An Amazon Studios executive reveals that extensive fan feedback was gathered as each new episode of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power was released. Based on the beloved fantasy novels by author J.R.R. Tolkien, Prime Video's The Rings of Power chronicles the rise of evil during the Second Age of Middle-earth. Although the series takes place thousands of years before the events of Peter Jackson's acclaimed The Lord of the Rings trilogy, several characters, including Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo) do make their return, albeit as much younger iterations. For the most part, The Rings of Power was well-received by fans and critics, but many viewers did take issue with various aspects of the show.
As production on The Rings of Power season 2 continues in the UK, Amazon Studios' Head of Global Television, Vernon Sanders, reveals in a new interview with ComicBook.com that the studio conducted a study with thousands of The Lord of the Rings fans after new each episode was released. As a result, Sanders recognizes that some fans weren't happy with the adaptation, despite the fact that the Tolkien estate was closely involved with its creation. Check out Sanders' full comment below:
"We set up our own study with thousands of people, among them thousands of The Lord of the Rings fans, to really have a conversation with them as each episode dropped to just understand how they were reacting. We were doing as much of a 360 comprehensive look to really understand it. And I think we got a lot of those The Lord of the Rings fans, both fans of the books and fans of the movies. We also know that there were some fans who had issues or didn't feel like this was what they were expecting or done in the way that they expected, and that's natural. I think whenever you take on something that's so beloved, you're going to have probably a strong reaction for and have some people who just aren't on board. Having Simon Tolkien and the Tolkien Estate helping us, I think gave us some comfort that we were doing the best that we could and that having their endorsement meant a lot."
How The Rings Of Power Season 2 Can Address Fan Complaints
While The Rings of Power was the target of a racist backlash regarding the casting of actors of color, a completely illegitimate and unfortunate line of criticism, there were some notable fan complaints as well. Many fans of The Lord of the Rings books took issue with the fact that some story events and characters were pushed together for the sake of narrative convenience. The Middle-earth's Second Age covers about 3,500 years' worth of history, and showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne condensed much of this extensive period of time in order to tell their specific story. Isildur (Maxim Baldry), for example, is introduced in The Rings of Power about 1,500 years before he is supposed to have been born.
Another common complaint regarding The Rings of Power is that, in general, it lacks some narrative momentum and urgency. While later episodes certainly up the stakes significantly, especially with the eruption of Mount Doom and the reveal that Halbrand (Charlie Vickers) has actually been Sauron all along, early episodes do move at more of a leisurely pace with some events feeling relatively inconsequential. It could be argued that this is, in fact, in keeping with Tolkien's The Lord of the Rings books, which do often move story events along quite slowly, but some fans were evidently hoping for a little more momentum in Prime Video's expensive adaptation.
It remains to be seen what season 2 has in store for fans, but the reveal that Amazon was gathering extensive amounts of feedback on season 1 could be a positive sign for the episodes to come. That being said, McKay and Payne have previously revealed that they've had all 5 seasons of the show mapped out for some time, so it's not clear how much things will deviate from their original vision heading in future seasons of The Rings of Power. With production still underway, it will, unfortunately, be quite a while before fans get a closer look at what's to come in The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power season 2.
Source: ComicBook.com