Amazon’s highly anticipated “The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power” seems to be spiraling into an abyss of disappointment, as recent reports highlight a significant drop in viewership. Despite Amazon’s massive $1 billion investment into the show, the audience reception paints a grim picture of a franchise that once captured the hearts of millions but is now losing its appeal. Critics have pointed to the show’s overtly woke agenda as the culprit for its failing popularity.
According to a recent report from *Forbes*, the second season of “The Rings of Power” has seen a “sharp decline” in viewership compared to the first. While Amazon boasted that Season 2 attracted 40 million viewers after 11 days of streaming, this pales in comparison to the 25 million viewers who tuned in on the very first day of Season 1. That steep fall indicates viewers may have lost interest after their initial excitement.
*Deadline* adds even more context to the show’s waning appeal, noting that only 902,000 U.S. households watched the Season 2 premiere within four days. Compare that to the 1.8 million who tuned in for the first episode of Season 1, and it’s clear the audience is dwindling rapidly.
Perhaps the most telling sign of the show’s failure is the massive 63% decline in viewership over the course of Season 1. Fans, who initially gave it a chance, seemed to be turned off by the series’ direction, leading many to abandon ship well before the second season dropped. The show’s audience score on Rotten Tomatoes reflects this discontent, with Season 1 earning a paltry 38% approval from viewers—far below the critic rating of 83%, which many argue reflects the show’s pandering to woke critics rather than fans. While Season 2’s audience score rose slightly to 58%, it’s still far from what one would expect from a billion-dollar investment into one of the most beloved fantasy franchises in history.
The decline in interest is not just a fluke. Amazon has committed to producing three more seasons of “The Rings of Power,” with a total of at least 40 episodes planned. But given the current trajectory, it seems like Amazon may have bought itself a multi-season catastrophe.
This is far from an isolated incident in today’s entertainment landscape. Amazon’s struggles with “The Rings of Power” echo Disney’s failure with its latest Star Wars spin-off, *The Acolyte*. The show, like *Rings of Power*, was widely criticized for its woke overtones and disregard for established lore. It was canceled after just one season, leaving behind a dismal audience score of 18% on Rotten Tomatoes. Disney’s obsession with identity politics and “progressive” storytelling came at the expense of the quality and authenticity fans have long cherished in the Star Wars universe.
Frustrated Star Wars fans have since launched a petition to de-canonize *The Acolyte* from the Star Wars franchise. Their argument? The show undermined beloved characters, destroyed the prophecy of the Chosen One, and butchered George Lucas’ original vision.
Amazon’s foray into Middle Earth seems to be headed down a similar path. As audiences grow weary of woke rewrites of classic stories, the lesson becomes clear: focus on storytelling, respect the source material, and stop pandering to a vocal minority that isn’t interested in the heart of these franchises. The billion-dollar bet on “The Rings of Power” may be one Amazon regrets, but the fans, as always, are the real victims of Hollywood’s never-ending ideological experiments.
