On top of that, it's enough to assert the microcontroller's reset to then freely use the RX/TX pins from the FTDI as if it wasn't there.
Just plain insanity.
As for cp2104 usb to ttl serial, full adapters using that chip cost $2 a pop on AliExpress.
As the prices are like that, I ordered a few of every available usb-serial chip at some point. I'll be fine for a long time.