Yes, I totally agree about the stuff with Durin and Disa and Elrond -- I loved that! I think it also helped that those were the first scenes that really came alive for me -- I think the show got off to a slow start, and some of the early parts were stilted or confusing. I also loved the worldbuilding about singing to the mountain, and I am looking forward to more dwarf politics!

I saw a lot of speculation that Halbrand would turn out to be one of the Nine, but I do really like that he turned out to be Sauron. And this whole Galadriel/Sauron ship really IS up my alley, in a way Galadriel/Halbrand really wasn't most of the time. I think I'm adding this to my Yuletide signups!