation of some canonical characters are far removed from their literary counterpart. Lady Galadriel shows an unseemly and annoying rebelliousness, adding that she shows no wisdom. Especially the fact that she lived in the kingdom of Doriath in Beleriand years ago and it seems that all teachings of Melian were left aside in this version. In reference to Lord Elrond and Celebrimbor, there is not much to say, except the physical appearance that is not very successful. The story of the elf Arondir and the woman is completely unnecessary; the argument that tries to bring the couple closer is bad and relapses into cliché. In the case of hobbits, I quite liked it. It brings freshness to the slow central argument, despite the fact that no character is canonical. Likewise, the contribution of the meteorite character generates additional intrigue. Finally, the most redeemable so far are the scenes of Kahzad dum. The characterization of the male dwarfs is very well done, even the challenge invented in the series, winks at Vala Aulë himself, the one who created the Naugrim; more resilient in all deadly physical sorrow than other races. In the end, the series does not promise what it announced, however, there may be further development as it progresses.    … Expand
  8. Duergh
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Garbage serial
    They think it's enough to call on some other creators great name and throw $$ and everyone will buy your crap. If this will be some other NOT LotR serial not pretending to be Tolkien work serial it will be probably 4/10 but as it dare to call itself Lord of the Rings and only thing it have is political correctness it don't deserve even 1/10.
  9. orionstarr
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This woke trash is an absolute slap in the face to Tolkiens legacy. The characters are bland, the casting choices for literally everyone haven been poorly chosen, especially the lead Morfyyd Clark who plays Galadriel and turns her from a gorgeous elven sorceress who commands power and respect just by merely existing, into a pissy little Karen who needs to speak to a manager. It doesn't endThis woke trash is an absolute slap in the face to Tolkiens legacy. The characters are bland, the casting choices for literally everyone haven been poorly chosen, especially the lead Morfyyd Clark who plays Galadriel and turns her from a gorgeous elven sorceress who commands power and respect just by merely existing, into a pissy little Karen who needs to speak to a manager. It doesn't end there as each subsequent character that turns up in this dumpster fire is as equally talentless or tedious. Save your time and just enjoy the original Jackson films.… Expand
  10. jorgebg
    Oct 18, 2022
    0
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Plotholes, flat characters, meaningless shots, a random balrog that just hates a tree leaf for a few seconds. Horrible.… Expand
  11. Bohenbube
    Oct 24, 2022
    0
    Tolkien would rotate in his grave! No Isildur dont live during the creation of the Rings of Power and Gandalf didnt come to middleearth as an metroid. Galadriel is a Mother and Protector not a Warrior Gil Galad is tge Warrior. And no Sauron didnt come over as Halbrand to the elves. This show is just crap!
  12. PlacidDragon
    Sep 5, 2022
    2
    To keep it spoiler free..well.. nobody is ever likely to read this, so i'll just sum it up by the show being an absolute abomination, there is nothing Tolkien'esque about this.. nothing.. I'll give it an extra point for its effects, which are (mostly) very good, but everything else about the show.. the cast, the story, the dialogue (massive cringe) is catastrophically bad...
  13. ozmox
    Sep 7, 2022
    2
    Given the budget this adapation of Tolkien's work looks very stunning. Many of the scenes are beautifully rendered. Unfortunately it suffers from very lazy writing, shallow characters, strangely paced plot development, and bad costumes. Some costumes look okay, a few uninspired, and others are literally painted chain on cloth.

    Additionally the showrunners for some reason ignore pretty    Given the budget this adapation of Tolkien's work looks very stunning. Many of the scenes are beautifully rendered. Unfortunately it suffers from very lazy writing, shallow characters, strangely paced plot development, and bad costumes. Some costumes look okay, a few uninspired, and others are literally painted chain on cloth.

