Why did people hate Rings of Power Season 1? Biggest complaints and backlash explained

With new episodes upon us, Amazon will be hoping that dedicated Lord of the Rings fans are kinder to its television show after the backlash of Rings of Power in season 1. This is why people were upset about the first part and what what the cast and crew. made of complaints.

While most of us are excited for Rings of Power Season 2, there are certain sections of the Middle-earth fanbase that could be take it or leave it.

By the time the season 1 finale came in 2022, many viewers had checked out. A number of issues marred reception of the show, particularly on social media.

So, with new episodes of Rings of Power arriving this month, will those lapsed fans want to give the series another shot? Here’s an explanation of what went wrong in Season 1.

They struggled with Tolkien

The main complaint driving the Rings of Power backlash was that the show messed with the tradition established by author JRR Tolkien in his original work.

Prime Video

First, the series compressed the timeline quite significantly from its source material, The Silmarillion. Normally, television allows the writers and showrunners to explore the stories in detail, but Rings of Power was somewhat truncated.

More specifically, Tolkien’s devoted fans were unhappy that a number of elements from the original novels gained unnecessary storylines. No one asked for an origin story on Mount Doom and Mordor, but they got one anyway. The same goes for Mithril, which was now connected to the Elves rather than being a mysterious and rare metal of unknown origins.

The show also played with Sauron quite substantially. Introducing his new alter-ego, Halbrand, angered fans, who found this version of the character a bit boring. While the reveal of his true identity was cool, the fact that his character Annatar the Lord of Gifts (slated to appear in Season 2) was seemingly removed was also made fun of.

Then there’s the fact that they gave this version of Sauron a rival in the form of Adar. Many believed that this character was surplus to requirements, and a section of the fanbase was unhappy that the previously (semi)non-canon Dark Elves had been introduced at all.

Speaking of origin stories, Rings of Power completely changed the Istari. They previously arrived in Middle-earth by boat, but now they are falling from the sky, it seems.

We still don’t quite know who the Stranger is (maybe it’s Gandalf, maybe not), but such a drastic change in wizards has had Lord of the Rings fans arguing in their group chats for two years.

Rings of Power was uninspiring

None of this would have mattered so much if the show had simply been a little more fun, interesting, and rich. This was it another complaint for fans, who found Rings of Power quite uninspiring and boring.

Amazon Studios

The Lord of the Rings trilogy has provided some of the best movies of all time, but it’s extremely long. And yet, it works. Why? Because the action is dynamic, the tension is relentless, the story has heart, and the characters go on truly fascinating spiritual journeys.

Unfortunately, Rings of Power suffered from pacing issues. Fans complained that the first five episodes were too slow in setting things up with little payoff.

While Episode 6 was hailed as a climax, Episode 7 brought things back and absorbed any tension from the proceedings. Fortunately, things picked up again with a promising ending, but overall the pacing of the show was criticized.

A vocal minority fueled the Rings of Power backlash

Backlash was largely driven by a vocal minority opposed to strong female characters and a racially diverse cast.

Prime Video

The fact that Galadriel was the leader of the Rings of Power cast really pissed off the narrower, misogynistic crowd. Making her so strong led to Mary Sue claims and she wasn’t considered likable enough to be the central character.

Similarly, the idea of ​​Middle-earth having characters who were black – or anything but white, to be honest – was criticized as an unnecessary diversity piece. Again, this was not the opinion of the majority of viewers, but a small and angry corner of the fan base.

What did the cast and crew say?

The cast of Rings of Power released a statement condemning racist comments and abuse online. The original Lord of the Rings cast also lent their support.

Ismael Cruz Córdova, who played Arondir, bore the brunt of the racial abuse. The actor described his social media as full of “pure and vicious hate speech” after appearing on the show.

One statementcast and crew said: “We, the cast of Rings of Power, stand united in absolute solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment and abuse that some of our fellow blacks are subjected to on a daily basis. We refuse to ignore it or tolerate it.”

Elijah Wood and his fellow Hobbits also took to social media to support the new cast. They donned clothes with the message “You are all welcome here” along with a variety of different colored ears.

Elijah Wood on X

Hopefully, the hatred will be much quieter when new episodes of The Rings of Power arrive. Until then, learn about Morgoth, the Stranger, or the Istari.