Something like Cannibal Space Hitler floated around initially.
Retcon or no, they're attempting to show how the Prime Universe has softened her. She can't just jump back in the deep end of the MU as Emperor. She may have started to develop a conscience of a sort.
BILLIONS. Christ, she's probably got more blood on her hands than the Douwd who wiped out the Husnock in TNG's The Survivors.
Is it because those crimes against sentience were committed in the MU that The Discovery crew view her as nothing more than a sassy badass? Burnham is desperate to "connect" with this version of Georgiou.
Anyhoo ... new episode tonight. Yay. So after this we have 3 left to wrap up the enticing main arc of who / what / where The Burn.
I had an idea that might make this show somewhat entertaining -- Discovery *started* the temporal wars. I know they arrived after, but that means little in a time war. Which means, they were responsible for the temporal cold war, which means - Daniels and Archer and FUTURE GUY are all working to stop The Discovery from igniting the sequence of events in the first place -- from their vantage points, knowingly or not. The only one who knows is Future Guy, who meddled in the Enterprise period to stop the sequence of events that lead to Discovery. Daniels only finds this out AFTER Discovery starts the temporal wars -- details of this to be worked out at a later date.
Actually ...I have neither the time nor inclination to flesh out my wild theory in coherent detail, so I'll just keep going to the conclusion, which is -- Carl is Daniels. He needs Burnham to go thru the Guardian of Forever ... BACK IN TIME ... to USS Shenzhou. Live a quiet life and not upset the space/time continuum every few months. Otherwise, trillions die (again). Burnham agrees, cries a lot before she goes. Says goodbye to everyone (EPIC CRYING) and poof - she's gone. However, what Daniels doesn't tell her is that her departure erases The Discovery from ALL timelines (insert some technobabble here as to why).
Once Burnham is gone, the timeline resets with lots of neat wavy lights and blur effects. We are left with Daniels, still on the planet. Then, from the shadows walks a familiar figure ... Captain Jonathan Archer. Considerably older, but still strikingly handsome.
Archer: "Hello old friend. Is it done?"
Daniel: "Yes - that should do it. Finally."
Archer: "What happens now?"
Daniel: "It's a complete reset, Jonathan. Discovery never existed, ergo, the temporal war never happened. Everything is as it should be... Jonathan. It's time."
Archer: "I'm ready."
Daniels then triggers a supernova which engulfs the planet and the GoF. Moments before the shockwave hits the planet, Archer and Daniels embrace in a passionate kiss before blinding light fills the camera.
Cut to Will Riker, floating adrift in space above where the GoF planet had been.
"Computer - END PROGRAM."
An even older and fatter Riker than what we saw in TATV waddles off the Ent-D holodeck, confused as fuck as to what he's just seen. He catches a glimpse of himself in one of the corridor PADD displays and is shocked by the hulking, aged reflection staring back at him.
To be continued .... DADA DUMMMM. DA-DA DUUUUUUUUUUM.
END CREDITS.
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We'll call that a first draft.