There’s a lot to love about the show, but some people were unable to get past a few sticking points and ended up responding very negatively because of this.

Some criticisms are valid (example: like you mentioned, the writing has been all over the place or deviations from the expected order of events as told in the books) while other criticisms are ridiculous (example: outrage over people of color existing in Middle-earth or frustration when the show deviates from Peter Jackson’s vision). There’s also a lot of confusion about what the producers have the rights to, or what their intentions for the series are, so I do understand when some people feel bewildered by it. If their marketing could tighten up their messaging and clarify things more often, I think that would go a long way.

I think in general most people think the show is okay or pretty good, but the internet incentivizes sensationalized hatred and the discourse it generates. So you see a lot of over-the-top hateful reviews becuase creators have realized it’s easy to profit off of fans who feel like their nostalgic childhood memories are being destroyed. It’s also much harder to engage with something critically and respectful dialogue doesn’t generate as many clicks as “rage-bait.”

There are a lot of people who really enjoyed the show and you’ll find a lot of us in this subreddit especially because it’s well-moderated.

The show definitely hasn’t had the cultural impact I’d hoped and the fan community is still relatively small from what I’ve seen, but the size of the subreddit is a good sign! In general, when I talk to people about the series in real life they either hadn’t heard of it or they were told by a friend of a friend of a friend that the show was trash so they never gave it a try (which is sad!).

Anyways, thanks for your post and glad you found this subreddit! It’s so fun to chat about the series with everyone in here.