    Additionally the showrunners for some reason ignore pretty much all of the Tolkien Legendarium, except for character names. The characters themselves are very different than how they are in the books. They add a bunch of new ones, unclear why, while eliminating a variety of important ones. If you're a fan of Tolkien you'll be a little confused and or frustrated.    … Expand
  14. Steyraus
    Sep 4, 2022
    1
    We are so lucky to have you got the Lord of the Rings trilogy when we did. Before woke politics right a time when CGI was pretty good. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the best trilogies ever and this new TV show is one of the worst TV shows ever. To call it boring is understatement to call it stupid is an understatement this show is so dry and full of the dumb actions and dumbWe are so lucky to have you got the Lord of the Rings trilogy when we did. Before woke politics right a time when CGI was pretty good. The Lord of the Rings trilogy is one of the best trilogies ever and this new TV show is one of the worst TV shows ever. To call it boring is understatement to call it stupid is an understatement this show is so dry and full of the dumb actions and dumb writing it's hard to fathom they paid so much money for it.… Expand
  15. skepticck
    Sep 6, 2022
    2
    Looks good but writing is terrible, this script seems written by people who never read a book in their lives and were more interested in injecting themselves and their politics into the script instead of writing a good story, not that they would even know how to. Scored 2 for the visuals because the rest is abysmal, the story and the acting are just bad.
  16. Rabullione
    Sep 6, 2022
    2
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. The first episode was nothing special, but it wasn't bad. I honestly looked forward to watching the second episode.

    But after two episodes, the series has already devolved into contrived silliness, closer to what I'd expect from a low-budget network TV show than from from a high-budget blockbuster.

    *S1:E2 - Elrond enters a high stakes rock smashing competition(?). Meanwhile, Galadriel jumps the shark.*

    And it was jumping the shark, wasn't it? The protagonist, a leader among the wisest people of Middle Earth... tried to swim across a friggin' ocean. Are they even trying?!

    Call me when they bring in Peter Jackson.    … Expand
  17. HughMBehavior
    Sep 4, 2022
    1
    In lieu of slagging this abomination, here's HOW TO PUT BLACK CHARACTERS IN A TOLKIEN SHOW:

    1. One does not simply tokenize Tolkien. 2. Instead, GO FOR IT and make The Wire: Tolkien Edition (greatest television show of all time. >50% black cast.) 3. Set the show in the Tolkien South. Harad I believe. 4. Thus most of the characters will be black/Semetic/Arabic. 5. Since the    In lieu of slagging this abomination, here's HOW TO PUT BLACK CHARACTERS IN A TOLKIEN SHOW:

    1. One does not simply tokenize Tolkien.

    2. Instead, GO FOR IT and make The Wire: Tolkien Edition (greatest television show of all time. >50% black cast.)

    3. Set the show in the Tolkien South. Harad I believe.

    4. Thus most of the characters will be black/Semetic/Arabic.

    5. Since the Haradrim are allies of Sauron in The Red Book, I suggest a tragic story of how the good Haradrim were eventually overcome by Sauron's entreaties & Game of Thrones style evil vizier types... yet the good Haradrim score a victory in defeat & escape to form a better society elsewhere. Or die tragic hero-style. Whichever et cetera

    6. You'll need a better Tolkien scholar than I (and I am a better Tolkien scholar than any of these DESPICABLE hacks.)

    7. Hey, who's a great Tolkien scholar one might employ? TOM SHIPPEY? Too bad the hacks fired him eh?

    Final thoughts: a. Make it more Wire by writing the villains somewhat sympathetic & the heroes occasionally villainous.

    b. Say the damn dialogue out loud & make it sound like something... what do you call those thingies?... oh, HUMANS. Make it sound like PEOPLE talking.

    c. Bring in Red Book Tolkien with characters evocative of the original & guest stars: human traders, dwarven emissaries, Legolas on walkabout, maybe even Aragorn makes it down. He's OLD AF & probably ranged that way eh? Aragorn could help for half a season & suggest where the good Haradrim flee, then take his leave 'cause the Dunedain will need him. Etc.

    I'm just spitballing here, and already I've HALF-WRITTEN A BETTER SHOW that's WAY MORE DIVERSE but not TOKENIZED. That's how bad Amazon F'd the pooch. Wow. You SUCK Amazon. You SUCK Bad Reboot.

    It might fail... but at least it would not be an ABOMINATION in failing. Amazon is gonna lose a LOT of money here. GOOD. They've lost $5,000 in spend from me already. I was a HEAVY Prime buyer. Now I'm not a Prime buyer. F OFF Amazon. You are being gatekept. F OFF "new religion" fake Tolkien fans. You are being GATEKEPT. We protect what we love from evil cultists like yourselves.

