10 Most Annoying Lord of the Rings: Rings of Power Characters Fans Still Can’t Stand
After two seasons, viewers are divided on whether the series can be deemed “successful” or not. Sadly, The Rings of Power’s characters—the very thing that made Tolkien’s books so beloved—are disappointing many fans, to say the least. Out-of-canon, flat, boring, one-dimensional and straight-up annoying characters have fans talking—and not in a good way.
10. The Stranger’s Ambiguity Raised More Frustration Than Curiosity
When he was introduced, The Stranger’s character created curiosity for viewers as to who he really was. However, curiosity quickly morphed into confusion and then into full-blown frustration for fans of LoTR. For one, even casual fantasy television show viewers understand that wizards are powerful and wise individuals who bring excitement and mystery to the story, but The Stranger’s weak and bumbling character delivers mostly cringe moments. Second, knowledgeable LoTR fans are quick to point out that wizards didn’t appear in Middle Earth until the Third Age, and since The Rings of Power takes place during the Second Age, his entire character shouldn’t even exist yet. The frustrating deviation from Tolkien’s canon for such an important character puts The Stranger/Gandalf in the top 10 list of most annoying characters in the show.
9. Queen Míriel Is a Lackluster, One-sided Main Character
Queen Míriel first makes her appearance in The Rings of Power when she is still the Queen-regent of Númenor, a powerful nautical island city in Middle Earth. The Númenoreans are a human race with Elvish origins, thereby granting them centuries-long lifespans and greater physical strength than ordinary human beings. Míriel decides to lead her people into a battle with Halbrand and Galadriel in their fight against the power of Sauron (or, who is believed to be Sauron).
Míriel has many redeeming qualities—she is fearless, intelligent and resourceful. She carefully weighs the consequences of dragging the subjects of her kingdom into Middle Earth’s war against dark powers. However, after two seasons, her strength comes across to viewers as stoicism, and her character lacks any real depth, despite playing a pivotal role in the show.
8. Kemen: The Villain Whose Only Real Offense Is Simply Being On-Screen
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Kemen is the son of Númenor’s leading politician, Pharazôn. His father works to subvert Queen Míriel’s authority behind the scenes, and Kemen is taking over the reins in his father’s power play. He attempts to burn the Númenorean ships to stop them from sailing into battle, and he manipulates anyone and everyone around him.
Like any good fantasy television show or movie, The Rings of Power is chock-full of villains—the ones fans hate, the ones fans love to hate, and the downright terrifying ones. Kemen, unfortunately, fits none of those descriptions, and has been described by viewers as “bratty and egotistical.” Instead of rooting for his downfall, fans just want to punch him in the face. Not only hasn’t Kemen’s character earned his powerful position in Númenor, he doesn’t even deserve the title “bad guy” for the show’s sake.
7. “All of the Harfoots” Are Irritating All of the Fans in “The Rings of Power”
The Harfoots are the short and barefooted ancestors of the Hobbits, who lived a nomadic lifestyle in Middle Earth, hundreds of years before they settled in the Shire. In The Rings of Power, one of the show’s main storylines revolves around the Harfoots discovering The Stranger/Gandalf and helping him fight against a trio of Middle Earth “mystics” called the Ascetic, the Nomad and the Dweller. The main Harfoot characters are Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot, Poppy Proudfellow, Marigold Brandyfoot, Largo Brandyfoot, and Saduc Burrows.
6. Fans Can’t Relate to Disa’s Greedy and Forceful Character
Disa is married to Durin IV of the Dwarf race, the son of the Dwarf king, King Durin III. Disa and Durin IV reside deep in the Khazad-dum mountains of Middle Earth with their two children and the rest of their people. Disa’s supernatural skill is her ability to sing and communicate with the mountains. She persuades her husband to defy his father’s orders prohibiting the mining of mithril and to extract the magical metal in secret.
5. Isildur Completely Disappoints Fans on So Many Levels
In Lord of the Rings, Elvish king Gil-galad recalls how Numenor warrior Isildur defeated Sauron in battle but, ultimately, was unable to destroy the One Ring because he wanted its power for himself. In The Rings of Power, a young Isildur rebels against his father, Captain Elendil, when he stows away on a ship. He travels to Middle Earth to fight alongside his father and the Queen-regent against Sauron, and his younger sister is Earien.
4. Bronwyn Shows How the Smallest Detail Can Make or Break a Character’s Likability
Bronwyn is a healer in her small human village in the Southlands of Middle Earth. She has one son named Theo, and she shares a secret love-affair with Elvin warrior Arondir. In LoTR, the Southlands have been the location of Sauron’s kingdom of Mordor, surrounding the iconic Mount Doom, for more than 1,000 years, so Bronwyn and her village reveal to the audience that the Southlands used to be an idyllic place to live.
3. Nori Brandyfoot Should Have Been Only a Minor Character
Elanor “Nori” Brandyfoot plays the main Harfoot character in The Rings of Power. Her father and step-mother, Largo and Marigold, try to temper her natural curiosity in order to protect their daughter (and their entire clan) from the dangers of Middle Earth. Nori and her best friend, Poppy Proudfellow, eventually leave their families to travel with The Stranger/Gandalf on a quest to find out where he is from and his purpose in coming to their lands.
2. Fans Would Be Perfectly Fine if Theo Disappeared Forever
Theo is the rebellious, headstrong young teenage son of Bronwyn. One day, he finds a broken sword that produces magical abilities when he pierces the jagged blade into his forearm. He keeps the sword hidden from all the other villagers, even his mother, and later in Season 1, the weapon creates the lava-spewing volcano of Mount Doom.
1. Galadriel Is a Far Cry from the Beloved The Lord of the Rings Character
The Rings of Power’s first episode opens with Galadriel, as the star of the show, and her warrior Elves chasing down Sauron, only to come up empty-handed again, which leads her team to mutiny. She is ordered by the Elven king to return to Valinor, but she changes her mind and jumps off the ship to swim back to Middle Earth, where she intercepts Halbrand. By the time Galadriel discovers that Halbrand is actually Sauron, he has already created three rings for the Elves (including one for her) and she is not an outcast among her people. In Lord of the Rings, Galadriel, also known as the Lady of the Woods of Lothlórien, is considered the most beautiful, wisest and powerful Elf in all of Middle Earth, and she resists taking the One Ring when Frodo offers it to her.
Fans naturally expected to see Galadriel portrayed as someone who is tempted by the power of the rings, but elects not to use their destructive power. Instead, in The Rings of Power, Galadriel is determined to keep the ring Sauron created, and she justifies this by simply stating that she “knows in her heart” she should wear the ring. She is deceived by Halbrand (Sauron) and refuses his invitation to rule beside him, but when he reveals his true identity, she initially keeps this information to herself. When her Elvish friend Elrond later learns the truth about Sauron, she doesn’t own up to her mistakes and instead seeks to blame Sauron, Elrond and everyone else. Fans overwhelmingly agree that Galadriel’s character is dull, one-dimensional, and even gaslights the other characters, earning her the nickname “Gaslightdriel” and the Number one spot as the hands-down most annoying character on The Rings of Power.
