The Wheel Of Time Season 3 Surpasses Rings Of Power

Amazon’s two big fantasy series, Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power and The Wheel of Time, are adaptations of books that both have dedicated, long-standing audiences. Their viewers share many overlapping fictional interests with one another. However, when it comes to topping the charts, The Rings of Power is seriously struggling to maintain a positive rating among its followers.

The Rings of Power was one of Prime Video’s flagship shows. Developed by J. D. Payne and Patrick McKay, the story is a retelling of J.R.R. Tolkien’s wider, much older lore. The story is set thousands of years before the events of The Lord of the Rings book trilogy, after a continental cataclysm in the War of Wrath. In this new Second Age, most of the characters are still reeling from great conflicts against the dark god, Morgoth, and are now attempting to stop his lieutenant, Sauron, from creating the fabled Rings of Power and reassembling the Orcs into a fighting force. The Wheel of Time by Robert Jordan is a less prolific high-fantasy novel from the 1990s. The tale is set in a world where magic exists but can only be wielded by a select number of individuals, most of whom are women. Viewers follow Moiraine Damodred, a powerful Aes Sedai, or magic wielder. She seeks out the prophesied Dragon Reborn, a figure destined to either save or destroy the world. Jordan’s epic has many overlaps with Tolkien’s work, including his appetite for lore-heavy world histories and cyclical themes of good overcoming evil.

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With these two intellectual properties sharing a common audience, why does The Rings of Power suffer commercially, while The Wheel of Time continues to succeed? Both programs have shared fairly glowing critical ratings over their seasons, with The Rings of Power earning 84% on Rotten Tomatoes for both seasons. However, audiences have continued to diverge from the critical consensus, giving Season 1 38%, with Season 2 minorly improving at 56%. This sits in stark contrast to Wheel of Time’s latest audience score of 85% on Rotten Tomatoes, a new peak for the series. Although The Wheel of Time did see a lower audience rating of 60% in its first season due to its sluggish pacing, reception for it has only continued to improve. Now, the show has also surpassed The Rings of Power critically, garnering a lofty height of 94% for its third installment.

What, if anything, is The Wheel of Time’s secret? Both have expansive medieval-style battles and a confident female warrior in the leading role: Rosamund Pike as Moiraine Damodred in TWoT, and Morfydd Clark as Galadriel in TRoP respectively. How has The Wheel of Time been able to make strides in defining itself as a more faithful adaptation than Tolkien’s new TV series? At the heart of the problem may be The Rings of Power’s lackluster writing. Showrunners Payne and McKay struck a $1 billion deal with Tolkien Estate to create the series, but they didn’t manage to acquire the rights to the period of Middle Earth’s history the series is trying to explore.

Currently, Amazon only has the rights to the original Lord of the Rings books, The Hobbit novel, and the appendices of said books. The historical tomes that cover the First and Second Ages of Middle Earth: The Silmarillion, Unfinished Tales, and The History of Middle-Earth are all off limits. This means that the writers of The Rings of Power are only able to use bits and pieces of information from books set thousands of years after the events they are trying to depict. These limitations have led them to invent brand-new plotlines, alter characters, and change events to pad out their version of the Second Age.

While The Wheel of Time is not a completely faithful adaptation, it takes heavily from its source material in an unrestricted way. It’s also important to keep in mind that this is the first ever attempt at an adaptation of Robert Jordan’s work. The Lord of the Rings trilogy of films, created for the screen by Peter Jackson, are some of the most beloved fantasy films of all time. Particularly cherished for their incredible practical sets, scene-stealing veteran actors, and tightly-paced writing. Although the later trilogy of prequel films adapted from The Hobbit did not perform as well, Jackson’s vision for the franchise was long thought to be untouchable and timeless. So, any follow-up was always going to have the challenge of living up to exceedingly high expectations, regardless of the quality of the material. Critics of The Rings of Power are perhaps even harsher towards Amazon Prime’s adaptation because it is tampering with a nostalgic legacy that was probably best left alone.

The Wheel of Time is available to stream on Prime Video.

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power

Release Date

September 1, 2022

Network

Amazon Prime Video

Showrunner

John D. Payne, Patrick McKay, Louise Hooper, Charlotte Brändström, Wayne Yip

Directors

J.A. Bayona, Sanaa Hamri

Writers

Patrick McKay, John D. Payne, J.R.R. Tolkien, Justin Doble, Jason Cahill, Gennifer Hutchison, Stephany Folsom, Nicholas Adams

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  Charles Edwards

  Lord Celebrimbor

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  Markella Kavenagh

  Nori Brandyfoot