The OP's #2 is actually an exponential growth in money printing.

If the growth stops being exponential, it moves away from the target in an exponential way. If the growth just becomes an exponential with a smaller exponent, it moves away from the target in an exponential way.

In theory you could have an exponential that grows in a very slow, controlled way. On practice, it will get out of control, because nobody has any idea what the target actually is, so you either always correct towards it, or deviate.

The big risk now is that the fed waited too long. They could have already raised rates when the economy started doing better before delta hit. They would have had more ammo this time around, and the supply side driven inflation we're seeing might have been tamer.