I think what makes this whole story arc so hard to swallow is that, and I'm assuming here, none of this really matters at all. They eventually beat the quests, clear the requirements, and leave the shadow world- so all of this exposition, these side characters, and story built up will cease mattering the moment they leave the shadow world. The only thing that matters is what happens to the main characters and so far it's all been rather droll politics that, again, cease mattering the moment they leave the shadow world.