- Adaptation Displacement: The Redux version has managed to eclipse the original version on several fronts, having over 35,000 more hits, over 120 more kudos, being more than four times as long, and receiving much more consistent praise and discussion.
- It's the Same, Now It Sucks!: A criticism the Redux receives is its inclusion and repeated use of Maggie as a one-note Hate Sink. Multiple chapters have the same setup of Maggie opening her mouth to say something insulting to one of the Calamity Trio, one of them reaching their Rage Breaking Point before subjecting her to a No-Holds-Barred Beatdown before they're calmed down, and Maggie receiving scorn from everyone else for being a bitch until everyone moves on with the viewing. The setup and payoff has little variation, making multiple readers find scenes involving her to be a slog to read, and add little to the fic aside from more angst, some even questioning why she's in the fic at all.
- Tear Jerker: The Redux doesn't shy away from the fact that, for all they've achieved, the Calamity Trio are still kids, and the mental scars they have to bear are more than anything someone of their age should have to deal with. Sasha in particular is put through the wringer, as the fic takes the implication from "Toad Tower" that her letting go of Anne was her being Driven to Suicide and runs with it, showing how mentally broken and damaged Sasha is as a result of that night, to the point she still feels it would have been better had she died then and there. The panic attack she suffers following the viewing of said events is painful to read, as it really highlights for all the horrible things Sasha did in the first two seasons, she's only thirteen, and seeing her think the way she is as she claws at her neck trying to breathe is heart wrenching.
- Too Bleak, Stopped Caring: A criticism levied at the Redux is that, while the focus on dramatic moments, emotional moments, and lore exploration is well written, it's come at the cost of the humor that the original had, and as a result caused the fic to feel much darker than it should, and making it harder to enjoy the fic when the lighthearted moments have all but vanished in favor of endless angst for the Calamity Trio. Maggie's inclusion doesn't help matters, as she's less a character and more a plot device to cause the trio more angst,* which can get tiring to read. And topping it off, right when it seemed like the Calamity Trio was set to make amends for the events of "Break 12" and finally begin healing... the Waybright's, Wu's, and Andrias all appear to join the viewing, triggering Sasha and Marcy, with one of the writers admitting this was done deliberately to prolong that discussion
, making clear that "angst" was being prioritized. - Unexpected Character: While plenty of readers expected Andrias to show up in the Redux eventually, very few expected it to be the younger version of him from "The Core & The King", nor did anyone expect Barrel and Leif to show up with him.
- Unintentionally Unsympathetic:
- While Sprig's mistrust of Sasha and Marcy in the Redux is supposed be a case of a well intentioned but misplaced protective instinct over their possibly hurting Anne, it easily slips into this with how quickly he turns into an Inspector Javert. While his distrust of Sasha is more understandable,* he has little reason to still mistrust Marcy.* And while Break 13 at least has him willing to keep Marcy company and realize how badly they're doing, the detail about him still not liking or trusting them just feels needlessly harsh, and makes it look like he's just being stubborn at that point.
- "Break 12" of the Redux saw Anne, Sasha, and Marcy finally have a massive falling out once Anne learned Sasha was Driven to Suicide that night at Toad Tower, culminating in her yelling at Sasha for breaking their promise of no more lies, and lashing out at Marcy when they try to take some of the heat off of Sasha. While the writing team had intended for Anne's anger to be justified, the fact the Sympathetic P.O.V. is primarily given to Sasha and Marcy unintentionally makes Anne look selfish and callous, caring more about the fact she was used and lied to rather than the fact that Sasha was and possibly still is suicidal, not helped by the fallout showing Marcy beginning to practice Self-Harm to cope with the incident, all while completely ignoring how the two of them are visibly reacting horribly over the whole situation in favor of focusing on her own pain.
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