Before the premiere of Season 3 of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Rotten Tomatoes had collected 27 media reviews, with a critics' Freshness rating temporarily at 78%. This figure is lower than Season 1's 84% and Season 2's 85%, but the score will continue to change as more reviews are added.
At that time, Season 3 had not yet been officially released to audiences, so there were no audience scores. There was a significant gap between critic and audience ratings for the first two seasons: Season 1 had an audience score of 38%, and Season 2 had 58%, both lower than their respective critic scores.
Current early reviews are mixed. Some negative critiques argue that the dialogue or textual expressions are overly polished, questioning the director's performance and the necessity of continuing the series; meanwhile, there are also many positive and even highly favorable reviews.
The entire project reportedly cost Amazon around $1 billion, and the decline in critical reception may spark further discussions about return on investment. However, a 78% Freshness rating does not equate to universally negative reviews, nor does it prove that the series is facing a commercial crisis.
Season 3 also introduces new content, including Jamie Campbell Bower portraying Celeborn. How the actual audience responds to the new season remains to be seen after its release.