Difficulty and execution
Modern judged sports typically split a score into what was attempted and how well it was done. That separation is what allows a conservative, clean performance to beat an ambitious, flawed one — or the reverse, depending on how the components are weighted. Almost every argument about a result is really an argument about that weighting.
Athletes follow the incentives
Because the code is public, athletes and coaches design routines to maximise it. If difficulty is rewarded heavily, routines become more difficult and sometimes less watchable. If execution dominates, they become safer. Neither response is cynical; it is the rational reading of published rules.
Judging is not the usual villain
Viewers who find a result baffling are usually applying a different, unwritten code based on impression. Judges are applying the written one. That does not make every decision correct, but it does mean the productive complaint is about how the code is designed, not about whether officials watched the same performance.