The Rings of Power's first season has been in the books for a while now, and unfortunately, reception towards the Amazon series hasn't gotten better. Some movies and shows age like fine wine, as people become more at ease with them. However, that hasn't been the case with The Rings of Power. While initial numbers weren't bad, viewers quickly started losing interest, as viewership numbers dropped with each episode.
A few weeks removed from the finale, and things are getting worse. The Rings of Power has fallen completely out of Nielson's ratings. To add insult to injury, some are calling the whole venture nothing but a cash grab. The series showrunners have promised to account for fans' criticisms in Season 2, but at this point, they have an uphill battle ahead of them.
Galadriel Was a Manufactured Hero on The Rings of Power
Some fans voiced their reservations about The Rings of Power leading up to its debut, and the complaints continued throughout the series' episodic releases. Tolkien purists didn't like the idea of crowding thousands of years of material into a single story, even if that was the most practical thing to do. Other complaints included: the inclusion of two Durins, some cringy dialogue, the creation of unnecessary characters and the overall haphazard breaks with LOTR canon.
While those complaints may be legitimate, the biggest sticking point for some fans was Galadriel's character. After seeing her in The Lord of the Rings and The Hobbit, fans expected a regal Elf queen, and they were surprised to see her as a brazen warrior who didn't have the full respect of her people. The truth is the warrior-like Galadriel did have LOTR precedent, but there were still grounds for complaint. The Rings of Power needed a hero, so it manufactured Galadriel into a clear-cut hero. The thing is, Galadriel wasn't a hero in the Second Age. She wanted to rule, and that's why she stayed in Middle-earth -- not because she felt a calling to hunt down Sauron.
The Rings of Power Created a Galadriel Problem
Unfortunately, that misrepresentation of Galadriel cheapened one of her most classic scenes from LOTR. In The Fellowship of the Ring, Galadriel showed Frodo her mirror in Lothlorien, where he saw visions of the future. After that, he tried to offer the long-lived One Ring to Galadriel, and she admitted that she greatly desired it. While reaching for it, she saw the truth. If she took the Ring, she would become an evil queen: "Not dark but beautiful and terrible as the Dawn! Treacherous as the Seas! Stronger than the foundations of the Earth! All shall love me and despair!" It was a character-defining moment because she refused power, which was unlike her character.
The Rings of Power, which had already portrayed Galadriel as a selfless hero, made that scene seem odd. When Halbrand offered to align with Galadriel, he said, "I would make you a queen, fair as the sea and the Sun, stronger than the foundations of the Earth." The similarities between the two quotes are undeniable, but that only makes things worse. If Galadriel had already overcome Sauron's temptations, then it shouldn't have been so difficult in FOTR. She should have been prepared to refuse power, rather than be shocked by her vision of what she would become with the One Ring under her command. Thus, The Rings of Power created a problem for Galadriel's character but specifically for her mirror scene with Frodo.
The Rings of Power Season 1 is streaming now on Prime Video.