Well, i formulated badly. And, You are right: statistics alone seldom prove anything. So, my bad for falling victim to mind poisoning. But, i want to say (again) that i'm not of the mind of "it's either very good or it's horrid."

Still, for me it is a worrying sign if a story - despite my general consent and anticipation to where it is headed - is able to kick me out. I'll leave out the anonymous masses of fans, only speaking for myself (this time ;-)).

I get what You're saying and i follow Your reading (whenever i'm able to concentrate on the narrative, again) - but the disconnect is still there. And, that never happened before with BtVS. So, probably it is just me parting ideas with BtVS. Well, no, not really. As i wanted to see the story we are seemingly getting. But the way it is presented is offputting, to say the least.