The Lord of the Rings: The Rings of Power is about to enter its third season , and fans will notice something different about the show this time around. There are still elves and dwarves, wizards and orcs, and an extreme interest in magical jewelry . But the episodes aren’t arriving in the same way: instead of the usual weekly release, we’ll be getting the series in blocks. Episodes one through four arrive November 11; five and six arrive November 18; and the final two episodes drop November 25.

“We’re always in conversation with Amazon, and we’re advocating for what we think is best for the show,” Patrick McKay, the co-showrunner of Rings of Power alongside J.D. Payne, told io9 at a recent press day for season three.

“We generally, as the creators, feel that the show plays better on a binge because it really is so highly serialized and there are so many storylines.…