If some of you guys are like me and took a break because the flashback was taking too long i actually recommend you actually start season 2 and then go into season 1! I think the transition from Brian -> Ian is a lot smoother than the opposite. season 1 ends with Ian feeling compared to (and since we all dearly love Ian we sympathize with him more and miss him) But season 2 has a really good ending that I think perfectly segways into the introduction of season 1 without leaving the reader distraught. :)
I think lore wise for rereaders this makes a lot of sense, but storywise and for new readers I think reading s2 first really harms your overall experience with the story and characters. We get to know Ian first to reinforce the idea that is isn't Brian, something exteremly important to Ian's story. Everyone around him treats him as Brian- their motivations and relations to him are due to seeing him as Brian; however, Ian is not Brian- he's just simply Ian. The reader learning to love and miss Brian before they ever met Ian would make us no different then the characters Ian is fighting against in the story, simply searching for traces of a dead man in Ian. It does a great diservice to him as a whole since a large part of his arc is rhe disconnect he feels with Brian and his struggles to make people see him as himself rather then Brian. Honestly, I think the transition of Ian -> Brian is a bit jaring/sudden on purpose as a reflection of Ian's own feelings on the matter. Like us, he's suddenly thrown into this country he knows nothing about and has to slowly learn the truth of his past life.
On one hand I totally get what you mean, and I definitely feel like reading S1 will get you attached to Ian so you feel like you’re reading a completely different POV with season 2 (And I really like this perspective!)
On the other hand the caveat is along with the distance comes rejection. The main sentiment I saw was “bring back Ian, we miss him” And with season persisting on and on with a guy we know Ian doesn’t relate to, people will just not care and stop engaging. I was unfortunately one of them until I started FROM season 2 and now I truly appreciate Brian on his own merits.
Though I will say, I think the biggest contributing factor for the rejection was that season not being finished. Now that it is hopefully new readers should be fine breezing through the flashback as they know Ian will return while understanding Brian’s impact on shaping the world and his relationship with the brothers.
I’m honestly just mentioning this more for people like me who a) read through the story and already love Ian for who he is b) paused the story during season 2 because they weren’t as sold on Brian yet. Personally I think it helps to get a fresh start with Brian and relate to his storyline better, and still understanding Ian’s plight from the initial read
Am I crazy reading this from S2-> S1 -> S3 is working out WAY better than I expected in terms of enjoying this story thoroughly. I know it comes with the caveat of knowing information ahead of time in S1 but man idk it just feel so much nicer to have everything contextualized