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. rodrigo666
    Sep 2, 2022
    4
    Bad casting, flat and highly dull plot with some absurdities, and no compromise with the original material. The direction has little to do with such poor written material.
  2. keshka
    Sep 5, 2022
    0
    Terrible show. Boring and has nothing to do with Tolkiens world. I don't understand why do they have to push the political agenda into fantasy worlds.
  3. e1sky
    Sep 2, 2022
    1
    I am very upset about this **** I can’t even imagine that someone can make something bad like that about Tolkien’s stories. It’s only about SJW and nothing about this wonderful world and characters.
  4. Lucen
    Sep 2, 2022
    1
    I was willing to give this show a chance despite all the criticism. There have been examples of other fantasy shows with non-cannon diverse casting that turned out great. For example The Witcher. Unfortunately TRoP managed underperform even my lowest expectations.

    There are some good things about the show. The music and visuals are incredible. They also did a great job with the Dwarves.    I was willing to give this show a chance despite all the criticism. There have been examples of other fantasy shows with non-cannon diverse casting that turned out great. For example The Witcher. Unfortunately TRoP managed underperform even my lowest expectations.

    There are some good things about the show. The music and visuals are incredible. They also did a great job with the Dwarves.

    Sadly the negatives greatly outweigh the positives. Galadriel's character is a bit too heroic and almost feels like Indiana Jones. However, I expect her to change throughout the show as her character develops.

    However, the real deal breaker for me is the blatant and obtrusive allegory. Particularly the historic relationship between elves and humans being compared to whites and blacks in the USA. Some of the dialogue is so on the nose that I physically cringed while watching the show.

    Before anyone claims what I'm saying is racist please understand. I believe it is incredibly important to educate people about slavery in the USA and for them to understand that the impact of that era can still be felt today. However, this type of messaging has absolutely no place in LoTR and is a disgrace to Tolkien in my opinion.    … Expand
  5. robert-omb
    Sep 12, 2022
    4
    Flimsy cardboard cutouts set in a diorama of superficial beauty. Inconsistent tone, inane dialogue, disregard for the source material, and an aura of soullessness. It's bewildering how something so expensive could feel so cheap. Stick with Peter Jackson or read the books.
  6. Wildwitch
    Sep 3, 2022
    3
    The scenery is amazing. The music is ok. The acting is ok. The main character should be the monster of the show. She is rude, nasty, arrogant, mean, selfish,vicious and unlikable. The REAL Galadriel is a sorceress. NOT a warrior.

    I watched all of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings to refresh my memory. It was confirmed - these 2 episodes are fan fiction and NOT Lord of the Rings. We sat    The scenery is amazing. The music is ok. The acting is ok. The main character should be the monster of the show. She is rude, nasty, arrogant, mean, selfish,vicious and unlikable. The REAL Galadriel is a sorceress. NOT a warrior.

    I watched all of the Hobbit and the Lord of the Rings to refresh my memory. It was confirmed - these 2 episodes are fan fiction and NOT Lord of the Rings. We sat in a group of 4 viewers and discussed it afterwards. We all nearly fell asleep during these 2 long and boring episodes.

    She is a monster. She is not a hero. She was a sorceress. Not a warrior. It's OK to be feminine in 2022.

