Reviews are in for the third season of Amazon Prime Video’s “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power,’ one that slightly retools the series with the help of a timejump. The result is something more akin to the Peter Jackson trilogy.
On Metacritic, the title sits at 73/100 which is the best for the show to date, but only a minor improvement on the 71 & 67 respectively of the first two seasons. On Rotten Tomatoes, it’s at 78% (7.7/10) which is down from the 84% (8/10) and 85% (7.3/10) of the first two seasons.
The third season starts five years later and begins with war raging as Sauron hunts for the secret to forming the One Ring from his stronghold in Barad-dûr. Meanwhile, only a few isolated pockets remain untouched, including Khazad-dûm, Númenor, and the elven realms of Lindon and Rivendell, who try to face off against the growing darkness.
Reviews suggest the best season yet, and still very handsomely produced even as issues remain with the writing. Here’s a sampling of reviews:
“The Rings of Power is proudly an idiosyncratic, raucous, nerdy, and extremely metal show.” – Meghan O’Keefe, Decider
“Rings of Power season 3 holds a mirror up to itself, the struggles for power reflecting the struggle for priority in a season that is, overall, leaner, meaner, and much more gratifying than any of its predecessors. – Graeme Guttman, Screen Rant
“The season gets enough fresh energy from new characters — original and canonical — and intriguing narrative innovations that the show still remains one of the most engrossing fantasy epics on TV right now.” – Hoai-Tran Bui, Inverse
“Its third instalment delivers a tighter and more interesting narrative, with key moments from Tolkien’s writing being balanced with original storylines that add layers to the lore.” – Louise Griffin, Radio Times
“If you accept its flaws, you can find some moments to love. It’s not going to change the world like Jackson’s films, but it might be enough for those who long for more of Middle-earth’s magic, even if it’s just fleeting glimpses of it.” – Samantha Nelson, Polygon
“Where levity would really help, instead we’re bombarded by grandiloquence, purple prose and Tolkienesque affectations. The script is just as turgid and sententious as it ever was, weighed down by its unearned gravitas.” – Erik Kain, Forbes
““The Lord of the Rings” may engender enough goodwill to give “The Rings of Power” a little leeway, but a full season lacking in evident ingenuity and attentive investment is enough to strip away the nostalgic sheen.” – Ben Travers, Indiewire
“While ‘The Rings of Power”s third season is made with love—no one could craft a world that looks this close to Tolkien’s descriptions otherwise—it also no longer feels confident about what it’s trying to say.” – Lacy Baugher, RogerEbert.com
The first four episodes of the third season premiere on Amazon Prime tomorrow followed by two on November 18th and the final two on November 25th.
