I don't mean to come off as one of the "Fuck you, brah" types. It's just like you said - the show sets up so much, but then pulls a 180 and ignores most of it.
I mean, where's the so-called "bender oppression". That was kicked to side almost immediately and only lightly touched upon near the end for, like, a split second. Hell, even "Dragon Age II" covered the "magic people vs. normal folk"-type conflict better.