Full disclosure: while I have, of course, read The Hobbit and The Lord of the Rings trilogy, I've never read The Silmarillion or Unfinished Tales. I feel like I should, but don't have time right now and, quite probably, if I did read them before watching the first season of Rings of Power, I'd end up hating the show even worse than I presently fear I will. So here I go, despite the fact that I have a bad feeling about this. I'll let you know how I make out.