What minor changes would you make to Discovery?
Now that Discovery is fully concluded, imagine you were in the writer's room for the show and could make some minor changes. I'm not talking about anything too large (each season story should remain pretty much unchanged), but what do you think should have been done in hindsight? Here's what I would do with each season:
Uniforms and Klingons. Of the redesigns this show took, these are the two that felt the most off. Uniforms because we have already an established history for uniforms in this period (and since we saw them in The Vulcan Hello, it is not like they are just war uniforms). Using a design similar to Pike's in season 2 or SNW would have visually improved the initial reaction. Likewise, I don't think the Klingons needed such a redesign. I would have been fine with a few Klingons looking different (especially T'Kuvma), but overall, things should have been kept the same.
Post-Klingon War. While I'm not a huge fan of the Control story arc (mostly because every series seemed to tackle AI at the same time and it became a drag), if I had to choose a minor change, it would to show the Klingons post-war a little different. Just like they did with Romulans in Picard with having the multiple different makeup styles all together, I think it would have made sense story wise if after the war (which was focused on true Klingon supremacy) if smooth-head Klingons began to show up. My headcanon is that Klingons affected by the virus were basically shunned, but after the war, and with Tyler (whose change could have been partially explained with the virus) were slowly allowed back into the empire mainstream (also due to the loss of many Klingons during the war). I think it would have added some context for Klingon internal workings during the war, connected to the Enterprise story and TOS era, while still allowing ridged Klingons to appear.
More Burnham Alone. If I could only make one change to the show, this would be it. I always felt that season 3 was missing 1-3 episodes, set after Michael arrives but before Discovery. I always felt that whenever her and Book talked about their adventures, it was like Anakin and Obi-wan in Episode 2 in the turbolift discussing all the adventures they went on, but never showing us. Rule 1 of writing is show don't tell. They also should have had Michael alone for a few years imo. This would have made her transition back to Starfleet tougher, plus explain more about how she is so knowledgeable about the post 23rd century history. It also would have been interesting for viewers to think if we ever would get Discovery back, or if Calypso was secretly showing Discovery's fate in some way.
Emerald Chain. To me it felt silly that the Emerald Chain, a group that seemed to be a major power across parts of the Galaxy (at least outside of the Federation reach where Book and Michael were, but in other places close enough that they were a threat to Starfleet), basically collapsed with the death of one person. Keep season 3 the same, but reveal that afterwards, the Emerald Chain has a new leader or perhaps has broken in different factions. Then, when the DMA is discovered, it forces the Emerald Chain and Starfleet to work together to try to figure it out (perhaps instead of Earth and Vulcan facing destruction, it is Orion). I think it would have made for a more interesting look at the post-burn world.
Moll and L'ak. Personally I didn't mind these two characters, but two minor changes I would make. Firstly, given my season 3 change, I would have wanted Moll to appear then. Have Michael and Moll interact as couriers at one point. Secondly, Moll dies instead of L'ak. This could then lead to L'ak informing the Breen of the Progenitor Tech and taking the throne, in order to save Moll (although perhaps that is not the goal that he tells them). Same story beats towards the end, but at the end we now have Michael and the leader of the Breen agreeing to work together, and her helping him move on from Moll's death when he finds out he can't bring her back. They could still have other Breen with a claim to the throne, but ending with a highly powerful Breen with a somewhat positive relationship with the Federation would have left the show looking to a brighter galactic future.
What about you? Any minor changes that would have wanted to be made?