– I began to realize that Halbrand was Sauron after I had seen the penultimate episode, but before watching the final one. I had already assumed that Galadriel and Halbrand were heading for Eregion, and when I put that together with the fact the the show had made a point of portraying Halbrand as a smith, that put two and two together for me.

– I assume that the second season will show both Sauron taking control of Mordor and Pharazon taking control of Numenor, as well as the forging of the other rings and other storylines (Isildur’s return, Nori and the Wizard traveling to Rhun, etc.). One thread that I found myself reflecting on is that of Arondir, Bronwyn, Theo, and the other surviving Southlanders headed to Pelargir. Their storyline will very likely intersect with Isildur’s, but it also occurred to me that Sauron might approach them in his guise as Halbrand; after all, the last they knew of him, he had just been hailed as their “true king” by no less than Galadriel and Miriel (something that in retrospect seems quite deliberately ironic).

In the course of watching this season, I have appreciated some of the nods to the lore and found some of the new material intriguing, while being very dubious about other parts of it, as well as uncertain where the story was heading. However, it did seem as though the showrunners were able to pull the threads together in the final episode and create something that, while it does not entirely match Tolkien’s tale, has at least drawn closer to it. I will be interested in seeing the second season when it eventually arrives.