Why Is The Rings of Power So Dark?

The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power viewers noticed that the series is dark. Like, literally dark. 

The Rings of Power is the latest spin-off from J.R.R. Tolkien's classic novel series. It tells stories from the Second Age of Middle-Earth when the great rings were forged. 

While The Rings of Power hasn't shied away from darker storylines, viewers are taking issue with this season's literal lighting.

The Rings of Power Embraces Darkness

The Rings of Power fans took to social media to express their concerns over how difficult it is to visually see in many of the dark scenes in the series. Given that much of The Rings of Power Season 2 takes place indoors in caves or at night by torchlight, it's become a recurring issue.

Viewers noticed a particular issue with HDR color output on televisions, and they had to manually adjust the brightness to see what was happening on-screen.

This is in stark contrast to The Lord of the Rings film trilogy. Some of the film's iconic scenes, like the battle of Helm's Deep or the journey through Khazad-dûm, take place at night or in dark environments. However, the lighting is still adequate enough to see the characters' faces clearly and discern what is going on.

Why Is It So Dark in The Rings of Power?

The Rings of Power is just the latest movie and TV show to be targeted for its dark scenes.

Game of Thrones fans notably complained about the lack of lighting during the pivotal battle in the episode "The Long Night." Still, the cinematographer defended the set-up, saying it was intentional for the episode's vision. 

It's likely a similar situation with The Rings of Power. While no creatives have officially commented on the situation, lighting is an intentional part of filmmaking. This means it's probably the director's choice to light these scenes dimly, possibly in pursuit of naturalistic lighting. 

In the last couple of decades, filmmaking has also moved from shooting on film to digital cameras, which has significantly impacted the production process. 

The Lord of the Rings trilogy was shot on film in the 2000s. This is likely why the scenes look brighter and clearer, as film notoriously captures more detail and has a better dynamic range for lighting. Meanwhile, The Rings of Power is filmed digitally, which means lighting in the scene can be captured less accurately.

Shooting a well-balanced scene can also depend on the skill of the crew involved and the tools and equipment used on-set and during the editing process.

New episodes of The Rings of Power Season 2 debut on Thursdays at 3 a.m. ET/midnight PT on Amazon Prime Video.