Since this topic is making lots of rotation in the forum, i decided to add my two cents too. 😊
I have watched many season1 clips on the youtube at the time of airing and frankly speaking they interested me only because of Jen's acting and killer dressing. I never found the story that gripping or leads chemistry enjoyable. The scenes between maya and her dad were the only good ones but they were limited. The past was never explored completely and Maya never got the character growth/arc i needed after 40 or so episodes. Except Maya all the other characters were bland. But being the ONLY kind of show.. It stood out. And i am thankful to creators for bringing something new on ITv.
Now season 2 has strong script (atleast for now) and all characters are complex and enjoyable to explore in every episode. The fact that Maya is not the only character you want to see on the screen can be the problem for few viewers. In season 2, It is not a single character story but a complete tale including multiple characters. Maya can't stand here at the top like she did in the prev one. She has to revolve around other characters to tell her revenge story. So Maya might be the face for premiere of the show but she is not the only face for the story. I read many viewers having complain about this point. So it's more of a personal choice. Everyone wants different things from one show and everyone views a story with different glasses. No one can be blamed here.
IF one wants to dive deeply in story than season 2 is much better choice that season 1. On the other hand if one wants to see Maya shine on screen then def season 1 is the preferable choice. As of scenes, i did notice the similarity between the scenes of both seasons but the context/bg was kinda different. So i personally didn't find them repetitive. The omph factor is also missing here as many revenge stories are already explored by us. Season 1 Maya was so much unpredictable that it brought "pta nahi kya karegi Maya" excitement. Season 2 is more of a predictable guess work.
Personally i am loving season 2 but i can def imagine why some viewers won't. Hope you will be able to enjoy it more in coming episodes. Maybe giving past story will help in connecting more with the show. Thanks for making the post, it was interesting to read everyone's view. 😊