On a 1-10 scale, execution is currently a 2 and potential in the 6-8 territory.
To contextualize that a bit, my overall opinion is that if I'm being honest with myself, just-about every ToG arc has the same, uh, arc: (a) the opening segment is disorienting, ineffective, and (especially in later arcs) feels out-of-place vis-a-vis the prior arc; (b) the middle segment tends to be mediocre on a week-by-week basis; (c) the final segment significantly steps up the quality and winds up carrying/redeeming the entire arc.
I'd actually add one more item, (d): (without exception), the final segment salvages the arc not by tying up the existing loose plot threads but by introducing new, more-significant consideration—the rules of the game change (or get ignored/hacked-around/etc.), outside players intervene, "unexpected" power-ups tilt the scales, someone turns out to actually be someone else, and so on.
The point of saying all this is that, frankly, the few chapters we've seen seem to fit the pattern: the beginnings are consistently the worst parts of ToG arcs, this seems like no exception (...and, frankly, maybe one of the least-gripping beginnings we've seen thus far). The bigger issue with S3, for me, has been that SIU's endings have had the same structure but haven't felt nearly as effective—with the nest arc, in particular, conforming to the pattern but failing the execution (IMHO).
I mention this only b/c it's hard to avoid having the weak execution of the previous arc's finale bleed into the assessment of the next arc's beginning...but I do think this arc, thus far, has had one of SIU's particularly weak beginnings to date.
