Plus, episode one did get La'an back onto the canvas, which was better than her just being there with, say, a single line of dialog explaining her return. But....I kinda wish we had Pike for it, too? I dunno.Checks out. I do think Dake is right though, the way things worked out seems good for pacing. This last episode - not much of it rang true for me, it had the "and everyone clapped" energy of Unification III, and it wrapped up Una's secret augmentations plot just after the previous episode drilled down on the impending Gorn threat, which is exactly the reverse of what I'd like to have happened with those two arc threads. But as a matter of pacing, coming back on a big adventure episode with lots of laserbeams before getting dropped into a court drama was the right decision, and it lent some time for Una's situation to build up some tension.
I'm not saying the best thing about these two episodes was the order in which they were presented but.
That first episode had some good ideas, but I just didn't feel like it executed all of them well. That said, I do understand how an adventure episode does work better for jumping into a new season, and I do like a good adventure episode.
I did like this week's episode having an allegory that many people of different walks of life could relate to, plus it had that hopefulness that maybe things could be better someday (though canon did constrain it). It gave me similar vibes to last season's premiere, which is why I wished it came first.
But it did feel good. Until they clapped. That ruined the moment for me.