    We welcome new fans. We GATEKEEP subverters in a new fan skinsuit. It confounds you that I am literally asking for a MOSTLY BLACK TOLKIEN SHOW, does it not? I'd explain, but I do not bandy words with witless fools.    … Expand
  18. Nando95
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This show is even worse than the hobbit if someone can put a mark higher than 4, it´s only because they don´t have read anything of Tolkien or even seen the movies of Jackson. Some random consumer guy who rates another **** of Hollywood a lot of political issues put in the movie.
    And even worse is not respecting anything of the world of Tolkien, not the elf, Galadriel is older than    This show is even worse than the hobbit if someone can put a mark higher than 4, it´s only because they don´t have read anything of Tolkien or even seen the movies of Jackson. Some random consumer guy who rates another **** of Hollywood a lot of political issues put in the movie.
    And even worse is not respecting anything of the world of Tolkien, not the elf, Galadriel is older than CELEBRIMBOR, not the dwarf not because is black but because she doesn´t have a beard. I can continue eternally with the number of flows this show has. Dialogues that try to be smart but aren´t... Don´t waste your time with this show    … Expand
  19. mastershay
    Sep 5, 2022
    4
    This makes the Lord of the Rings cartoons look like Gone with the Wind. Mediocre directors + mediocre writers + mediocre actors = mediocre show. Feels like it was written by kids in middle school. Why did they not hire veterans with proven track records? Also throw in the fad politics that permeates TV and movies these days for extra annoyance, along with characters that constantly makeThis makes the Lord of the Rings cartoons look like Gone with the Wind. Mediocre directors + mediocre writers + mediocre actors = mediocre show. Feels like it was written by kids in middle school. Why did they not hire veterans with proven track records? Also throw in the fad politics that permeates TV and movies these days for extra annoyance, along with characters that constantly make dumb decisions. All the money in the world means nothing if there's no soul. I want this to succeed and be good because I like LOTR, but so far it does not. Please upgrade the team for season 2, if it's not too late.… Expand
  20. RoJoelGoat
    Sep 6, 2022
    2
    --Looks Pretty (usually), But That's All--
    Atrocious writing. The dialog is especially awful. Implausible plot, character actions, et al. Embarrassing, amateurish, pseudo-intellectual sludge. Comparable to a paper that would receive a C grade in a High School creative writing class. Just, no.
  21. jaijai09
    Sep 6, 2022
    1
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Honestly, a huge LOTR fan, read the books, watched the movies, extended and normal, Hobbit, extended and normal, over and over again. Was very excited when I heard about Amazon making this show... then heard about all the bad ratings and when I heard that Amazon removed ratings, I was already sceptic but I really, and I mean it, REALLY wanted to give it a chance and started watching it without any prejudice. What can I say? It's a disgrace and a bad joke. It's not about the obviously woke selected characters, that so many people mention, middle earth was a wild mix of creatures and people and hobbits and whatsoever... but wtf? No story, generic and bs plot, the characters unlikeable, the dialogues stupid and constructed like they were created by Mrs. Mastersons for the school theater. Galadriel looks like some average and boring Karen from New Jersey on her way to Walmart... the other characters, gosh... and of course SHE alone will do it, the evil men are all against her while she is brave blah blah. The CGI sucks, sorry and this scene where the king stands next to Elrond you see how cheap the ears have been attached, it looks like there are 2 office workers standing next to each other on a boring office party and chitchat about their colleague Peter, who again is too drunk. 500M USD ... why not hire Peter Jackson? Ah yeah, he would have sent Karen to Walmart instead into this show. Elon was right, when he twittered about Tolkien turning in his grave. Nonetheless interested why pal Jesus crashed into the scene at the beginning of episode 2 :)))… Expand
  22. jubjub92
    Sep 6, 2022
    2
    I can spend all day picking put the blatant lore inaccuracies, but at the end of the day the show is just boring. Poor script, poor cinematography, soundtrack is decent but bland, a few good visuals, plot is convoluted and dull. 2/10
  23. joechang2022
    Sep 6, 2022
    2
    Looks great, but the story is uninteresting. We all know what's going to happen in the end, but I haven't been convinced that I want to know how.
  24. NPinto
    Sep 7, 2022
    2
