for example the shot of Teddy dead at the end of episode one, revealing his fate in a contrived manner designed to spur a million shitty reddit threads but substantively was an affectation that served no actual narrative purpose. they seemed afraid that telling the story of Dolores growing increasingly bloodthirsty and Teddy's aversion to it (and then to himself when he is programmed to be the same), resulting in her losing the one individual that truly loved her during her quest for vengeance was not a story that could stand on its own. and they were wrong. the cheap who-dun-it cliffhanger weakened rather than strengthened the defining seasonal arc of one of the show's protagonists.
conversely the reveal of Akecheta (in addition to simply being excellently portrayed by Fargo bro and beautifully presented by director/cinematographer/scorer) was the kind of layered expansion of the universe that both makes coherent sense and subverts audience assumptions. hitherto we knew nothing about him and the Ghost Nation simply because our protagonists knew nothing about them, our range of knowledge was restricted with a justification that went beyond fuck you that's why.
and the writers seem entirely unable to tell the difference. they are so obsessed with mystery and the complexity of their construct they fail again and again to see the sophistication of simplicity, and fail to believe in the strengths of their own creation.