I guess it's no surprise that episode 32 is complete filler without even the barest manga connection, and yes, it definitely feels like it's very self-aware of just how stupid this entire season and the Pegasus plot is. I also got the feeling from Mamoru's reaction in the final Trio episodes when Fish-Eye asks him why he's bothering with Usagi. Yeah Mamoru, why do you bother with SuperS Usagi?
Going over the power up episodes, the only one that felt complete and properly done - disregarding the repetitive nature of the plot points used - was Ami's. She meets a reflection of her past self in her father's lake painting, and gains power through acceptance. Plus, while it was less fun than usual, it was a nicely made serious episode, and Ami doing nerd stuff is appropriate enough (plus she'd be the only one able to afford copious amounts of time on the internet in '94, not to mention that notebook, rich bastards ).
Rei's power up is so hidden in clues that it's almost a blink and you'll miss it thing when she's first being a hyprocrite, talking about how being a shrine maiden is about helping others with their dreams (all the while being a miko herself, with no indication that her dream is about helping others with their dreams), and if that's not Nakoto's dream then she should not at all bother being a miko. She gets her power up by giving Nakoto her dreams back, or rather, by making her believe in her dreams again. Like a proper miko.
Minako and Makoto on the other hand... are missing a scene. It should not be Artemis that simply gives them their transformation pens back. The setup was already there, they were stuck in the plant and Minako could just apologize to Makoto in the face of their, well, death, and stuff. That would be simple and effective, Minako learns to apologize and maybe take the problems of others more seriously. Giving Mako-chan her power up there would still feel a bit rushed, but it's not entirely unworkable, maybe Minako could teach her something about accepting certain things (like she accepted Alan not loving her, i.e. Makoto being more at peace with herself, even though that was also resolved in S... but hey, maybe episode 20 wasn't as easily shrugged off as it was implied).
As it stands, the execution is... not only not on point, but plain bad. Made worse by how easily this could have been a really great episode for both of them, the two don't interact with each other that often. What a wasted opportunity.