i had zero complaints about s2.
i loved the shit out of s2.
that season was paranoia incarnate.
without which we don't get the payoffs we're getting this season.
it was visually, tonally and technically remarkable television.
Elliot's epic struggles with Mr. Robot reached new and complicated levels.
we had a 90s sitcom episode featuring ALF, for ffs lol.
the mystery behind Tyrell was played so close to the chest NO ONE knew if he was still alive or had become another of Elliot's alters.
admittedly, it was *mostly* setup and piece-moving, but it was done in immaculate abstract fashion.
most of all its unrelenting heavy mindfuckery with us not knowing what's real and what's not. i mean this is the through line in the entire series to date: reality is bullshit. s2 was all about that (lack of) distinction b/w real and imagined. it's designed to get you (us) thinking in layers. as in, we know things coming from Elliot's POV can't always be trusted, but what if the shared reality that everyone else exists in also can't be trusted? (clearly it can't, but i think what the show/s2 explores is to what extent the mistrust stretches to, by letting us in on Price and Whiterose's long game/war).
which, if ppl actually read and not ignore my above post about A.I and crypto-currencies playing an integral role in this show, will make a lot more sense (re: the sci fi elements that we are all attributing to time travel (of course things like multiple multi-season BTTF references and a particle accelerator make that assumption obvious, but there is definitely a series arc developing here about the essential nature of reality, and not necessarily about jumping through a wormhole)).

here's what i think's gonna happen. 90% of u are gonna go back at some point and re-watch this whole entire series front to back/binge style (which we should, cos it's built for it), during which point s2 will click and flow way more than it did the first time around, and then the appreciation will follow. cos s2 is basically s1 on amphetamines. and i recall unanimous love for s1. i got the feeling the show went "full Mr. Robot" and it turned a lot of folks off. whereas i could stand to see it get even more heady.

(not aimed directly at u of course, this is kinda the same stuff i was saying in last yrs s2 poast, minus the A.I./crypto-currency angle).

V.