I agree the arc wasn't good... this "Pop!" was also unexpected for the Kingdom-vibe (it goes even further than the usual fun it holds, it's really on the comedic side).
But... I have to say this made me burst, my went "Pop!" at the same time after realizing the heck the author pulled 🤣😂
So yeah, this arc wasn't great, I guess the author realized it themselves at some point. They just went "ok fuck it, here we go again now !".