Entertainment · TV & Streaming · 52 mins ago
Rings of Power Season 3 Draws Too Heavily on Jackson’s Films
The Rings of Power’s third season shifts focus toward the One Ring after a five-year time jump.
The Prime Video series is set thousands of years before Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films, in Middle-earth’s Second Age.
Several scenes echo moments from Jackson’s trilogy, including Galadriel and Arondir’s journey with an unreliable guide.
The season also has strong moments: Sauron distributes the nine rings for mortal men as he moves closer to dominating Middle-earth.
Family conflict in the dwarven kingdom of Khazad-dûm is another highlight, while some storylines feel hollow and other details seem like unnecessary backstory.
The season remains uneven, balancing epic scenes with what the review sees as an overreliance on the films.
The available information does not say what happens next for the series.
Polygon says The Rings of Power season 3 draws too heavily on scenes and ideas from Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films.
The review says the series has epic, moving moments but remains inconsistent and includes hollow plotlines.
The season uses a five-year time skip to refocus on the One Ring.
Sauron begins distributing the nine rings for mortal men, while Númenor and Khazad-dûm move closer to their dark fates.
- Who
- The Rings of Power, the Prime Video series developed by co-showrunners Patrick McKay and J.D. Payne.
- What
- Polygon argues that season 3 tries too hard to imitate Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings films.
- When
- Published November 10, 2026.
- Where
- The story is set in Middle-earth’s Second Age.
- Why
- The review says the plot and action increasingly resemble Jackson’s films, while some origins and plotlines feel unnecessary or hollow.
This story does not have two clearly opposing sides.
This story does not have a timeline yet.
- Publication date
- November 10, 2026
- Time skip
- Five years
- Setting
- Middle-earth’s Second Age
- Rings for mortal men
- Sauron begins distributing the nine rings he acquired from Celebrimbor at the end of season 2
What people are saying
The closer the show’s plot and action gets to The Lord of the Rings, the more it feels like a pale imitation of Peter Jackson’s already-perfect movie trilogy.