Hold on, is a 50 degree drift actually ruining your quenches or is that just what you're telling yourself? Old analog controllers are janky but people have been hardening steel with them for decades, maybe check your thermocouple before you blame the whole unit.

@roberts.troy worth every penny for a dry back.

Does the 2ft level make you fix stuff that wasn't actually a problem? I spent a whole weekend sanding down a high spot that was perfectly fine on a 6ft level. Bigger level saved me from myself.

You gotta give it time. That season is supposed to feel stressful and messy, that's kind of the whole point. The show is about people dealing with real trauma and bad choices, not just cooking. By the time you hit the episode with the flashback dinner, everything clicks into place for me. It builds to something bigger than just yelling, it shows why these characters are the way they are. Maybe rewatch it with that in mind, it hits different.

Oh man, you're SO right. It's one of those things you just don't get until you NEED it. That's a powerful lesson right there.