It is odd that Tilly and Michael still share quarters, given Michael is now a Commander and Tilly an Ensign.
I don’t know how it’s not strange. She’s a TRAITOR barely begun her sentence and Tilly’s a cadet barely out of childhood. It’s a wonder Burnham wasn’t assigned to a broom closet, with an ankle monitor at all times. Tell it to Star Trek: Phase II ?
Barely begun? She had already served six months in prison. Granted, it was a life sentence, but six months in prison is hardly "barely begun." Regardless, she was on work release, and was therefore a functioning member of the crew, just one without rank, so being roomed with a cadet seems proper rooming protocol. Also take into account Lorca was trying to assemble a team of Prime Universe counterparts of people he knew in the Mirror Universe, and maybe it gave him amusement to assign two people who were ruthless Captains in the Mirror Universe to the same low-ranking accommodations? Apples and oranges. There's currently two Star Trek shows in production and the Section 31 show is one of three additional shows confirmed to be in development, with Section 31 being the one furthest along with episodes written, lead cast and a set already built. There's absolutely no reason to expect this show won't make it to air unless Disco's popularity does a dramatic 180.
"Why did Section 31 go into hiding?" Because they're a bunch of annoying jackasses and everyone hates them.
One thing I'm glad about is now we won't have to hear anyone wondering if Kirk and Spock were working for Section 31 in "The Enterprise Incident" anymore. I can't see Spock ever willingly doing a thing for them.
Perhaps by the time S3 of TOS rolls around, S31 has already been disbanded as a mainstream organization, and a more mainstream, controlled (pardon the pun) StarFleet Intelligence exists. I still think this is the most reasonable and logical explanation for those who wonder why S31 is operating in plain sight in DSC. Rather than look at it as "TEH CANNON VIOLASHUN!!!1!" I think it's simply obvious that something happened that changed the way that organization needs to operate.
Key word is willingly. Section 31 could still be behind it, just Kirk and Spock wouldn't know that. The way it played out in the novels, the order came down from Admiral Cartwright, who was himself working on Section 31's behalf.
But nothing? 6 months is barely begun when you’re in for life, for a war going on all around them – one heading toward genocide of Earth. Why not kill Tilly in her sleep, steal a shuttle, and run? We know we can trust Burnham (mostly), but to them, she's a traitor in for life. Lots of things remain in Development Hell indefinitely. There's any number of variables that could torpedo any project at any point in development, including after filming. Tell it to Bryan Fuller and Xon. I get it; you're a fan. I am too (of DSC more than 31) but there's lots of reasons a TV show might not make it to air, and many countless ones don't.
Rooming Burnham with Tilly was a Lorca thing. Any number of heroes could have considered it odd, Tilly first and foremost, but under Lorca, you didn't ask questions. Lorca knew he could trust Burnham. Whether he trusted her to do the kill-Tilly-while-she-snores bit is sorta irrelevant when he could rest assured she would next skulk to the Secret Room anyway, driven by her curiosity. Providing Burnham with direct access to a Spore Specialist and her helpful slips of tongue (including liquid ones) was probably part of that plan, then. Beyond that, it's sort of the opposite: Lorca is gone and Burnham and Tilly are friends now, so nobody is telling them to split. Why split? Burnham is fine with sleeping in broom closets, what with her Vulcan upbringing; she doesn't take up room. And nobody else will bunk with Tilly, supposedly, so that's one cabin saved. (Say, for the S31 liaison.) As for the Enterprise incident, S31 does covert ops, intelligence gathering and threat assessment. It's a bit unlikely S31 would be the only party doing that, though, leaving the rest of SF Intel to do... What? Gadget design? (But S31 handled that, too, in the Kelvinverse.) There ought to be plenty of room for other branches of the organization, some perhaps called "Section" this-or-that for reasons more logical than an obscure reference to an essentially unrelated document. Perhaps not. Timo Saloniemi
Michael wasn't officially blamed for starting the war. It's true, many believed she did anyway, but even Admiral Cornwell said that was an unjustifiable claim. The only one on the ship who had such an opinion of Michael was Landry, and look where that got her. This has nothing to do with being a fan, it's simply the facts. Despite the hiccups with Disco in the early days (most of which seem to be because of Fuller dicking around) CBS seems to have its shit in the sock when it comes to their current crop of Star Trek shows. If there's a chance of any not making it to air, it would be the two animated shows or Nick Meyer's Ceti Alpha V miniseries. The Section 31 show I feel is a safe bet at the moment.
SMG answers the question: why are Tilly and Burnham still room mates? Some people might not like the reasoning, but why would their quarters be re-assigned? What would be the reason. Normally a request for a change of quarters comes from one of the occupants, unless there's a lack of space for visiting diplomats or some such temporary emergency. Looking back it seems logical that MU Lorca would put those two people together, knowing his prior connections and what he knew of them in his universe. Also, he had clearly studied Prime Burnham's record pretty thoroughly. There's no indication she'd be a threat to any of the crew. Her mutiny, in context, was an isolated event during extreme circumstances.
Commander is a high enough rank to warrant private quarters. Regardless, protocol dictates that a person's roommate be someone of equal rank exactly to avoid situations where a person would try to pull rank on their roommate.
Is that Starfleet protocol or real world military protocol? Because it seems Starfleet is more lax. I remember Lt. Cmdr Valtane being roommates with Ensign Tuvok on the Excelsior, as revealed on Voyager.
Lorca and Burnham get lumped together by Lorca in S1 because it amuses him. After this, Tilly finishes the academy and gets a formal commission as Ensign and entry into the command training programme. At the same time, Burnham is restored to her previous rank of Commander but not to her previous command role and is offered or elects to remain on Disco in the Sciences division (and her exact place in the command structure of Disco is deliberately kept somewhat vague by the writers -- she seems to be outside that structure most of the time!). Yes, Burnham is a waaaaaay more senior officer (she was an experienced XO and was being considered for a move to the centre seat, remember...?) but she's put that aside for now and, as she has become friends with Tilly, has elected to continue sharing quarters with her. It works for the story; I'm happy to roll with it. Back to the main topic, I wonder if we will begin to see answers to the original question in this week's episode...?