The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has remained in the headlines since its announcement for one reason or another. Whether it was the enormous budget reported by Business Insider, or the backlash surrounding the project since before its release, The Rings of Power has drama written all over it.
The show, released on Prime Video, has undoubtedly seen some form of review bombing, with scores from critics and audiences that don’t match up. Rotten Tomatoes gives the series an 84%, while the audience score is a measly 38%. Since the release on Sept. 2, IMDb has seen a flurry of 1-star reviews added to the show, significantly bringing down its otherwise respectable rating on the platform.
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During an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne responded to the criticism, saying the most challenging part is hearing fans who claim they’re in it for the money. “Some of what’s been hardest to hear is the cynical point of view that this is a cash grab,” McKay explains. “It’s like, oh my God, the opposite. This is the most earnest production. This is not a paycheck job for anybody. This is a labor of love.”
They also realize it may take a while for some audience members to come around. “When we talk about the measure of success, what matters to us is if it’s entertaining enough that people are digging into it and debating it,” McKay says. “Some things get an immense amount of critical acclaim and win tons of awards and are forgotten the next year,” Payne adds. “Conversely, some things don’t get a lot of love yet become classics being watched 60 years later. I think it’ll take a while for the dust to settle.”
Payne and McKay Say the Spirit of Tolkien is in The Rings of Power
Prime Video
“Some people had nice things to say about the pilot and second episode, or they didn’t have nice things to say, but I hope they stay for more episodes,” McKay says. “The bar has to keep going up.” When Amazon decided to make The Rings of Power more inclusive, they knew they were going to get some backlash, according to the THR report.
Amazon Studios chief Jennifer Salke says, “We all saw it coming, there were no surprises. Having insight into our global audience, we also have insight into the darker sides of how people can manipulate reviews and have other points of view that we wouldn’t support.” However, the showrunners insist that inclusion is in the spirit of Tolkien and guides the principles of The Rings of Power.
Related: The Rings of Power Season 2 Begins Production in the U.K.
“The spirit of Tolkien is about disparate peoples who don’t trust one another and look different from one another finding common ground in friendship and accomplishing big things,” Payne explains. “That’s the spirit we’ve tried to inculcate into every single comma and period in the show.”
The Rings of Power features a vast ensemble cast full of diverse characters and differing backgrounds. However, fans shouldn’t expect that to change at any point through the planned five seasons, as the series aims to tell a story even more grand than the original Lord of the Rings trilogy. The series is expansive, showing regions never explored in live-action Tolkien adaptations and exploring characters with little background given from J.R.R. Tolkien himself. Fans of The Rings of Power look forward to the continuation of the first season as new episodes premiere on Prime Video every Friday.
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