But was there really a disconnect with critics and audiences regarding vol 2? I personally agree with you about Vol 2 being better than Vol 1 in every way but the general consensus from audiences and critics was that it was a step down from the first one yet still good ? Vol 2 has very good scores across almost every metric it but not as good as the first one. I would also aruge that we´re yet to have an MCU movie that has had any critics/audience disconnects.
Of course metrics aren´t everything but it can give some idea:
Some audience metrics - Vol 1 vs Vol 2
IMDb: 8,0 vs 7,6
Letterboxd: 3,8 vs 3,5
RT audience score: 92% (4.4 avg rating) vs 87% (4.1 avg rating)
CS: A vs A
It kinda lines up with the same difference critics had with Vol 1 vs Vol 2