Ghost in the Shell Arise

Ghost in the Shell: Arise is convoluted as all get-out and much of it confuses the shit out of me. Trying to keep track of the dozens of factions and their motivations is mind-bending work and I could only get the basic gist of parts of it. Is it just me? Am I not smart enough for this anime? Or is every new chapter of Ghost in the Shell just addicted to complexity to a deleterious degree? Join me as I try to make sense of this damn thing.