If that Section 31 show paves the way for a spin-off Pike show I’m down with it, but I have no faith for it to be any good with how current Trek’s going. A Section 31 show in the Berman era would’ve been a much more promising idea.

Anson Mount is the only saving grace of season 2 thus far - he gets it, even if the writers don’t, is my impression. And, yeah: the writers still don’t get it.

The season 2 pilot is marginally better than season 1 on a purely technical level just by virtue of haphazardly addressing some of the common criticisms and having the showrunners replaced in the later stages of development, as opposed to the early stage of season 1, but it still prefers overall dickishness, death and wanton destruction to meaninful drama or character development, and it still values explosions and macguffins over ideas - and the only difference from season 1 is they throw more jokes in this time around.

But Anson Mount really is great.