Solid outing.
1. It helps if you don't think of them as zombies, but more as mutants. I got a real Fallout New Vegas vibe here, especially when they were in the lab. I'm thinking of the vault where the people were turned into plant mutants. If you never played New Vegas the above reference is meaningless.
2. Pelia has never worked for me as a character on this show or as chief engineer, and it's too early for us to see Scotty, IMO, nor does 'young Scotty' really sell as a younger version of the resolute, tough Montgomery Scott from TOS. I REALLY miss Hemmer. His death lent some gravitas to the show, but he was far and away one of the best new characters.
3. The rehash of TOS characters is stealing from the rest of the cast. Uhura is the only 'optional' TOS character I'm sort of okay with, but La'an could have filled that role quite easily. I don't even think of M'Benga from SNW as the same character as the one from TOS.
4. If it was a no-fly zone, why does the Enterprise have to walk on eggshells for the Klingons? Una could have rolled in with righteous indignation as soon as the Klingons were detected, declared THEM in violation, and ordered them to leave. Flip the script on that for once!
5. Batel has grown on me as a character and she has an interesting arc. Looking forward to seeing how it resolves.
6. Is Starfleet ever going to send the Enterprise on a sanctioned mission, or do they just hang out wherever and decide on the next way they are going to violate orders and/or Federation protocols?
7. Una's hair was a flat-out abortion this episode, but it is almost impossible to make Rebecca Romjin look anything less than drop-dead gorgeous. Who knew the 'fat kid' from Stand by Me would get so lucky? Life can be strange.
Rant over. As I said last week, I just accept all these little irritations and continue to enjoy the show. Onward and upward!