I called it on Sauron. Like... The minute they had captured the Uruk and he was like "What did I do to you?" I looked at my husband. Like he did JUST say he killed Sauron before that not well. It was a pretty big hint.

Also, the Stranger... Is that a confirmed he's Gandalf?? Because it felt like a confirmation. Which I was also REALLY hopeful that's who he was because it really just explained his particular fondness for hobbits so well and Also the magic ring thing around him in the earth looked way too much like the eye for him to have actually been Sauron.

I sorta stubbornly refused to believe that Halbrand was Sauron until the last episode I was on board the theory that he'd become the king of the dead army that help Aragorn in Return of the King. So he'd have sort of a tragic arc in the show, but we'd know he ultimately is redeemed eventually. I guess I still got the tragic part right, just not the redemption I did get suspicious in the final episode when he was talking with Celebrimbor though. And I ultimately thought the reveal was great. I enjoyed his scenes with Galadriel throughout the show, but this one was definitely my favorite. And I love the line, "I have been awake since the breaking of the first silence. In that time, I have had many names." It's just so good

It was also fun rewatching it with this knowledge now. One of his first lines is "Looks can be deceiving," and I was like

And I'm not sure about The Stranger being Gandalf. I think the producers don't have the rights to the character from what I've heard? I could be wrong. But he might just be one of the other wizards, but with some Gandalf quirks maybe? Either way, this reveal I wasn't too surprised by. He never gave off Sauron vibes to me, so I was just like "yeah right" when the mystic ladies kept calling him Sauron in the beginning

Originally Posted by AlwaysSnapesGirl

I also really enjoyed this season! I went into watching the show with no expectations, and I was pleasantly surprised by how much I enjoyed it.

Elrond is definitely my favorite, I think! I like pretty much all of the characters here, but he's right at the top of my list, which I didn't expect. I like LOTR Elrond well enough, but with characters like Sam and Aragorn and Éowyn and all the others in that story, he doesn't stand out to me there. But I loved getting to see newer sides to the character in this show, and I love his friendships with Galadriel and Durin and Disa. And same with seeing new sides to Galadriel, and getting to watch how she'll grow into becoming who she does in LOTR too. I loved her so much this season.

I don't know if I can pick a favorite moment right now because there are so many I love The entire beginning sequence in Valinor and then the overview of the defeat of Morgoth, the build-up to Adar, the introduction of Númenor, the sweet moments between Bronwyn and Arondir, plus the entirety of episode 6 that had me on the edge of my seat the entire time and then that ending that blew my mind There's so many more I could name, but then this post would be very long

And of course there's the big reveal in episode 8

I believe you are right about the rights that they have. I know that they couldn't get the rights to Silmarillion which if I remember correctly covered a lot of the making of the rings. I know they didn't have the rights to Celeborn.

I also think that with the timeline issues the show already has it is likely that they are establishing the stranger as Gandalf. I do know from reading an interview that Daniel Weyman who plays the stranger doesn't know which Istar he is playing.