Yep, as soon as Halbrand said, “a gift” I knew poppa was right!
I think seeing a lot of people speculate that Halbrand is Sauron online just made me think that there would be some kind of twist to it. It probably worked as a better twist for those who avoided the weekly online conversations! I think in the end a lot of these “Who is who” questions are likely the most obvious answers. I think they were trying to make the Stranger the clear Sauron red herring, but it felt like to me early on that he was Gandalf/Olorin, and the finale makes that obvious.

But the Halbrand=Sauron thing makes sense. It’s mentioned in other works that Galadriel knows Sauron more than anyone else, and that makes sense when you see their relationship play out this way.

I do agree that I wish the actual forging of the rings had played out a little longer, especially considering. Seems like such a significant event and it was kind of quickly brushed over. (Also seems like they should have consulted actual smiths/jewelers regarding how actual rings are made)

Regarding Udun, I felt like the cutaway showing the Numenoreans approaching on horseback was an unnecessary cutaway, and I think it would’ve played out just fine if we didn’t see them until they heard their approach.

I also enjoyed the stuff with the Harfoots. I felt all of the actors did a great job, and there is comfort to watching the Hobbits that feels like a warm blanket.

Also thought I’d share this nice little edit to the Mordor reveal someone shared on Reddit:
https://www.reddit.com/r/LOTR_on_Prime/comments/y4rim3/i_fixed_the_mordor_text_reveal/?utm_source=share&utm_medium=web2x&context=3