I have wondered the exact same thing. Hiding and fragmenting the comments like they do is such an incredibly awful UX that it seems incomprehensible to me that it's intentional. And yet, it sounds like we aren't missing anything, the design really is that bad.

I guess it's supposed to increase engagement/addiction, but it does the complete opposite for me. Having to click through 5+ links just to try to read 15 short comments is extremely aggravating. I know about old.reddit but its days are probably numbered so why keep fighting with a site that hates me and my time? I just avoid Reddit whenever possible these days.