'Rings of Power' Creator: If Disappointed, You'll Like Season 2

Amazon's "Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power" concluded its first season on Friday with a big reveal about who the villain Sauron actually was, after he had been hiding in plain sight throughout the season.

Creators J.D. Payne and Patrick McKay promise that if viewers were disappointed with season one's story because they expected more Sauron, then they'll dig the second season, which started filming earlier this month.

"There may well be viewers who are like, 'This is the story we were hoping to get in season one!,'" McKay told The Hollywood Reporter. "In season two, we're giving it to them."

McKay compared seasons one and two to "Batman Begins" and its sequel "The Dark Knight," respectively.

"Sauron can now just be Sauron, like Tony Soprano or Walter White," McKay said. He's evil, but complexly evil. We felt like if we did that in season one, he'd overshadow everything else. So the first season is like 'Batman Begins,' and 'The Dark Knight' is the next movie, with Sauron maneuvering out in the open."

"The Rings of Power's" first season has experienced growing pains, including harsh fan reaction. It has a 38% audience score on Rotten Tomatoes; a 2.4 user rating on Metacritic, and a moderately better 6.9 on IMDb (which is owned by Amazon).

On Prime Video itself, the show has 3.3 (out of 5) stars. Amazon delayed audience reviews for the show for a week to weed out bad-faith responses.

Some of the negative audience reception is due to "review bombing," where online trolls intentionally try to lower a movie or show's ratings, largely for racist or sexist reasons (some have criticized that actors of color are playing certain roles in the series). But it's impossible to know how widespread this is.

At any rate, McKay and Payne are optimistic about the show going forward.

"I hope after the last episode airs, viewers watch the whole season again, which is now a different experience," McKay told THR. "We hope that, as we get into season two, it makes people like season one even better because you're seeing it through a new prism."

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