Aren't we almost full circle to the topic of this thread? Gut reaction/attraction. It is what it is, and maybe there's a natural selection subliminal evolution to attraction, but I'm not there with those Klingons, lol.
Don't think hubby would approve and then there's the whole biting and tackling business.. (Just like a normal date really, lol)..
Hortas and Tholians may simply be more a matter of practicality than of attractiveness. I don't think any human would fancy getting melted down by the extreme temperatures either of those species would emit if they ever got pissed off at them.
How about the general viewing public who will tune in? Will they be concerned about a good amount of time to divert from the pacing of an episode to explain about the Klingons to the degree that will satisfy that significant percentage of fans?
Bolded for emphasis - this is what bothers me. The explanations and comments coming out now don't feel "organic". It's like they thought the new designs would be immediately accepted, and now they're having to scramble to cover it. I will repeat this until I die: I'm not against changes and new designs - but I take issue with new production teams coming in and making changes "just because". There are places where changes could have been made without creating such a huge schism. The uniforms and bridge designs (along with the Klingons) all could have been designed to look like they fit in 10 years before Kirk and Spock, while still reflecting modern production values. But they weren't. Whenever something like this is done, it feels like we're expending all the energy that should be going into discussions of things like Michael Burnham's personal journey and what the Klingons are actually up to in this time period (both of which I am still very much looking forward to) instead of why the Klingons look like Krall from Star Trek Beyond. I am not impressed by a production team coming into an existing franchise and throwing out everything in order to make their own footprint on it. I am impressed by somebody that can come into something, that's over 50 years old, is admittedly showing some signs of age, and finding some new angle or unexplored niche that has a modern relevance and making that their own footprint.
Most characters are given a little background, it's part of the set up. It wouldn't be a problem or inhibit the flow of the story to give some context to the Klingons.
"A significant percentage?" What's that? Those are weasel words. Let's get factual. Most ST fans don't even post on this board. Only a tiny fraction do, so the number of posters on this board who express a given opinion on here cannot be used to divine the fraction of fans at large sharing it. The same can be said for a variety of sites. Based on the available data, all we know on that topic is that some fans disagree.
Based on the "data" from various Star Trek Facebook groups I've joined in. I can say that a significant portion of the fans are unhappy with the way these Klingons look. And the main complaint seems to be the lack of any hair on their heads.