What's the point with that quite lackluster story in Endwalker?

[Simple_Barghest]

All I gotta say is. I started playing towards the beginning of Shadowbringers, and all I would hear from both my own friends playing this game and from a massive fucking HOST of other players?
"Hydaelyn is 100% going to be the final boss that's how FF always works."
"She's evil, calling it now."
"Look man Emet-Selch STANS always know."

I was basically the one in my group who kept suggesting that maybe Hydaelyn was legitimately trying to be good, but the writing quality of ARR and Heavensward prevented this. Multiple times, it seemed like she should've had relevance in more of ARR -> HW and patch content that didn't revolve around Minfilia being sacc'd -> SB -> ShB, but was never allowed by the writers to actually DO anything.
We get to Endwalker where we finally get to see Venat and Hydaelyn, and it's more piss-poor writing coupled with a veneer of Big-Good over a picture of "Holy shit how can this person be anything but an antagonist in any other Final Fantasy game."

So I tell my friends.
And now I tell you people.

Congratulations. You got a villainous Hydaelyn.
You got your Mommy Crystal Genocidaelyn. Your big evil angelic mommy milker crystal of sundering.

Was it worth it?


Edit:
And also, friendly reminder that the Live Letter Q&A outright stated that trailers are made before any plot is established.
So yknow.
The story was never going to make any fucking sense following that logic.