I'm getting tired of this hate wagon bullshit and now mainstream media is doing it. Anger memes or outrage sells and spreads, so it's profitable.
The show isn't amazing and you can criticize it but it's quite enjoyable. A lot of people enjoy it. It's not slop. It takes some liberties and things but overall the storytelling is pretty solid. Creature design is amazing. They tell the origin story of the hobbits, the istar and sauron. The legends are slightly different but that is why they are legends.
I very much look forward to season 2. I do not look forward to the inevitable review bombing and hate posting. If you don't like it, don't watch it, and yeah if it gets cancelled due to lack of interest that's fair too. The problem is that both reactionaries and profit-seekers are weaponizing online outrage and clickbait and manipulating ratings and online perception.