... as expected/... as I expected.

[Odessa Dawn]

"Things aren't working out as I had expected."

OK, although I don’t know why the past perfect has been used above.

1.Things aren't working out as I expected.
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2.Things aren't working out as expected.

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My question is this, are #1 and #2 natural?

Thank you.

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[Route21]

As an NES but not a teacher, both would sound natural, to me, but there's a possible slight difference in nuances.

To me, 1 refers to what I would expect, whereas 2 could refer to what anyone, or at least most people, would expect.

Regards
R21