I meant to post an update to this but forgot. Once on the plane, it was MUCH emptier than it showed for me on the seat map and was about the same as what it showed for my partner.

So to be clear:

For me, (N class fare) using a Privilege Club account with no status seats were blocked for no apparently reason

For my partner, (O class fare) using an AAdvantage account with no status many more available seats were shown

I'm not sure how to interpret this other than negatively. I was in the process of trying to get status with QR but this really put me off and now I'm looking elsewhere.