Yeah I've definitely had the same question since pretty early on. Tbh while what you're saying is plausible, I also feel like it's possible that the team working on it bit off more than they can chew.

It comes off as a show that just wants to harness that Trigger and Gainax energy in both writing and animation/art style but fails at both.

It definitely could have been great but fell short in my opinion. They'll likely have a massive twist at the end, leaving us mildly satisfied but nothing more. The "twist" from this episode was quite underwhelming.