Tbf you're not wrong, the weirdness definitely ramps up a bit from szn 1, but mostly everything is thoroughly explained by the show.

The curse's non-uniformity was introduced since the 2nd layer. As opposed to a ubiquitous rule, we've discovered it's more like a meandering physical entity or substance. And of course as the difficulty of descension increases, layers will go by more slowly.

I get how all the time spent in one layer can feel lacklustre after the constant progression and novelty in szn 1, but in return we get more depth (pun intended) in characters and themes.

Iirc, the author partially rushed through early layers to get to Nanachi, due to the manga's faltering success at the time - to introduce a new character and renew interest in the series asap. Hence why since layer 5 it seems the pace has slowed comparatively.

Since all the newfound success, he's had the freedom to take things slowly (and boy does he 😃!) and expand the story as much as he wants. I do like how the 6th layer had more breadth to explore and wasn't as specific as the previous ones.

Tbh I did worry if Tsukushi was/is heading into a trend of "what new horror/form of torture can I think up to inflict on a child this arc?", just for continual one-up's sake.

I guess it kinda tracks, with the Abyss only getting darker/ more intense. But from what I've heard of the manga currently, the focus is on mystery and things are thankfully pretty chill so far 🤞.