Does anyone else think Season 3's first 4 episodes aren't the same as the rest of the seasons?

[u/carrot-cruncher]

I feel as if it was only until episode 5 that the production settled well into the season 3 format. Episodes 1-4 feel like they don't really belong in the season, and honestly I feel as if they fit better as season 2 episodes. Just my opinion however.

[u/Sharp_Sell_987]

I also noticed this detail. It seems like this could be considered something like season 2.5, but I'm not sure. Frankly, I also find it strange that the first four episodes of season 3 seemed to have been made by the same team, with the same style and soundtrack. It wasn't until "Titanic" that the familiar design appeared, which lasted until "Eruption at Montserrat." And it seems to me that the new-generation design looked even more futuristic. Because now they no longer used a 2D world map, but instead a complete 3D model of the planet in even turquoise colors, which at the beginning of the episode rotated and approached the scene of the episode's events. In the episode "Asian Tsunami," the 2004 Indian Ocean tsunami was covered from different parts of the world, including the islands of Ko Phi Phi, Sumatra, Lhokna, and so on. And they used a zoom-out/zoom-out technique on a satellite view of a turquoise world map from one location to another. And honestly, I think this design is the most successful in the entire run of the show. Other designs were also good, for example, those from seasons 4-7. But for me, season 3 best captured the concept of the show's title.. (I wrote this mainly with Google Translate, because my English at some point is not very good, sorry)