    A soulless interpretation of the franchise, using only bits from the Appendices, and mixing a great deal of bad fan-fiction. Bad script, wooden acting, and overall boredom. Only thing that doesn't make this a complete disaster is the special effect (and even then, there are scenes where the transition of SFX and real actors are obvious). There are here and there small nods to the originalA soulless interpretation of the franchise, using only bits from the Appendices, and mixing a great deal of bad fan-fiction. Bad script, wooden acting, and overall boredom. Only thing that doesn't make this a complete disaster is the special effect (and even then, there are scenes where the transition of SFX and real actors are obvious). There are here and there small nods to the original story, but since the showrunners don't have the rights to the time period they decided to write, a great deal is contradicting the lore, to the point of distorting topics that were fundamental to the story in general. All in all, its a train wreck that can only be enjoyed if you don't know the original story (or if you don't care).… Expand
  25. MyDriveMyHome
    Sep 7, 2022
    2
    A new form of energy was found, unlimited in scope and power. Spinning so fast, immeasurable rounds per minute Tolkien's grave has become a source of heat that can power cities, who knows even nations. This digital compost of show is smelly and laughable, only a blind bat will say this abomination has any merit. After watching the first 2 episodes, a pure gold comedy done so bad it'sA new form of energy was found, unlimited in scope and power. Spinning so fast, immeasurable rounds per minute Tolkien's grave has become a source of heat that can power cities, who knows even nations. This digital compost of show is smelly and laughable, only a blind bat will say this abomination has any merit. After watching the first 2 episodes, a pure gold comedy done so bad it's actually funny. Plot - 0/10
    Acting - 3/10
    Dialog - 0/10
    Pacing - -1/10
    Music - 4/10
    Direction - 2/10
    Camera - 4/10
    CGI - 7/10
    Post - 2/10    … Expand
  26. Rawhead
    Sep 3, 2022
    1
    This is not a good series, seriously. This is the second time i try to write a review, and I´ll summarise what i wrote before: great ost, great photography, poor script and worse rhythm.
  27. Liambrown
    Sep 3, 2022
    1
    I find the show quite dull and boring, very hard to feel invested in the characters as a lot of the acting seems very wooden. The story doesn't flow, it seems disjointed and the pacing also seems off, very difficult to remain engaged.
  28. dasdsad
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    This is happening when somebody who is not a Tolien fun creates something like that. Its pure evil to destroy such a masterpiece with woke culture. Even the actings is so bad and fight scenes. One thing that is good here are only the places. They look good.
  29. COSMIN410
    Sep 3, 2022
    1
    I tried to ignore the hate but I can't give it a better rating based on the content. Look the show is a 6 but keeping in mind the reach content is based on and the sum invested this dose not deserve better than 1. Sorry ...
  30. Hallblithe
    Sep 4, 2022
    0
    I set out to give this show a fair shake of the stick because I love LotR, Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and Tolkien's other works. His Beowulf is even my favourite prose translation, and although I'm not a big fan of self-proclaimed 'Tolkien Scholars' I have read the two works about Middle-earth by Tom Shippey - the only Tolkien 'scholar' who is actually worthy of the name. I'm currentlyI set out to give this show a fair shake of the stick because I love LotR, Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales and Tolkien's other works. His Beowulf is even my favourite prose translation, and although I'm not a big fan of self-proclaimed 'Tolkien Scholars' I have read the two works about Middle-earth by Tom Shippey - the only Tolkien 'scholar' who is actually worthy of the name. I'm currently working my way through th History of Middle-earth (the Cottage of Lost Play!) and it is fascinating - especially with Christopher's commentary.

    This is why this show was such a slap in the face. The casting, actors and writing were awful. If you're going to race-swap characters for the sake of your diversity-at-any-cost agenda then at least get some that are competent and likeable. I turned the show off halfway through Lenny Henry gurning his way through his lines - yes, the same Lenny Henry who is always complaining that television is too white - and I doubt I'll bother with the rest of the series at all.

    As for Galadriel, you'd have thought they could get a natural blonde to play her instead of someone with distractingly dark caterpillar eyebrows and swarthy skin. I love female protagonists and prefer them to men, but this Welsh actor is completely unsuited to the role.

    I'm sure this show will make Bezos billions. A glance at the rabid 10/10 scores makes that crystal clear. I guess many Bezos supporters just want more generic D&D style fantasy. And it's a shame his didn't just spend his money making something else fantasy related - like an Elder Scrolls show - instead of ruining forever something that was beautiful and bright.    … Expand
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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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