The Lord Of The Rings: The Rings Of Power Season 3 Reactions Have Critics United

Prime Video

The age of waiting is over: The time for the return of "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" has come. Prime Video's big-budget fantasy epic is finally ready to debut its third season set in the world of J.R.R. Tolkien's Middle-earth, a little over two years after the Season 2 finale brought things to an unsettled close. Set thousands of years before the events of the famous trilogy, the series depicts the game-changing events of the Second Age — most of which are laid out in the appendices found in the back of "The Return of the King" novel. Diehards have a good idea of what's to come next, from the forging of the One Ring to the onset of a certain Dark Lord's war for dominion over all the free peoples of the land.

Things are about to get quite dark indeed, but how will it go over with viewers and critics alike this time around? The show's first two seasons experienced a somewhat rocky trajectory, as anyone who has spent five minutes on social media could probably tell you. With that said, reviews have remained generally positive so far. Season 2 of "Rings of Power" actually felt like a return to form, if you ask this Tolkien nerd, but it also ended just as the story was about to get thrilling. When we return to the plight of Morfydd Clark's Galadriel and Robert Aramayo's Elrond against the rise of Sauron (Charlie Vickers), it'll pick up five years later with only a few holdouts remaining in all of Middle-earth.

So, how will our heroes fare? As far as "The Rings of Power" is concerned, quite well actually. That's based on early reactions from critics and journalists, at least, as we'll dive into below.

Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

Perhaps there's reason to believe the hype when it comes to "The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power." For one thing, the Season 3 trailer (and all the war and spectacle on display therein) made a pretty convincing case that the Prime Video series is leveling up in a significant way. But for those still not convinced, we've rounded up a series of social media posts from established critics and journalists who were able to watch the first few episodes of Season 3 — all of whom came away impressed by what they saw.

We'll start with Nerdist's Editor in Chief Rotem Rusak, who posted on Twitter (only a Ringwraith would call it X) that, "Eps 1 & 2 are AMAZING. I have been a huge fan of 'The Rings of Power' throughout, but the start of this season is not only some of the series' best work, but TV's best." She goes on to highlight the mysterious orc character played by actor Adam Young as a particular highlight from among the talented ensemble, which bodes well for those of us eager to see a fresh approach to the well-known Tolkien villains.

Writer and journalist Rachel Leishman echoed that praise, revealing, "I have seen the first two episodes of ['The Rings Of Power' Season 3], and it is better than ever! Just as breathtaking and captivating as its previous seasons." Fay Watson of Total Film, meanwhile, wrote, "[The premiere] is epic in every sense of the world. Charlie Vickers steals the show as Sauron, almost at the height of his powers, relishing in every villainous smirk. The scale and stakes already have me thinking this could be the best season yet." 

Ben Rothstein/Prime Video

While it's always worth a hefty grain of salt when it comes to early reactions for any major movie or show, most of which come courtesy of a select (and, typically, somewhat less discerning) group of junket press, we're liking what we're hearing so far about the third season of "The Rings of Power." Given where things left off last time, this was always going to be a more villain-centric arc of the narrative. Granted, the timeline spanning eons in the text has been compressed significantly in order to fit the needs of a television show, but fans can safely expect the most significant events to be preserved and adapted in all their glory.

Of course, it just so happens that most of those events at this stage of the series tend to put the bad guys on top. We'll conclude with Chris Killian of Comic Book, who noted, "[T]he first 2 episodes are bangers, and this series is getting better and better as it goes on. Charlie Vickers as Sauron is a highlight, he just oozes evil." Given the opportunity to finally unmask himself and play the role of a barely-disguised villain in Season 2, Vickers was clearly having the time of his life — first as the unassuming man named Halbrand, then as the elf Annatar. Now, Sauron is set to be fully unleashed and revel in his evil, and we absolutely can't wait to see what mischief he gets up to as he attempts to create the all-important One Ring to rule them all.

"The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" Season 3 hits Prime Video on November 11, 2026.