The newest addition to the streaming series The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, season 3, hits Prime Video tomorrow, and ahead of that release, the critic Rotten Tomatoes score for the new season suggest disappointing news for the series. The Rings of Power has already had a bit of a tumultuous past. In fact, looking at the prior seasons of the show, there was already considerable division between what critics and audiences thought. In season 1, for example, the critic Rotten Tomatoes score was a solid 84%, whereas the audience score was a grim 38%. Similarly, in season 2, critics gave it an 85% Rotten Tomatoes score, and the audience score was a dismal but not as terrible 58%.
Because the show hasn’t been officially released yet, there is no audience Rotten Tomatoes score currently available. Presumably, though, if season 3 follows the pattern of previous seasons, then the audience score is going to be considerably lower than the critic score yet again. And, unfortunately, with 27 reviews currently in, there has already been a dip with the critic Rotten Tomatoes score for season 3.
As of this writing, the Rotten Tomatoes critic score for The Rings of Power season 3 sits at 78%. While that’s far from a horrible score—such as, sadly, the audience scores for the previous two seasons—it is a drop from critic responses to the series thus far. Critic grievances, at least as far as they are reflected in these reviews, include issues from alleged purple prose to problems with the show’s direction (an argument which, it should be noted, continues to be connected at least in part to the question of whether the series is warranted/needed). Granted, there is also plenty of praise for the show within these reviews, and some are even overwhelmingly positive. Again, though, if the history of the show is any indication, then the critic score is a precursor to a lower audience score, and even beyond that, there are already implications from just this drop.
Perhaps most significantly, The Rings of Power is known to be an incredibly expensive series, with the show overall reportedly running Amazon about $1 billion. That’s a massive price tag for a show that, at least based on these early reviews, seems to be taking a bit of a hit in its newest season. However, hope remains. For one, audiences haven’t seen it yet, and despite the pattern thus far, audiences can be unpredictable. Along with that, there are some new additions this season that could have a positive impact with viewers, such as the introduction of Jamie Campbell Bower as Celeborn. For now, it’s just a waiting game to see where the audience score falls and whether the critic score improves.
What are you hoping to see in The Rings of Power season 3? Let us know in the comments down below.
