Level 1 — Absolute Beginner
The Rings of Power is a big fantasy show on Prime Video. It has elves, dwarves and magic rings.
Season 3 started on Wednesday. Fans can watch four new episodes now. Four more episodes will come later this month.
The story is from the books of J.R.R. Tolkien. The bad character is called Sauron. He wants power over everyone.
Some critics like the new season very much. Other critics say it is slow. So the reviews are mixed. Fans can watch and decide.
- fantasy
- A kind of story with magic and strange creatures.
- show
- A programme that you watch on television or online.
- season
- One group of episodes of a show.
- episodes
- The separate parts of a show.
- story
- A description of events, real or invented.
- character
- A person in a story.
- critics
- People whose job is to give opinions about films, shows or books.
- reviews
- Opinions that critics write about a film, show or book.
Level 2 — Elementary
The third season of The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power arrived on Prime Video on Wednesday, 11 November. It is one of the most expensive television series ever made, and fans waited two years for it.
Amazon released the first four episodes together. Two more will follow on 18 November, and the last two on 25 November. The season has eight episodes in total.
The series is based on the writing of J.R.R. Tolkien. It takes place thousands of years before The Lord of the Rings. This season focuses on the villain Sauron, acted by Charlie Vickers, and on the famous rings.
Early reviews are divided. The website Metacritic gave the season a score of 70 out of 100, based on 13 critics. Seven reviews were positive and six were mixed. Some writers praised Vickers, while others complained that the story moves too slowly.
- series
- A set of television episodes that tell one long story.
- released
- Made available for people to watch.
- in total
- When you count everything together.
- based on
- Made using something else as the starting point.
- villain
- The bad person in a story.
- divided
- Not in agreement.
- score
- A number that shows how good something is.
- praised
- Said good things about someone or something.
Level 3 — Intermediate
Amazon's fantasy epic The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power returned for a third season on Wednesday, 11 November, two years after the previous one ended. Prime Video released four episodes at once, with two more due on 18 November and the final pair on 25 November.
The series draws on the appendices of J.R.R. Tolkien's novels and is set in the Second Age of Middle-earth, long before the events of The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings. The new season narrows its attention to Sauron, the dark lord portrayed by Charlie Vickers, and to the rings that give the show its name.
Critics, who were sent seven of the eight episodes in advance, could not agree. On Metacritic the season holds an average of 70 from 13 reviews: seven positive, six mixed and none negative. Collider argued that the show finally feels like Tolkien and called Vickers a highlight. TheWrap described it as the darkest season yet and said the series has hit its stride, although it found the storyline about the dwarves of Khazad-dum slow.
Others were far less generous. IndieWire gave the season a grade of C and wrote that it is simply going through the motions, while SlashFilm concluded that it still falls short because of weak pacing. Even some admirers questioned the schedule, arguing that releasing every episode within two weeks in November means viewers may have moved on by Christmas.
- epic
- A long story about great events and heroes.
- appendices
- Extra sections of information at the end of a book.
- portrayed
- Acted the part of a character.
- in advance
- Before something happens.
- highlight
- The best or most interesting part.
- hit its stride
- Started to work at its best level.
- pacing
- The speed at which a story moves forward.
- schedule
- A plan that says when things will happen.
Level 4 — Advanced
The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power, Amazon's lavish attempt to turn the margins of Tolkien's mythology into a flagship franchise, began its third season on Wednesday to a reception that mirrors the show's whole history: admiring in places, exasperated in others, and rarely indifferent. Four episodes arrived on Prime Video at once, and the remaining four will follow in two instalments, on 18 and 25 November.
Set in the Second Age, millennia before Frodo's journey, the series has always had to invent much of its own narrative from the sparse chronology in Tolkien's appendices. Reviewers broadly agree that the third season is more disciplined, concentrating on the rings themselves and on Sauron, whose portrayal by Charlie Vickers several critics singled out. Collider judged that the series has at last become recognisably Tolkienesque, and TheWrap called it the darkest season to date and the first in which the show hits its stride.
The dissenters are unpersuaded. IndieWire awarded a C and accused the series of going through the motions, and SlashFilm wrote that it still falls short, undone by sluggish pacing despite strong scenes built around Sauron. Even favourable notices carried reservations; TheWrap found that the subplot in the dwarven realm of Khazad-dum drags down the first half. Metacritic's aggregate, 70 from 13 critics with seven positive and six mixed, captures the split precisely.
There is also unease about how Amazon is distributing the season. Compressing eight episodes into a fortnight abandons the weekly rhythm that sustains conversation around a serial, and Collider warned that audiences may have drifted away well before Christmas. For a production of this scale the stakes are considerable. Critics saw only seven of the eight episodes, so the verdict on whether the series has finally justified its ambition will have to wait for the finale.
- lavish
- Very expensive and impressive.
- exasperated
- Very annoyed, especially after losing patience.
- sparse
- Thin, with very little detail.
- disciplined
- Controlled and focused.
- dissenters
- People who disagree with the common opinion.
- sluggish
- Moving more slowly than it should.
- reservations
- Doubts that stop you from fully approving of something.
- fortnight
- A period of two weeks.
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