Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power viewers have been left divided over a location reveal in the latest episode
The seventh instalment of Amazon Prime Video’s high-budget series saw the characters in the aftermath of the action-packed previous outing.
In the closing moments of the episode, viewers saw Adar watching Mount Doom in the wake of its eruption, telling his followers that this is their new home.
When one villager starts cheering “Hail Adar, lord of the Southlands,” Adar points out that the Southlands are no more – and when the villager asks what they should call their new home instead, he looks up at Mount Doom.
Here, “The Southlands” appears on the screen – only to burn away and be replaced with “Mordor”.
Mordor is a location known to casual Lord of the Rings fans who might have only watched Peter Jackson’s trilogy; it’s where Frodo (Elijah Wood) is travelling to throughout the three films.
While fans were excited for the introduction of Mordor, some felt the way it was revealed to be quite lazy. Others felt it undermined the intelligence of viewers, who undoubtedly would have known this was now Mordor.
“I legit LOL’d at the text changing from ‘The Southlands’ to ‘Mordor’,” one fan wrote, adding: “Like come on, its as if they’re intentionally being cheesy and dumb now. “
Another viewer added: “The Mordor text reveal was one of the worst pieces of television I’ve ever seen. We all knew. No one needed it spelling out. Phenomenally s***.”
“The Rings of Power Mordor ‘reveal’ by showing a dramatic change in text is a prime example of why this show drives me crazy…” a frustrated fan added, with one other stating: “Ngl, the Southlands text turning to Mordor was soooo cheesy that it made roll my eyes ostentatiously. “
The series is available to stream on Prime Video.