*This article contains slight spoilers for The Rings of Power*
The wait for The Rings of Power is finally over, and fans are absolutely full of praise for the visuals in Amazon's Lord of the Rings series.
After years of waiting, the series finally hit Prime Video on September 1 (or 2 September at 2 am, in the UK) to transport fans back thousands of years into Middle-earth's past to the start of J.R.R. Tolkien's Second Age.
The two-episode premiere saw us journeying to many of Middle-earth's far corners, introduced us to a cast of new faces and re-introduced some of Tolkien's most well-known characters like Galadriel (Morfydd Clark) and Elrond (Robert Aramayo).
Early reactions to the show were very positive and, by the looks of things, more and more viewers are finding plenty to like about the show's first two episodes. If we had to pick just one thing viewers are in agreement about it's that The Rings of Power is a beautiful-looking series. In our Rings of Power episode one review, we pointed out the "majesty and cinematic scope" that the show had from the off and we definitely aren't alone in picking out the sheer quality of the visuals.
Bringing the diverse landscape and environments of Middle-earth to life must have been no easy feat. Still, from all the buzz about the show on social media, it seems that Amazon Studios have put the show's colossal budget to good use, as the visuals have gone down a treat with viewers.
One viewer wrote: "the cinematography is beyond beautiful" and shared a collection of stunning scenes from the opening episodes as proof.
the cinematography is beyond beautiful #RingsOfPower pic.twitter.com/qX0iamp3JBSeptember 2, 2022
Another chimed in: "Wow! The cinematography for this show is so visually stunning. Absolutely breathtaking."
Wow! The cinematography for this show is so visually stunning. Absolutely breathtaking 🙌🏽🔥🤩 #TheRingsOfPower #LOTRonPrime #RingsOfPower pic.twitter.com/aHS9xtGPlESeptember 2, 2022
A third also described the series as 'beautiful' and set out their hopes for what the rest of the series will bring. And there were many more fans who heaped praise on the launch episodes.
Rings of Power is beautiful. It’s an immersive experience. It’s High Fantasy of high quality, more cinema than TV, and inherently re-watchable. It’s all about world building so far, setting up a promised adventure. I hope it digs deep, now, and delivers. - Not a LotR InnkeeperSeptember 2, 2022
First take on #RingsOfPower:Visually stunning, the music soars through you, there is an ample mix of poignancy and suspense and energy and so far I love the performances of Galadriel, Elrond and Nori.A slow burner but I’m enjoying it and want more.This shot gave me feels. pic.twitter.com/JRnPCe5ddwSeptember 2, 2022
Tears of joy... Maybe it's nostalgia, but #LOTROnPrime started extremely strong to me, making a statement with an absolutely breathtaking visual feast, characters I cared about and a grandiose score by Bear McCreary. This is meant for the big screen, I am on board! #RingsOfPower pic.twitter.com/V7BRjJfqnESeptember 2, 2022
My god this is a gorgeous show #RingsOfPower pic.twitter.com/LPNKeJgpiaSeptember 2, 2022
The opening two episodes largely focused on building out the world and introducing us to many of the core characters that make up The Rings of Power cast, showing off many of the amazing locales from all of Middle-earth in the process.
It's also left us with a few burning questions we can't wait to get answers to as the rest of the series plays out, like the mystery of how Theo managed to get his hands on a sword bearing Sauron's sigil, or what happened to the village of Horden. Oh, and there's the small matter of The Stranger's identity, too. Hopefully, we'll be getting some answers to at least a few of our questions very soon!
New episodes of The Rings of Power air exclusively on Prime Video on Fridays.
