I sort of disagree. I think Saru does a reasonably good job of controlling his instincts most of the time (his behaviour in this episode being a pretty major exception). Instincts are not something you can 'reason away' - you can control your outward behavior in relation to those instincts, yes, but the instincts are still there. As someone with anxiety, which can get pretty crippling at times, I totally sympathize with Saru (most times anyway - IMO, he goes a bit too far in this episode). I have to spend so much of my time trying to talk myself out of imagining worst-case scenarios - not just about things trying to kill me, but about everything that could possibly go wrong. It doesn't matter whether I logically know just how unlikely those things are - I spend time worrying about them, and then more time worrying about wasting my time worrying about unlikely things! An entire species of worriers like the Kelpiens ... frankly, I just admire them for being able to control their worrying enough to become a space-faring species.
"Ur’f abj qrsvavgryl n qrnq zna jnyxvat."
Yby, yvgrenyyl. Gung vf, Nfu Glyre vf n qrnq zna - qrnq uhzna, gb or cerpvfr - juvyr gur crefba jrnevat uvf fxva naq jnyxvat nebhaq vf n yvir Xyvatba.
Hmm, but does that really count as 'futuristic music'? I mean, yes, it's an original song in a futuristic setting*, but is it 'futuristic' in any intrinsic sense? That's not a rhetorical question, btw - I know nothing about music, but it sounds like pretty straightforward jazz to me (just listened to it to jog my memory). If it was played in a movie with a contemporary setting, would it sound futuristic at all? I guess what I'm trying to say is, that to seem authentically futuristic, music shouldn't be noticeably based on any current (or past, for that matter) musical genres, otherwise, it just kicks the ball down another step - that is, instead of wondering why people in the 23rd century are listening to the Bee Gees, we wonder why they're listening to rock or jazz or rap, or any other identifiable 20th/21st century genre.
*(Technically, a past setting, as it's taking place a 'long time ago, in a galaxy far, far away', but let's not get nitpicky. ;) )
Ugh, yes, the stun weapons thing bugs me so much too! I mean, yes, it's possible for stun weapons to do some damage, depending on the age and health of the person at the receiving end (e.g. in Harry Potter, when McGonagall gets hit by multiple stunners in OotP, she has to be taken to the hospital wing to recover, given her age). But when you're facing a person who obviously means you/others harm - as opposed to a possble innocent bystander - why would you hesitate to stun them?! It makes no sense.
That's the problem with depicting diagetic music in any audio-visual media with a future setting - you actually have to come up with music that sounds authentically futuristic while still sounding good, which is a pretty tall order. Or you can just take the easy way out, and put on some existing music, even though it would be centuries out of date in-universe. Star Trek usually takes the latter route, and so do the vast majority of sci-fi movies and TV shows, IIRC. I can't really blame them - it's so much work with so much potential for getting it wrong, that is doesn't seem worth the effort.
There are similar problems with visual design in future settings as well, especially fashion, but - IMO, at least - creating a believable futuristic look is somewhat easier than creating believable futuristic music.
Uzz, bs pbhefr vg'f fnq gung gur erny Nfu Glyre qvrq fhpu n ubeevoyr qrngu, ohg V'z abg fher gung uvf crefbanyvgl jnf arprffnevyl gur fnzr nf gung bs Ibd!Nfu'f. Creuncf fvzvyne va n irel trareny fbeg bs jnl - rabhtu gung nalbar jub xarj gur bevtvany Nfu jbhyq abg trg vzzrqvngryl fhfcvpvbhf - ohg ba gur jubyr, V'q guvax gurl'q cebtenz Ibd!Nfu jvgu n crefbanyvgl gung jnf irel fcrpvsvpnyyl ratvarrerq gb trg uvz npprcgrq ba Qvfpbirel. Be creuncf rira gb nccrny fcrpvsvpnyyl gb Ybepn, nffhzvat gung xvqanccvat Ybepn naq gur erfg bs gur riragf bs guvf rcvfbqr jrer nyy cer-cynaarq orsber Ibd jnf ghearq vagb Nfu.
(Your ROT13) VXE? V jnagrq gb fnl gung V yvxrq Nfu gbb, ohg bs pbhefr, jung V zrna vf gung V yvxrq gur uhzna punenpgre anzrq Nfu Glyre orvat cynlrq ol Ibd, ohg hapbafpvbhfyl. Vg'f abg rira yvxr Ibd vf fvzcyl cergraqvat gb or Nfu - ur'f npghnyyl ghearq uvzfrys vagb n zber-be-yrff trahvar uhzna orvat jub vfa'g rira njner gung ur'f npghnyyl n Xyvatba fyrrcre ntrag va gur thvfr bs n uhzna. Fb vf gurer rira n erny Nfu Glyre? Abg va gur frafr gung gurer jnf bapr n erny uhzna jvgu gung anzr naq uvfgbel (naq creuncf fvzvyne crefbanyvgl), ohg engure, vf gur punenpgre gung jr frr ba bhe fperra 'erny' va nal frafr? (Va-havirefr, gung vf - boivbhfyl, nyy bs gurz ner svpgvbany punenpgref, fb gurl nera'g 'erny' va gur erny jbeyq.)
So basically, if someone doesn't like how their superiors are misusing their life's work, they have no right to even be upset about it? They should just give up their career and walk away from said life's work instead?!
Also, I sort of disagree about Starfleet being a military organization, at least in the sense that you're describing. I mean, yes, it has the outward appearance of a military organization, but in the (supposedly more enlightened) 23rd century, this military organization's primary work seems to be centered around peaceful exploration and scientific advancement; anyone who wants to work in cutting-edge scientific research in the Federation would most likely join Starfleet. Waging war is something they do only in extreme circumstances. Presumably, when Stamets joined Starfleet and took up this line of research, the Federation was not at war, and until 6 months ago, did not expect to be in the near future either. He's allowed to be annoyed that the rules have suddenly changed around him.
Michael's situation in this episode feels like a darker version of Tom Paris's situation at the beginning of Voyager - both prisoners sprung out of captivity by Captains who want their help with a problematic situation that only they are supposedly qualified to help with. Neither of them are thrilled about it, and both are openly disliked by the crew who are forced to work alongside them. Let's hope Michael manages to integrate herself on the Discovery as thoroughly as Tom managed to do on Voyager.
I get the feeling that the writers were too enamored with their idea of pulling of a ~twist~ by killing off the captain of the supposed main ship right in the second episode and sentencing the protagonist to life in prison to really think through whether it was actually a good idea to start the series with that prologue. You're right that it would have worked better as unknown backstory that could have been shown in full only later in the season. Or maybe not shown in full at all - just bits and pieces of flashbacks provided at crucial moments in Michael's character development.
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Brainchild