    We won't waste another minute of our time viewing this trash when there are MANY better shows to watch. Yes - Prime has some great shows and movies. THIS is not one of them.    … Expand
  7. Worrywort
    Sep 11, 2022
    2
    Here's my rapid-fire review: A few good actors here and there but most feel like they were hired off the street, or are miscast entirely. Galadriel is an emotionless Karen, acted with the passion of a dry potato. Some musical cues are nice but it mostly sounds like they just followed a manual, it is expensive-sounding but ultimately soulless and mostly uninspired. Visually it looks veryHere's my rapid-fire review: A few good actors here and there but most feel like they were hired off the street, or are miscast entirely. Galadriel is an emotionless Karen, acted with the passion of a dry potato. Some musical cues are nice but it mostly sounds like they just followed a manual, it is expensive-sounding but ultimately soulless and mostly uninspired. Visually it looks very expensive and is rich in color and light effects, but poor in actual cinematography and camera work - again they just followed a manual. Somehow they managed to make it look fancy and fake at the same time, cgi can't replicate all the tiny little imperfections and details and random texture of real life - and this show uses a LOT of cgi. Enough has already been said about the often embarrassing dialogue, by-the-numbers screenplay and general story that deviates completely from the source material. Half of the characters are pure fanfiction with mostly pointless and unimportant subplots which the show tries to make seem important and is all the worse for it, 'filler' is a drastic word to use but it seems appropriate here. One of my biggest problems is the language, or rather lack thereof; it's just plain straight-up modern day english. Where is the elevated old-english language that Tolkien wrote so beautifully? And why do they pronounce elvish+adunaic names and places in the most forced and unnatural way possible? It sounds like they practiced to make it sound practiced, especially the actor of Galadriel. The total dumbing down of the language is the biggest reason why this show feels empty to me, and in combination with soap opera-level acting it compounds that even further. TRoP largely feels fake and empty, because there is no true inspiration or artistic vision behind it. It is just very expensive confetti, that spits in the face of arguably the most loved and revered work of fantasy that has ever been created, and that is why I give this show a rating of 2/10.… Expand
  8. teebow
    Sep 9, 2022
    2
    Thought the writing acting and overall pace was very poor. Plus the characters are just not very convincing
  9. moler
    Sep 11, 2022
    0
    No vale ni como salva pantallas. Actores malos. Guión malo. Coincidencias con Tolkien son pura coincidencia. Cgi 5 min bien luego aburre igual que los diálogos hechos para gente de 7 años. El sonido se hace pesado
  10. entitet
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Creators of TRoP: Hey, Tolkien fans. We're simply gonna take your beloved inherently racist and sexist saga, change it and infuse it with our political ideologies.
    Tolkien fans: Why can't you just create something new, instead of bastardizing something established with your politics?
    Creators of TRoP: Shut up, racist white sexist incel! We're the GOOD people here and everyone who    Creators of TRoP: Hey, Tolkien fans. We're simply gonna take your beloved inherently racist and sexist saga, change it and infuse it with our political ideologies.
    Tolkien fans: Why can't you just create something new, instead of bastardizing something established with your politics?
    Creators of TRoP: Shut up, racist white sexist incel! We're the GOOD people here and everyone who criticize our will and actions are PURE EVIL!

    Honestly tho. Let them waste all those millions on this show. I simply don't understand the delusional logic of just using an established title, which mostly only appeal to passionate fans who don't like changes to well established lore.    … Expand
  11. iskatu
    Sep 2, 2022
    4
    This review contains spoilers, click expand to view. Galadriel trying to swim across the ocean? Are you serious ? So this doesn't seem strange to anyone? I mean screenwriters. It's really a pity.… Expand
  12. Zhoasbull
    Sep 2, 2022
