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After over 10 hours I now have a full grid and 8 of the reel answers grouped. Can’t see how the other 8 fit together though, nor precisely what is the fragment for one of the sets.

I don’t think you’re missing anything, mattrom. I understand why you are wondering, but I think if you consider the endgame in the round those letters have performed an important role, so it’s not as though any of them could have been anything else.

Furthermore, if Cranberry had been clever enough to engineer that, I’m sure he’d have wanted to show it by asking us to demonstrate it!

Not that I’m complaining. I liked it a lot. Chewy clues and a very neat construction. Compilers always say jumbles make such things far easier, but they still impress me.

Jumbles may make a puzzle easier to set, but they make it much harder to solve!

Not that I'm complaining either.

At the fragments end game. Posting hoping that it clicks in a minute or two! Much fun. Thanks, Cranberry.

I'm finding the combination of jumbling of most answers + uncertainty of entering the reels to be overwhelming!

Just five reels done so far, and a completely empty SE corner.

Tips for 16d, and the reels at 35 and 36, would be a help, please.

Also, I don't understand the first half of the reel 34, although I have the answer inserted (thanks Throck)

Excellent puzzle. Surely an early contender for POTY, imo

Dylan, re reel 34:

Say the first part out loud. See if that helps.

Dylan.
34 is a 4-letter homophone for a synonym of 'he' (caught, I.e. heard). Then a reversed Mrs Simpson...and yes, I initially went with Wallis, as I am sure was the intention...!

Dylan, 16d definition is last two words. Giant is a three-letter one.

For reel 35, it's the last three words. The first four words give the the first six letters of the answers. The key is one on a computer.

I'm still pondering reel 36. I have a tentative answer but can't parse it, so it's probably wrong. Pretty sure the last three words are the definition.