Rings of Power is the subject of constant criticism, but viewers seem to be struggling with one problem that has nothing to do with its plot or adaptation of Lord of the Rings’ lore.
Some people really hated Rings of Power Season 1. They had some valid reasons; because it doesn’t have the rights to The Silmarillion, it tinkered with Tolkien’s source material, and others felt its writing wasn’t up to the standard set by the Lord of the Rings movies.
The reception is a bit more positive this time (you can read our Rings of Power Season 2 review), although there have been a few criticisms… some more reasonable than others.
There’s rightful anxiety about the identity of the Dark Wizard (please don’t be Saruman), while impatience is mounting around the Stranger’s journey to find his name (which is definitely Gandalf) in Rhûn.
All of those plot quibbles aside, there’s one issue that’s been echoed by viewers across Reddit: the show is too dark. Not tonally, but visually.
One Redditor wrote: “We have to close the blinds, turn off all the lights, and still struggle to see. We’ve taken to making jokes like, ‘Oh great another night time fight! Guess we don’t have to watch this scene because we can’t see anyway!’
“Seriously whose TV are they coloring this for. A good third of the show is unviewable due to a lack of lighting in shots!”
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This has become an increasingly common complaint on TV and streaming services; House of the Dragon viewers had similar struggles, and Game of Thrones infamously left fans in the dark (literally) with ‘The Long Night.’
“I thought I was the only one. I have blackout curtains and still have to wait until nighttime to watch if I want to be able to see everything and I can’t have any lights on in the house when I do,” another viewer commented.
“I remember this came up with House of the Dragon too, and it was discussed how these shows today are made for OLED displays with HDR. If you don’t have that, that could be a reason why it seems too dark,” a third speculated.
Earlier this year, Amazon quietly removed support for Dolby Vision and Dolby Atmos on its ad-supported plan – so, unless you’re paying that extra few bucks, you probably have inferior visuals.
Before Episode 5, check out our recaps of Rings of Power Season 2 Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, and Episode 4. You can also read our guides on Morgoth’s origin, Forodwaith, Tom Bombadil, and Círdan the Shipwright.