    4
    Great visuals, but no characters grabbed me. The writing was pure formula and the acting was wooden.
  13. PapaRoyal
    Sep 10, 2022
    1
    Reeeally should've taken a page out of Peter Jackson's book and made a show true to Tolkien not true to whatever whims blowing through Hollywood at the moment.
  14. loderunner
    Sep 5, 2022
    0
    Trashy fan-fiction. Hobbits are black. Elves are black. Watch at your own risk, this **** has nothing with original lotr atmosphere and aesthetics.
  15. Cufa
    Sep 4, 2022
    0
    Visualmente esta muy bien pero es algo que se espera por el alto presupuesto, luego nos encontramos con que el prologo es lo unico canon de todo lo que vimos. La trama es aburrida, actuaciones de malas a regulares, el guion infantil y con mensajes hasta en algunos puntos politicos no es lo que uno espera de una historia de Tolkien. Incluso si hicieramos de cuenta que la serie no esVisualmente esta muy bien pero es algo que se espera por el alto presupuesto, luego nos encontramos con que el prologo es lo unico canon de todo lo que vimos. La trama es aburrida, actuaciones de malas a regulares, el guion infantil y con mensajes hasta en algunos puntos politicos no es lo que uno espera de una historia de Tolkien. Incluso si hicieramos de cuenta que la serie no es "basada" en las obras de Tolkien podriamos decir que es mala, los elfos parecen hombres comunes, los hobbits no tienen relevancia alguna en la historia de esta absolutamente NUEVA fantasia que estan creando, el arco narrativo de Arondir parece mas interesado por estar con Bronwyn que por las amenazas a la Tierra Media. en fin, podria seguir asi con mas argumentos de porque la serie resultó ser un fracaso lamentablemente para nosotros, los fans reales.… Expand
  16. jjnoahjames
    Sep 10, 2022
    2
    3 ⭐ Nickelod--n show. if you take away the visuals you're leget with a 2 ⭐ show. Beyond rotten, unfortunately, fermented
  17. Skylar71
    Sep 10, 2022
    1
    As a fan of both Tolkien and the fantasy genre I wanted to give an honest opinion of the Rings of Power. I really wanted to like this show but I have to say this show is truly awful in every aspect.
    Dialogue – Whoever wrote the script for this show should never be allowed to write a script again. It was cringeworthy, amateurish and so bad and clichéd that it resembled something a school    As a fan of both Tolkien and the fantasy genre I wanted to give an honest opinion of the Rings of Power. I really wanted to like this show but I have to say this show is truly awful in every aspect.
    Dialogue – Whoever wrote the script for this show should never be allowed to write a script again. It was cringeworthy, amateurish and so bad and clichéd that it resembled something a school child would have written. I cannot believe that someone proof read this and thought it was good enough to use in a billion-dollar production. It was reminiscent of a bad Dungeons and Dragons game. Acting – Did they actually have auditions for this show, or did they go to the nearest amateur dramatic society. The acting in this show is subpar, wooden and I’ve honestly seen better acting from school productions. The delivery of lines is clumsy, awkward and unbelievable and dispels any reality they’re trying to create.
    CGI – In places it was ok but in other scenes it was awful. Decent background visuals don’t make a decent show.
    Politics – One thing that is certain to kill a show is the inclusion of identity politics. Personally, I want a show that allows me to escape the real world for awhile but I guess we now live in a world where amateurish activists make shows/movies and don’t care what works of literature or beloved characters they ruin in their rush to push a political agenda. Tolkien – I don’t know why Amazon would spend so much money in buying the rights to certain elements of Tolkien’s work and characters and then make this abomination of a show. Every aspect of what Tolkien wrote has been ignore and ruined by the rabid need of activists wanted to virtue signal. Lord of the Rings, Star Wars, Star Trek, James Bond, Marvel, DC, Charlies Angels, Terminator, Ghostbusters, Men in Black, Mortal Kombat….how many more works of literature and pop culture will be ruined by these people. If you want to make a generic fantasy show then great but don’t use the name of Tolkien to push a show that has little to do with what Tolkien wrote.

