Having finished the new season, I am very disappointed. Season 1 in my opinion was MILES better.
Season 1 was an entertaining space Western series with with a simple main story of a traditional masculine warrior archetype developing paternal feelings for a child, complemented by some fun self-contained side quests. It offered a glimpse into a culture previously unexplored in Star Wars films. Its limited scope, patient pace and focus on quiet character moments instead of over-inflated set pieces and heavy-handed thematic messages made it almost unfashionably old-school and thorougly enjoyable for every audience. It was also refershingly original for a Star Wars (despite some unavoidable fan service).
Season 2 had its nice moments in the first two episodes, but then it largely succumbed into unabashed, full-time fan service with little room for anything else. Instead of introducing new, interesting characters like Kuiil, The Armorer or IG-11, the payoffs focused on the return of characters from other media. You were supposed to cheer for Ahsoka and Bo-Katan and Boba Fett turning up not because they were interesting or said interesting things but because they were familiar from The Clone Wars / the OT. It was rewarding for hardcore fans with a capital F, but that’s my problem. It was a series for the hardcore fans, not for the general audience or casual fans like Season 1 was.
I also felt that the purpose of several episodes/scenes wasn’t to tell a self-contained story or serve the arc of the season, but to set up spin-off series, which turned out to be exactly the case. This is the real Marvelization of Star Wars, which I regret, but I am aware that I am in a minority, and most fans actually want this and will enjoy the myryad upcoming series.
I think this is a fair point, however I don’t blame Lucasfilm for going this route. I also believe when season 3 eventually comes around, it will be much more in line with season 1, only with bigger stakes. Clearly with the success of season 1 they have finally found a way to keep the audiences satisfied and they want to capitalise on this direction. Season 2 set up a lot of stories going forward, but it is not sustainable to announce and introduce a dozen new projects each year.