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

With new episodes upon us, Amazon will be hoping dedicated Lord of the Rings fans are kinder to its tentpole TV show after the Rings of Power backlash from Season 1. This is why folk were angry about the first instalment, and what the cast and crew made of the complaints.

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

By the time the Season 1 finale came round in 2022, a lot of viewers had checked out. A number of issues muddied the show’s reception, particularly across social media.

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

They tinkered with Tolkien

The main complaint driving the Rings of Power backlash was that the show messed around with the lore established by author J. R. R. Tolkien in his original work.

Prime Video

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

More specifically, devoted Tolkien fans were unhappy that a number of elements of the original novels gained unnecessary backstories. No one asked for an origin story on Mount Doom and Mordor, but they got one nonetheless. 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 around with Sauron quite substantially. Introducing his new alter-ego, Halbrand, irked fans, who found this version of the character to be a little dull. While the reveal of his true identity was cool, the fact that his Annatar the Lord of Gifts persona (set to appear in Season 2) was seemingly stripped away was also derided.

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

Speaking of origin stories, Rings of Power completely changed the Istari. They previously arrived in Middle-earth via boat, but now they fall from the sky, apparently.

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

Rings of Power was uninspiring

None of this would have mattered all that much, if the show had simply been a little more entertaining, exciting, and rich. This was another complaint for fans, who found Rings of Power to be rather uninspiring and dull.

Amazon Studios

The Lord of the Rings trilogy delievered some of the best movies of all time, but they are extremely long. And yet, they work. Why? Because the action is dynamic, the tension is relentless, the story has heart, and the characters go on genuinely fascinating spiritual journeys.

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

While Episode 6 was hailed as a highlight, Episode 7 brought things back down and sucked any tension out of proceedings. Thankfully, things picked back up again with a promising finale, but overall the rhythm of the show was criticized.

A vocal minority fueled the Rings of Power backlash

The negative reaction 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 lead of the Rings of Power cast really upset the more narrow-minded, misogynistic crowd. Making her so powerful led to Mary Sue claims, and she wasn’t deemed likable enough to be the central character.

Similarly, the idea of Middle-earth having characters who were Black – or anything other than White, to be honest – was lambasted as an unnecessary diversity play. Again, this was not the opinion of the majority of viewers, but a small, angry corner of the fanbase.

What have the cast and crew said?

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

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

In a statement, the cast and crew said: “We, the cast of Rings of Power, stand together in absolute solidarity and against the relentless racism, threats, harassment, and abuse some of our castmates of color are being 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 back the new cast. They donned clothing 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 a lot quieter when new episodes of The Rings of Power arrive. Until then, learn about Morgoth, the Stranger, or the Istari.