That way of using it is so different to how you're supposed to use that it might as well not be React at all. It was designed as an in-browser framework and is poorly designed for server-side template rendering.

React has always done SSR first and then hydrated state on the client. What leads you to believe that this is not how you're supposed to use it? Doing pure SSR with React is simply... do not hyrdrate state on the client.

Really really straightforward.

This is such a vanilla setup and was kind of the big selling point to start with from the get-go?

Why do you claim otherwise?