Ok...
At the end of the third episode, I almost gave up and stopped watching. First three episodes are unbearable. But then, during the fourth episode, I caught myself really enjoying the show. Same thing for the fifth episode. I had the thought, "Do these shows have different writers for different episodes or something?" Looked it up online and sure enough, first three episodes have the same writers and director. Different writers and director for every subsequent episode. Huh, found the problem then.
Seriously, the show from the fourth episode to the finale is great. Really enjoyed it. Four stars for that portion. Minus one star for the disastrous first three episodes. Minus one more for the subtle injection of woke tropes. Making them subtle seems to have fooled a lot of the casuals. If you're more "aware" (being delicate here) these needless injections are just distracting and annoying.
Let's hope they replace the terrible writers and director on the first three episodes for future seasons. This show really does have potential. Please be better.