This article contains spoilers forThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power.
Amazon Prime Video’sThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Poweremerged onto screens in 2022 to a decidedly mixed reception, but reports show that Amazon is far from done with its high-budget fantasy show. Amazon was seeking its own version ofGame of Thrones,or a water-cooler show - something people would talk about on their work breaks by the water cooler, as per the term’s origins.Game of Throneshad a unique impact on TV, bringing fantasy to a mainstream TV audience just likeThe Lord of the Ringspopularized fantasy in mainstream cinema in the 2000s. ButRings of Powerseason 2is proving a unique value all its own, carving out a distinctive position in streaming.
WhileRings of Powerfaced criticism for its writing and diversions from Tolkien’s story, it has shown signs of massive success.The Lord of the Ringshas a notoriously protective fandom, which became clear in the aftermath ofPeter Jackson’sLord of the RingsandHobbitmovies. A lot of Tolkien fans are particularly resistant to unfaithful adaptations, which actually helps to keep standards in production high. However, audience reactions being so diverse and including a lot of disapproval may obscure the reality, which is thatRings of Poweris doing very well, and will likely keep doing so.
The Rings Of Power Report Suggests Amazon Has Faith In The Rings Of Power
Amazon Will Likely Run The Show For Five Seasons
Amazon seems intent on continuing withThe Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, despite not having officially greenlit a third season. A new exclusive fromThe Hollywood Reporterrevealed that production ofRings of Powerseason 3has been underway for months.Amazon hasn’t renewed season 3 yet, but it seems like this may just be a technicality. Amazon reported, according to the exclusive, that it is happy with viewership figures forThe Rings of Powerin its second season. This makes sense because figures compare favorably to competitors.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Powerseasons 1 and 2 are streaming on Amazon Prime Video, with new episodes out every Thursday.
The Rings of Poweraccrued over 40 million viewers over the first 11 days of the broadcast of season 2, which covered 4 episodes. This could be compared toHouse of the Dragon, which secured 7.8 million viewers for episode 1 and 8.1 million viewers for episode 4.House of the Dragon’sepisode 4 viewing figures were its series high. More detailed viewing figures aren’t available for either show, butwhat information is available paints a very positive picture ofThe Rings of Power. It is unsurprising that Amazon has faith in itsSecond Age Middle-earthshow.
So Many Of The Rings Of Power’s Best Stories Won’t Happen Until The Later Seasons
The Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Poweris telling one of Tolkien’s most glorious stories, but it hasn’t necessarily got to the best bits yet.The relationship between Celebrimbor and Annatarblossoming is proving to have dark, devious, and juicy layers, and that alone is worthy of a TV show. However,the show’s titular focus is the reason for its existence, and it has only really just started to home in on it.Rings of Powerseason 2 is becoming more and more Tolkienian in its focus on the forging of Sauron’s Rings of Power and the flawed Elves that allow it to happen. This is the core of the Second Age.
Why It Doesn’t Matter If The Rings Of Power Isn’t Completely Faithful To Tolkien’s Second Age
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power broke some of fantasy icon J.R.R. Tolkien’s canon but is getting away with it for a few key reasons.
With thethree Elvish Rings of Powerhaving finally been forged inThe Rings of Powerseason 1 finale, season 2 has excitingly divvied out Dwarf-rings. Perhaps most excitingly of all,the Ring-wraiths' Nine are to come. When Sauron chooses the recipients of the nine rings for Men, audiences will get to see an unprecedented and creatively devised origin story for the Nazgûl. It only gets better from there, with the fall of Númenor likely inRings of Powerseason 3, and the series to end with the War of the Last Alliance. After all, showrunners promised a five-season version ofThe Fellowship of the Ring’sprologue (viaTime).
Amazon Has Invested Too Much In The Rings Of Power To Stop Now
Amazon’s Investment Should Pay Off
Amazon has spent more onRings of Powerthan any other show in its history, and it is very unlikely that it will back out of this investment now. In fact,Rings of Poweris the most expensive TV show ever made. Rights cost Amazon $250 million, with the budget for season 1 reported as $465 million (viaScreen Rant). With a $1 billion price tag - minimum - attached to the show, the show will be deeply embedded into Amazon’s business strategy. Amazon reduced its marketing budget for the show’s second season, as is standard practice, which will help create positive ROI. Amazon is also making money from the uptick inLord of the Ringsproducts being sold on Amazon’s marketplace.
Game of Thronesfigures actually rose throughout its consecutive seasons, but the show captured a unique moment in the zeitgeist of popular culture, and situations like that aren’t around every corner.Having fewer viewers in the show’s first season is far from a red flag, and in fact, 40 million viewers in 11 days is a good sign. Amazon’sFalloutamassed 65 million viewers in 16 days, so there is evidently room for improvement on Amazon’s part (viaVariety). However, if J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay can keep telling the right stories and nailing a fragile balance between character development and faithfulness to the texts, thenThe Lord of the Rings: the Rings of Powerstands to be a long-term asset to the Amazon.
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power
Cast
Set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power explores the forging of the iconic rings, the rise of the Dark Lord Sauron, and the epic events leading up to the stories in J.R.R. Tolkien’s classic novels. The series chronicles the creation of legendary characters and the historic alliances and rivalries that shape the fate of Middle-earth.
