It is overused these days, but I don't mind when it's used for a meaningful narrative purpose, rather than just being thrown in for the sake of it.
Yeah I get that. And the final two episodes brought back the show into line and I still think it's fantastic.
*But*, let me see if I can articulate how much I dislike these kinds of "what if/alternate reality" shenanigans. First, it reeks of fanfic, taking the story in unsanctioned directions. Second, it's like the old "having your cake and eating it too" - you want to present a wholly different version of a character if X didn't happen or the timeline was different. But that is such a lazy fanservicey choice, like, commit to your story, commit to your characters and the way the world and their choices have made them. I know the whole weird scifi aspect gives the show a kind of license to explore this zone, but man I am committed to these characters and *this* story, there *is no* alternate universe where characters are completely different, it completely breaks my suspension of disbelief, and again it's been done to death in the last ten years or so. It's lazy and pandering.
So yeah I will always think it's a major misstep in this series but, I suppose nothing can be completely perfect in this world and Arcane got close enough.