    It's also obvious to me that a lot of the positive comments are bots and woke people trying to protect a show that is pushing their politics, if not it staggers me that people are so easily pleased with being fed substandard garbage like this.    … Expand
  18. wagnernasc
    Sep 15, 2022
    2
    Série fraca, mal consigo assistir. Tive que volta algumas vezes pois estava dormindo de tanto tedio. Não quero mas ver os outros episódios, só assisti 3
  19. DukeBalek
    Sep 3, 2022
    3
    well ... everything is already said.. i can't believe how they could choose this cast and write this **** i think there is a very big issue in amazon headquarters... every project, games or tv shows, are always catastrophes. only good to enslave their workers i guess
  20. erkh
    Sep 5, 2022
    1
    Honestly the cringiest dialog and acting I have seen in a long time! Feels like a B-movie when it comes to casting, but has beautiful CGI.

    Story? I don't know. 2 episodes in and it just "forbidden love story" and "Who is the bad guy?" absolutely horrific.

    I gave it a shot, tried to watch it like a new unknown Fantasy series, but no. I'm done! AWFUL!
  21. Iden
    Sep 5, 2022
    0
    Boring and nothing like LOR. just another PC matteral. Wish I never wasted my time watching the first episode.
  22. ClayLamm
    Sep 5, 2022
    0
    I have a deep hatred of how disrespectful this team has been to those who simply genuinely love the source material, just this arrogant flippant idea they are going to improve the source material and make it more relevant today by modernizing it. I repeat, the way Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and so forth, do not need to be modernized because they are written to be timeless. To say thisI have a deep hatred of how disrespectful this team has been to those who simply genuinely love the source material, just this arrogant flippant idea they are going to improve the source material and make it more relevant today by modernizing it. I repeat, the way Lord of the Rings, The Hobbit, and so forth, do not need to be modernized because they are written to be timeless. To say this even simpler, if you make a period piece it's jarring to shoehorn modern ideas into it because anyone who knows that ancient culture will be brought out of the suspension of disbelief. I could not be more disappointed, and for the record, my personal complaints have zero to do with diversity casting, it has to do with a shameless disregard for source material and a general hostility to those who do. Remember, Lord of the Rings was considered for ages an un-filmable series of books. Even Tolkien was against it, to be fair. Regardless, Peter Jackson did an admirable job, and was asked to give notes on this series, was sent a pilot script, sent notes, and in his own words, was ghosted. Pure hubris and the only answer I can conceive of is, Pride!… Expand
  23. pjbarkdull
    Sep 2, 2022
    0
    Why are we expected to give a mega corporation that thrives off of sweat shops the benefit of the doubt? And why is negative feedback considered bad faith reviewing and review bombing? Aren't companies supposed to be driven by supply and demand based off of their customers? Here's the deal, plain and simple: people DO NOT LIKE what is being made, how it's being handled, and many do notWhy are we expected to give a mega corporation that thrives off of sweat shops the benefit of the doubt? And why is negative feedback considered bad faith reviewing and review bombing? Aren't companies supposed to be driven by supply and demand based off of their customers? Here's the deal, plain and simple: people DO NOT LIKE what is being made, how it's being handled, and many do not want this product in the first place. Tolkien is Tolkien and can't be franchised in the same way Star Wars or Marvel have because it's the life work of one man who has long since passed away. People want Tolkien and like what he made. JD Payne and Patrick McKay along with corporate executives, producers, shareholders, and modern writers making up things and attaching them to purchased names is not Tolkien. They can buy rights but they can't buy love or acceptance from the public at large. I for one am not liking any of what I've seen so far.… Expand
  24. antonio34
    Sep 5, 2022
    1
    Technically it's great, but story-wise it's embarrassing, they should have spent a little more on an experienced scriptwriter.
  25. porks2011
    Sep 5, 2022
    0
    this is below a fanfic, it's a shame so much lost potential.
    It is so easy to do something good even with Tolkien's appendices, but to many experts the correct prediction, the screenwriters fall short of the grandeur of the professor's work.
  26. BaronAsh
    Sep 5, 2022
    0
    My first metacritic review: first read LOTR in 70's. I have read some of the reviews here of RoP, many negative. First my take then a general remark.
    My take: visuals are excellent, writing is poor. OK that it starts slow as long as some coherent narrative emerges with character-driven plots and journeys. If the dialogs don't improve I might lose interest. This was sub-par writing.    My first metacritic review: first read LOTR in 70's. I have read some of the reviews here of RoP, many negative. First my take then a general remark.
    My take: visuals are excellent, writing is poor. OK that it starts slow as long as some coherent narrative emerges with character-driven plots and journeys. If the dialogs don't improve I might lose interest. This was sub-par writing.
    Remark: the same sort of sub-par writing that happened with Jackson films which started off great in #1 (because they largely kept to the book), worse in #2 and worst in #3 during which latter they hardly kept to the original dialogues at all. I don't mind that film-makers need to make changes but when they do so and the result is uniformly much worse than the original, it shows the film-makers don't have a good feel for the original. For me the Jackson Trilogy was more bad than good. They didn't convey the evil of the Nazgul, nor the fear they generated, not even close. Aragorn rarely manifest any royal or kingly presence, most of the time he was unempt, unwashed, dirty-looking. That said, Gollum was maybe better than in the book and many scenes in the film and much of the acting was excellent. Just a lot of flaws and unnecessary rotten dialog.

    This Rings of Power is like moving on from where Jackson's poor dialog and editing left off. I fear the story is not going to have a core. Part of the appeal of LOTR is not just the fantasy aspect but that it depicts a world that is different from our modern world, a world with more depth and integrity shown both by the good and evil characters. It rings true somehow. The young screenwriters (much like with Game of Thrones final seasons) do not understand the depth and wisdom in the original work and continually undermined it it in LOTR and since here they are making up most of the scenes with character and dialogue, and given how the first two episodes went, I suspect they are not up to it.

    The music, costumes and settings were great. It's going to be worth watching. But they will have paid far too much for something whose writing is far too shallow.    … Expand
  27. Ivars70
    Sep 3, 2022
    0
    Dear Amazon, I do not understand how you managed to spend hundreds of millions on that "garbage" that I saw today. Good computer graphics in some scenes and with that all good things end.
  28. CriGim
    Sep 16, 2022
    0
    Not Tolkien at all. Boring generic fantasy with intersectional feminist and gender ideology crowbarred in. Bad acting even worse writing. Do yourself a favor and give it a miss, you'll never get that time back!
  29. iggipop
    Sep 5, 2022
    1
    In simple words, this is so far from Tolkien's original works, that it becomes painful to watch.
    This isnt helped by the shows slow pace, horrible dialogue and unlikable characters, for which I believe comes from the back scripts and directing, more than the actors abilities.
  30. KnupRebyc
    Sep 3, 2022
    3
    Cringe worthy. Tolkien would not approve. This feels like sad attempt to capitalize on the Lord of the Rings name. Corporate greed run amuck
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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.
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  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.
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  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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