Very true, but in rebuttal to every complaint I've leveraged about the PHB Beastmaster in this thread, I've only really gotten one response defending it.
"People are playing Rangers and having fun" leaving "so the Beastmanster can't be that bad" to be implied. Which is some faulty logic, since Ranger =/= Beastmaster, but also isn't really a rebuttal of the complaints against the Beastmaster.
Heck, even the designers seem content with responding "people are playing, so why should we fix it" which is not a defense of the merits of the subclass.
I agree that was an odd choice, but it seems Retreater is in a camp that doesn't like the show. His loss in my opinion.
Personally, I loved Vex'halia, but I think our views on how the Beastmaster was showcased don't really align. Trinket wasn't a factor in almost any combat over the years of the campaign. In fact, I most remember Trinket in the storytelling aspects of "I have a pet bear" and then whenever combat was starting Trinket either stayed towards the back or stayed in the necklace.
And, dominating the mic is entirely based off the group dynamic and their training as actors. Nothing at all to do with the classes they were playing.