Brandon Sanderson has previously outlined his critiques of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, linking to a broader harsh truth about live-action fantasy shows. Prime Video’s Lord of the Rings show has been the subject of a lot of discussion since its debut in 2022. This is only set to continue, with The Rings of Power season 3 primed for a potential 2026 release date.
Exploring the creation of the titular Rings of Power, the show is set long before the timeline of the Lord of the Rings books. Although there are many who enjoy this take on the world of Middle-earth, it is safe to say it has been divisive. The Rings of Power‘s book changes have somewhat alienated fans of Tolkien’s original works, while certain audiences dislike the show’s focus on more diverse casting.
Beyond that, some simply think The Rings of Power, despite being the most expensive TV show of all time, spins its wheels too much. As with every new, modern take on classic IPs, The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power has become controversial. One such person who had a middling opinion of the series was Brandon Sanderson, an award-winning fantasy author.
Shortly after the release of The Rings of Power season 1, Sanderson outlined his main criticisms of the show, while still saying he, overall, enjoyed it. Through these criticisms, Sanderson helped to convey an issue that is plaguing not just The Rings of Power, but live-action fantasy TV as a whole.
Brandon Sanderson Made A Valid Point About The Rings Of Power
Via Sanderson’s own podcast, Intentionally Blank, on his YouTube page, the author explained that his main criticisms of The Rings of Power boiled down to “grimdark” writing, skewed depictions of military tactics, and overall questionable writing choices for main character arcs. The first point, Sanderson thought, applied mostly to The Rings of Power‘s Harfoot storyline.
Harfoots are a race of people in Middle-Earth who eventually become the Hobbits of The Shire, with the show exploring their earlier nomadic ways and connection with an Istari, later revealed as The Rings of Power‘s version of Gandalf. Sanderson’s main issue here is that the Harfoots have a tendency to leave others behind to die, should they become lost on the road.
This fate almost befalls the lead Harfoot character, Nori, and her family, with only Gandalf’s help enabling them to travel. At the end of all this, Nori goes to save Gandalf from followers of Sauron, with several Harfoots offering to help her now that they know the wizard is good and helpful.
Sanderson’s issue with this is how it taints the perception of Hobbits, known to be a peaceful race in The Lord of the Rings. The Harfoots leaving people behind and only helping when someone proves useful made no sense to Sanderson, who felt halflings do not need to be grey morally: “We don’t need grimdark Hobbits. We really do not need grimdark Hobbits.”
Later, Sanderson critiqued the show’s depiction of military elements. From the villagers of the Southlands leaving a fort to fight orcs in a less-defensible position to the Númenórean cavalry charge, Sanderson felt this all made little sense. The former is self-explanatory, with the latter being unbelievable due to the horses, which are carrying soldiers in full battle armor, likely being exhausted by the time they reached the battle from the ocean.
Finally, Sanderson criticized the bleak, sometimes gory tone of the show, as well as the cartoonish plans of Sauron and Adar that resulted in Mount Doom’s eruption. To a point, a lot of these issues are certainly valid. Of course, as is the case with every subjective piece of media, some may disagree with Sanderson. For the most part, though, he makes a compelling case.
Sanderson’s Criticism Applies More Broadly To Live-Action Fantasy Adaptations
What makes these comments all the more intriguing, though, is how they can be applied to other live-action fantasy adaptations. Shows like The Witcher, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, and The Wheel of Time all have similar problems to the ones Sanderson raises for The Rings of Power.
Regarding the “grimdark” criticism, it is safe to say none of the aforementioned shows have that much outright levity. All of these, even more so than The Rings of Power, focus on the darkness of their respective worlds, leaning much more heavily into the gritty nature of politics or world-ending threats; The more comedic elements of their source material are not all that present.
While all of these shows have their own sense of humor, it is difficult to say any one of them focuses inherently on the weird, wonderful, or whimsical aspects of fantasy.
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When going back to Sanderson’s comments about military tactics, these shows also have their problems. Sanderson actually mentions Game of Thrones season 8, episode 3’s cavalry charge as a bad comparison for the one in The Rings of Power. Throughout the last few seasons, Game of Thrones‘ battle scenes leaned more into cinematic spectacle than realistic military clashes of strategy.
