I was one of those people who watched the first episode of season 1 when the show premiered and felt frustrated by the characters, who I found to be incredibly annoying. 2 years later and in anticipation of season 2 I decided to catch up on season 1. I'm very glad that I did.
Visually the show looks amazing. The action scenes are movie-quality and I'm really into the look of the aliens and alien-adjacent elements of the show. I'm also a fan of Foundation, which also looks absolutely incredible. Along with Severance, Apple is currently the best platform for stunning sci-fi TV series.
By the way, I've scanned some reviews and can't believe people are complaining about the lack of aliens. They must have given up after 1 or 2 episodes. The aliens are definitely in there and I like how the show slowly introduces them throughout the show. By the end of the season you can't miss them!
The hardest obstacle to overcome is definitely the characters. I won't deny that most of the characters are very off-putting especially in the early episodes.
-Mitsuki - she was my favorite character of the first season and I felt her storyline in Japan was the most consistently entertaining. I was really moved by her love story with Hinata.
-Trevante, the cocky US soldier who points his gun and cusses at everyone he meets. He was very irritating in the beginning but by the end of season 1 he grew on me especially after his story intersected with another main character. His dialogue was incredibly monotonous: "f word" over and over again but then again I can imagine this is probably how a lot of military hot shots speak
- Aneesha---She's a woman who is not only dealing with a cheating, good-for-nothing coward of a husband but also 2 children who act like typical children---the youngest, Sara, cries loudly when she's scared or needing attention and the older boy, Luke, thinks he knows everything and butts heads with his mom because he doesn't know what's going on in the real world or even with his dad. While I did find Aneesha a bit one note especially with the one expression (glazed over, blank, open-mouth expression) I can sympathize with her. She is out of her elements and in an impossible situation. By the end of season 1 she's like Sara Conner! Episode 6 was a highlight for Aneesha's story!
-Luke/Sara, Aneesha's kids. I'm not a fan of kids especially ones who are stubborn or whiny because you just know they're going to get everyone around them in danger. But I can't fault these kids for acting realistically if the showrunners are going for a realistic story!
-Casper, Jamilla, and the school bully. Like I said before I'm not a fan of kids and it was really grating to sit through those early scenes of Casper and his schoolmates getting bullied. I was never bullied in school so can't say how realistic it was to have a puny little kid ganging up on everyone and no one sticking up for themselves. Again by the end of the season Casper and Jamilla grew on me.
What I realized as the series progressed is that it's not that the characters were annoying it's that they were very realistically written as many people in real life have incredibly annoying tendencies. Most people would not act like selfless heroes in a crisis. Most would act selfishly and would probably not be very fun to be around.
Review of Season 1: I'm torn between a 7 or 8/10. The characters are the worst part of season 1. The visuals and action are amazing. The Mitsuki storyline was excellent. If you can get past the first 3 episodes you'll know if this show is or isn't for you.
Review of Season 2 premiere: 8/10
Season 2 looks to be more quickly paced and has addressed some of the problems with season 1 from what I can tell while taking the story in a new exciting direction.