Went better with S3.

(Within context of larger canon, I take S2 as a cautionary tale about what happens if humanity is allowed to retain an identity of an independent polity on the interstellar stage. Federation's biggest benefit for the galaxy turns out to be keeping humans contained and putting their energy and creativity into more useful pursuits than asserting independence on other people's territory.)

But let's not forget that Lower Decks and SNW corrected hard on earier NuTrek transgressions against the utopian future.