House of the Dragon has been similar, with The Witcher also being criticized for its continual regression when it comes to fight scenes. Sanderson’s criticism of baffling plot points can also be applied to Game of Thrones, specifically its final two seasons.
Overall, Sanderson has made his views on The Wheel of Time, a book series he finished himself after the original author passed away, very clear. The author went on record to state that his various notes were ignored, leading him to be sour about The Wheel of Time‘s adaptation.
Evidently, adaptations of recent years are leaning more into “grimdark” aesthetics, narratives, and tones, which spiral out into other issues in the pursuit of gritty realism permeating fantasy. Interestingly, an upcoming fantasy adaptation has been criticized for this much more recently. HBO’s Harry Potter series received its first trailer in March 2026, with some clear differences from the original book and 2001 film.
The Harry Potter series is noticeably darker, both visually and tonally. The bright, colorful hues of Chris Columbus’ first movie have been replaced with a dour color palette, with a greater focus being placed on the “epic” side of Harry Potter‘s world. The film series eventually changed into a darker story itself, but it remained faithful to the books in that way by maturing with its cast and audience.
Harry Potter and the Prisoner of Azkaban is often regarded as the turning point for this, with the preceding two movies being a lot more whimsical and magical. HBO’s Harry Potter, though, is seemingly abandoning that. Be it through the darker visual style or the trailer’s focus on the abusive Dursleys, the upcoming fantasy adaptation exemplifies one of Sanderson’s key Rings of Power criticisms.
What The Rings Of Power Season 3 Needs To Do Differently
All of this raises the question of what The Rings of Power season 3 could do differently to avoid such criticisms. The easy answer is to continue doing what it did in season 2. Season 2 reduced the Harfoot storyline to just Nori, Poppy, and Gandalf, the dynamic that Sanderson himself thought worked best in season 1.
Moreover, the increased scale of the action allowed for a better sense of the military side of Middle-earth. With The Rings of Power season 3 set to feature The War of the Elves and Sauron, if the action continued to blend the logical side of warfare with The Lord of the Rings‘ fantasy elements, this big critique could be fixed.
One thing that The Rings of Power could always use more of, though, is the more fantastical elements of Middle-earth. Season 2 included this to an extent, from the origins of Shelob to the scenes with the Ents and giant eagles. However, more of this is always welcome, allowing the show to be more awe-filled fantasy than “grimdark.”
It’s Not Just The Rings Of Power – Fantasy TV As A Whole Needs To Learn 1 Key Lesson
All of this just proves, though, that fantasy TV as a whole needs to learn a key lesson. Of the above issues and shows mentioned, several of them are linked. That said, only one, the focus on “grimdark” storytelling, links them all. The Witcher, Game of Thrones, House of the Dragon, The Wheel of Time, and the upcoming Harry Potter show have darkness at the forefront, as does The Rings of Power.
Several recent, well-received animated fantasy shows prove that this is not necessary; Prime Video’s own The Legend of Vox Machina and The Mighty Nein expertly balance whimsical humor with serious moments. In live-action, Percy Jackson and the Olympians was recently lauded as a breath of fresh air in the fantasy world by exhibiting the lighter tone of that series’s first two books.
The point is: fantasy shows do not need to take an “either-or” standpoint on tone. These shows can have dark, somber, serious moments without losing the whimsy that makes them, well, fantasy. This goes beyond TV, with the failed DC Extended Universe focusing much too heavily on the gritty aspects of superheroes.
2025’s Superman focused on unending hope and optimism and was beloved for it. Recently, audiences seem to be craving more hope, awe, and fun in their fantasy shows. This does not mean the hard-hitting narratives being adapted have to be lessened; just a better balance needs to be found.
The Rings of Power is getting there, and if other fantasy shows can learn that lesson, maybe the criticisms they face will not be as prevalent, and maybe they will not be as divisive as they have been in the modern TV era.
- Release Date
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September 1, 2022
- Network
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Amazon Prime Video
- Showrunner
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John D. Payne, Patrick McKay, Louise Hooper, Charlotte Brändström, Wayne Yip
