‘The Rings of Power’ Season 3 Premieres With Five-Year Time Jump on Prime Video
Photo: SlatePrime Video's third season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power premieres Wednesday with four of its eight episodes. The season opens after a five-year time jump, in which Mordor's forces have overtaken much of Middle-earth and moved toward the Elven havens of Lindon and the city of Rivendell. Under the mountain, Thrain arrives to claim the Dwarven throne, while Sauron, who lacks the elven smith Celebrimbor, now dead, struggles to finish the One Ring. Co-showrunner Patrick McKay said the team wants to keep shaking things up, and the season has a smaller cast list. The showrunners are also reportedly leaning into a dark romance between Galadriel and Sauron.
Slate, the left-leaning source, leads with a romance angle, using a headline about the series going "full romantasy" and describing the Galadriel-Sauron dynamic, and it calls showrunners J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay inexperienced. Its excerpt largely skips the time jump and battle plot. The alternative sources, /Film and The A.V. Club, focus on structure and plot: /Film quotes McKay on shaking things up and frames the season as a reboot, while The A.V. Club gives a B grade, describes a hasty season with questionable choices, and covers Sauron's loss of Celebrimbor and Thrain's bid for the throne. The right-leaning New York Post publishes an episode 4 recap headlined "Tonight There's Gonna Be a Jailbreak" amid a page of streaming guides, and its excerpt includes no plot or showrunner details. All three share the basic setup, but Slate centers romance and criticism of the writers, while the alternative sources center plot and structure. The right source's excerpt is too thin to compare on specific facts.
How the sides differ Left sources focus on a Galadriel-Sauron romance; alternative sources stress the time jump and plot; right sources publish an episode recap amid streaming guides.
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Slate leads with a romance angle, highlighting the Galadriel-Sauron storyline and criticizing the showrunners, with the author's personal viewing reaction as its opening.
- The A.V. ClubRings Of Power time jumps into season three with renewed urgency and questionable choices
/Film features an interview with co-showrunner Patrick McKay on the season's reset feel, while The A.V. Club leads with the time jump, plot points and a B grade.
The New York Post leads with an episode 4 recap headlined "Tonight There's Gonna Be a Jailbreak," surrounded by streaming guides, with no quoted voices in the excerpt.