I've watched each episode of KZK1 except after Cezanne was replaced by Hiten Tejwani post 20+20 year leap? In my opinion, one of the main reasons why KZK2 never achieved the level of KZK1 is due to the fact how the writers butchered the character of Anurag Basu.
In KZK1, Anurag was the mild-mannered, soft-spoken son of Basu family. He always listened to his heart more than his head but he never crossed his limits. I could never imagine Anurag stalking Prerna after her marriage to Mr. Bajaj like he did in season 2. Whatever be his issues with Mr. Bajaj, Anurag never resorted to unethical ways like getting himself attacked to wrongly frame Mr. Bajaj. In season 1, instead of pestering Bajaj family, Anurag had worked hard on his career to reach the same level of success as Mr. Bajaj. (I loved the track when even after Mr. Bajaj's several attempts to sabotage Anurag's hard work, his newly founded Kay channel beat BTN network several times.)
Even the people who comment on Anurag being spineless for not standing up to his mother and marrying Komolika in season 1, it is to be kept in mind that his father was in coma and his mother had suffered a heart attack. Mohini Basu refused to take medicine if Anurag doesn't marry Komolika. It's easy to say he should have fought for his love, it would've been inconsistent with his character arc. Season 1 AB was always a good son, instead of always being a liability on his family as in Season 2. Though Prerna and Anurag were star-crossed lovers, their personalities were always different. I remember a scene where there was a bomb found near him and Prerna went to save him to which Anurag replied he has to get other people out of the premises. Prerna was always the strong and independent one who was fierce for the people she cared about, while Anurag was the good-hearted idealist who was naive at many times but who cared for all.
Now, the problem with season 2 Anurag is this, he was basically a decent person and I liked his character till Naveen Babu track. Then after Prerna's marriage to Mr. Bajaj, he went full-on psycho, stalking, getting himself attacked, hitting even Anupam and not giving a damn about people who care for him except Prerna. It seemed that the writers were too inspired from Kabeer Singh. It would've actually been refreshing to see a nice person as protagonist today when most of the male leads are shown as cold, insensitive persons with a backstory in the beginning. It would've been nice if Anurag Basu would've remained the nice person he was in season 1 and the beginning of season 2.
For the current track, I don't know if the show will run for long (given the TRPs) but if they wanted to add a real Ekta Kapoor style twist, they could've shown Mr. Bajaj and Komolika joining hands and killing Anurag (you know, Komolika saying if Anurag can't be mine, he can be of no one) and Anurag coming back with a different name and entirely different personality. I think it would give time for both Prerna and Anurag spending time with each other (both leads proclaim how much they love each other when the writers haven't even given them time to breathe). I would just prefer Anurag presumed dead and returning back with a different identity to give Komolika and Mr. Bajaj a hard time because the current track of multiple near-marriages is ruining the show and I would like to see Parth in an Avatar different from its angsty Kabeer Singh/ Manik Malhotra and clueless AB. It would also be fun to see the reactions of Mohini, Anupam, Nivedita(for some reason, I'm more invested in the secondary relationships like Anu-Mohini- Anu-Anupam, Anu-Nivedita) more than AnuPre.)
I also think the casting is mismatched in this season. Erica doesn't look comfortable in fierce and vengeful Prerna like Shweta Tiwari and Parth doesn't look like seedha- saada Anurag.
This is my first post. Please let me know your opinions in the comment.
P.S.: I know the suggested twist is stupid but since I was younger, I always liked Kaho Naa Pyar Hai kind of plot where our simple, sweet hero dies in the middle half and his smart, charming doppelganger comes.