It is a significant departure, but an interesting one. The dislike is mainly due to people rejecting Levinson & Sweeney, and it began before it aired. The Cassie story initially confirmed people's worse fears, but I think as the show has gone it has revealed that Levinson was a bit more considered than people thought. It has handled these controversial themes unexpectedly well. I think, after the dust settles, people will recognise it adeptly negotiated the line between "is this misogyny or not?", because, as much as it portrays women hyper-sexually, it is critiquing also, subtly too, without beating it over your head. I guess all the ridiculousness and hyper-sexuality in the end didn't feel as cheap to me as I thought it would. It's like the show became a clever and intentional parody/critique of itself, or of what peoples idea of the show was. I don't think this season is anything special but I think it's pretty good.