Review Detail

I reviewed all Episodes separately. There are a lot of great moments (I describe some below)! But some scenes felt out of place (like the starting and ending scenes of some episodes) and there were cuts that made characters “teleport” from one place to another. Some audio edits were quite noticeable as well.

Episode 1: the Prologue is too long. With an 8-episode structure, this Episode (titled “The Hobbit”) spends 20% of runtime with the tale of the Dwarves of Erebor. The line “In a hole in the ground there lived a hobbit” is placed after it, so its impact is lessened. Also, in terms of the narrative, when Gandalf is introducing the quest, he says: “Far to the east […] lies a single, solitary peak. The Lonely Mountain." The prologue section told most of the story, so Gandalf’s reveal loses much of its value. For the audience (seeing events from Bilbo’s perspective) this should have been the first time hearing about Erebor.
The end of the episode would be more thematic (respecting the 8-episode idea) if it happened just after Gandalf’s monologue at 0h38m42; he’s telling Bilbo to say goodbye to the Shire : “But home is now behind you. The world is ahead.” This makes it a perfect story beat to end the episode on. Every scene that appears after it could be placed in Episode 2. Ending Episode 1 “The Hobbit” with a shot of Dol Guldur looks thematically and narratively out of place.

Episode 2: The editing for the initial section is smart. Gandalf not being there, because “He's a Wizard. He does as he chooses” works well. Even if Gandalf / Thorin’s discussion was cut, the audience won’t find anything´s off. Still, because of what I said in Episode 1 and to respect the 8-episode structure, I think it would make sense to start Episode 2 with the first Radagast scenes. Later in the Episode, we see him meeting Gandalf and the Company; having Radagast in the prologue would make for a better story.
The trimmed troll sequence works well, nice editing!
The cut at 0h15m18 is between Radagast giving his ominous warning and the Company arriving in Rivendell. The story doesn’t lose much from all the removed scenes, but the cut feels like they “teleported” to Rivendell (going from a forest to a mountain valley); maybe some scene should be inserted here, to give a feeling of the passage of time. Because of the removed sections before Rivendell, some of Elrond’s dialogue should have been cut as well. He speaks of “[…]Orcs […] close to our borders. […] someone has drawn them near.” The Orc chase was cut, it’s a slight continuity error.
The section between 0h24m44 and 0h27m00 could also be trimmed.
For me, Episode 2 should end at 0h38m13. The wide shots of the Company travelling for miles, through several days and reaching the Misty Mountains, create a great place to end the episode on (I realize Episode 3 shouldn’t start with the Stone Giants, but other scenes could serve as a prologue). The way the Episode ends, with the cliffhanger, really doesn’t “click”.

Episode 3: I don’t think starting with them falling into Goblin-town works; something is missing here. The Episode could start with the Gandalf section from 0h02m10. That would allow for some time to pass between when we see Gandalf in the High Fells of Rhudaur and Gandalf rescuing the Dwarves. The events in Goblin-town last only minutes (less than 1 hour); the travel time of Gandalf going to the High Fells of Rhudaur and back to find the Dwarves inside Goblin-town would be several days. The editing should allow for this; here, Gandalf appears to “teleport” to Goblin-town.
The editing is very effective and tight when we see Azog for the first time, then Balin narrates the the War of the Dwarves and Orcs, then Azog’s hunting them, and finally the Company reaches Beorn’s home. I like this! Also, great ending for the Episode.

Episode 4: nice choice for the prologue section. Well done with the mandatory removal of Fili/Tauriel and the curtailment of Tauriel/Legolas. Nice editing of the barrel-riding!
Exception: at 0h33m00 the audio and Thorin’s lips are desynced, because the audio was originally placed later in the film.
The section starting at 0h28m47 could be removed. It goes nowhere, it’s redundant and Evangeline Lilly’s acting here is awful. I like the new lines from Azog and Sauron; the story gets a slightly different perspective (the one about Gandalf’s Ring of Power may be a bit controversial). Stellar way to end the Episode!

Episode 5: again, nice Azog and Sauron alternative dialogue. Effective reduction of Alfrid and removal of the warg attack. I’m not sure it would be feasible the way the Episodes are structured, but I think the opening of the door to Erebor (at 0h32m42) could have been the ending of an Episode.

Episode 6: Notable editing of Smaug's attack on Laketown. The story flow starting with Smaug's awakening is tighter and cleaner. The “joke” at 0h31m40 is lame as hell, it sounds like it was written by children.

Episode 7: the audio fade-in that starts the Episode sounds a bit off; also, the OST gets out of tempo at 0h00m18, the audio cut is noticeable. If the (rightful) objective is removing most of Alfrid’s lines, the ones at 0h15m46 are prime candidates. Also, it’s fine if the first Gandalf scene would be inside the tent. Personal opinion: The talk at 0h22m48 could be trimmed; why would Bilbo return to Erebor after Gandalf tells him straight Thorin will kill him?

At 0h23m39, this Gandalf / Alfrid interaction goes nowhere, it could be removed. The same at 0h24m21, too much Alfrid and it spoils Bilbo’s moment at 0h26m18. And another Alfrid bit at 0h41m03. I like the small Thranduil edits here (he looks less foolish). I really dislike the “Dune worms” at 0h34m16, they could be cut (I’m aware of the Tolkien’s Were-worms but the film version is just goofy).
I enjoy the removal of the “Elves jumping over the shield-wall” bit, that was the silliest battle move I’ve ever seen. Great alternative Azog lines, as well.
Exception: the new Azog line at 0h41m50 (“how their Ancient Alliance falters“) clashes with the film’s story; Men, Dwarves and Elves start the Battle fighting one another, this line feels out of place.
I’m on the fence about the “Acorn” deleted scene and Bard’s speech in it. The lines are really well written; but it feels out-of-character for him to stop fighting and have a “Théoden moment of defeatist reflection” while all around him his peers need his leadership… That was the reason it was cut from the film. Bilbo’s moment is great, though; I believe this section may work with a little less dialogue from Bard, then Bilbo would shine.
However, a big narrative issue was created by ending Episode 7 with the “Acorn” scene (which is non-canon). The Episode was begging to end in a really low note, and the first half of the scene is just that; our heroes are at their lowest and all seems lost. But then it does a 180 flip and suddenly the Episode ends with hope instead of despair; this didn’t work, it didn’t feel earned (the “hope restored” moments in the LotR were due to the character’s actions, more than their words). Also, the audio fade-out just before Credits sounds too rushed, it sounds like it was edited.

Episode 8: starting with Thorin is splendid, his internal conflict gets emphasized. But it underscores my previous point about Episode 7’s ending. If Episode 8 (brilliantly) starts with Thorin at his lowest, it makes even less sense for Episode 7 to end in any other way that utter despair, in order to connect both Episodes.
At 0h13m23, Tauriel showing her fear for Fili is a continuity error; in this version, there’s no romance.
The Thorin /Azog fight is a bit tighter. I’m not a fan of Beorn free-falling for 500m; to reduce the suspension of disbelief, it could be removed.