LOTR: The Rings of Power Season 2 Has A Steep Hill To Climb

Rings of Power is in an unenviable position. Of all the massive nerd franchises, Lord of the Rings is one of the hardest to deal with. The lovable animated movies and excellent live-action adaptations created almost impossibly high expectations. The Hobbit trilogy did little to lower the bar, though all three films resolutely slid underneath it. Rings of Power isn't as bloated as The Hobbit movies or as magical as The Lord of the Rings. It is, however, a serviceable fantasy series with a seemingly impossible mountain to climb.

There is a percentage of the Lord of the Rings fanbase that will never enjoy Rings of Power. Some die-hard fans see the original text as a set of laws and commandments that can never be altered. Others believe that any change made to a notable character must come with some sinister, hidden intention. While there are certainly several problems worth pointing out in Rings of Power, a substantial contingent of devotees counted the show out before its first episode wrapped.

How well did Rings of Power do?

Showrunners	J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay
Stars	Morfydd Clark, Lenny Henry, Sara Zwangobani, Dylan Smith, etc.
Episodes	8
Release Date	September 1, 2022
Rotten Tomatoes Score	83%

The answer to this question is frustratingly unclear. A feature film has a box-office total with a carefully-calculated amount of sales to judge on. Traditional TV shows are a little easier to quantify. Amazon doesn't typically report viewership metrics for its in-house streaming offerings. However, they did announce the success of the premiere. The Rings of Power had the most-watched premiere on Amazon at the time. 25 million viewers tuned in globally. That number rocketed to 100 million over the course of the first season. Amazon claims that the show was their most-watched original series of all time.

If the show really did beat The Boys and Reacher, then it was an absolute smash hit. There's no way to confirm or deny that, but Amazon certainly seemed delighted with its investment. Many tried to argue that the show's viewership numbers weren't as impressive as they seemed. Amazon supposedly didn't disclose exactly how many minutes would constitute one view. This could suggest that a lot of people tuned in briefly. Kim Masters of The Hollywood Reporter claimed that some completely anonymous sources stated that few viewers finished the series. Neither metric has any publicly available data to back it up. This leaves the question open.

Rings of Power had a very mixed reception

A glance at Rings of Power's Rotten Tomatoes score tells a familiar story. Critics liked it, but audiences hated it. This is becoming more and more common in the modern era of fandom. The numbers are rather amusingly matched. It has an 83% positive score from critics and a 38% positive score from audiences. It's hard to take those numbers at face value. Any examination of the show's reception would be incomplete without mentioning the unfortunate fact that many viewers hated it for its cast instead of its content. The show included a more diverse group than previous Tolkien adaptations. This earned the ire of a selection of the worst people on the internet, who review-bombed the show before they'd seen a second of it. That's not to say that every critique is a bigoted attempt to force non-white non-men out of the franchise. There's a strong contingent of viewers who are strictly devoted to the lore and easily infuriated whenever it changes. That's a more legitimate complaint. There are plenty of reasons to dislike the writing, pacing, and character development in the series. The comments delving into those mechanical issues are far less frequent than the ones arguing about canon or casting. It's those problems that leave Rings of Power season 2 in a strange place.

What can Rings of Power do to regain respect?

The second season of Rings of Power was a foregone conclusion. Amazon didn't spend that much money to get eight episodes out of the deal. If their numbers are accurate, they got a decent return on that investment. However, the show's reputation is still a bit of a mess. Ignoring the complaints without merit, the only obvious concern is the fundamental nuts and bolts of the series. Many fans are excited to see many of the big Second Age events with the budget they deserve. While Rings of Power had a lot of storytelling problems, a new season can right a lot of its wrongs. The sad fact of the matter is that the show wouldn't get a second season if it didn't have the brand name attached. Tons of expensive shows get canceled after a rough first season. Take a look back at some of the best shows ever made. Many of them didn't find their rhythm until they got into the story. That should inspire some hope in Rings of Power.

Rings of Power has a lot of enemies. Many fans have lost hope in the show. Others hated it before its first episode hit Amazon Prime Video. The second season has a ton on its shoulders. With decent writing, some solid character work, and a commitment to a more focused story, the show could become a more notable success.