The Rings of Power season 3 reviews are in — and critics say it’s finally fixed its biggest problem

So, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is rolling out its third season on Prime Video, dropping 11 November 2026. If you’ve kept up through the previous two seasons, you’ll know it’s been a bumpy trip—flashy production values, all the Tolkien lore you could eat, but not exactly universally loved by the fans. Now, with its third outing, it looks like the show might finally be getting its act together—or at least, that’s what the critics are hinting at.

The third season holds a 72% critic score on Rotten Tomatoes, drawn from 21 reviews published the day before release.

Third time’s the charm?

The early critical temperature is noticeably optimistic. The big review round-up currently has Season 3 at a 72% Tomatometer on Rotten Tomatoes. That’s based on 21 reviews, all rolling in before anyone’s officially seen an episode. If you compare that number with the show’s past form, it’s actually a bit lower—Season 1 sits at 84% with critics, and Season 2 went up a notch to 85%. But context matters, and this time the consensus is that it’s a leaner, punchier season. Lots of critics are calling it 'dark' and 'thrilling'—more streamlined than the usual meandering.

And just so you know, critics aren’t blind to the show’s faults. Even the glowing reviews highlight the classic Rings of Power downfall: overstuffed subplots that drag down the pace. The general sense is still that Season 3 trims some of that baggage and gets the story moving, which is basically what fans have been screaming for since episode three.

That fans vs. critics split

Looking back, the critics have always been friendlier than the wider audience. Season 1 managed only a 38% audience score, even as the critics almost gave it top marks. Season 2 improved slightly with viewers, bumping up to 58%—still nothing to parade around the Shire. Season 3 has yet to land an audience score, since it hasn’t opened, but early signs are that the creators have actually listened. Or at least pretended to, which sometimes gets the job done in tellyland.

• Season 1: 84% critic, 38% audience score
• Season 2: 85% critic, 58% audience score
• Season 3: 72% critic score (audience score pending release)

Say what you want about The Rings of Power, but it’s certainly committed to digging into every dusty corner of Middle-earth—whether we needed those corners explored is another matter. It’s managed to dive deeper than anything we got with Peter Jackson’s films, for better or worse, but it’s also never quite matched the spark that got fans hooked on Tolkien in the first place. Given the current critic chatter, though, this could be the payoff season long-time viewers have been hoping for—or, at the very least, it might finally speed things along a bit.