Overall, I think this season was a tad better than season 1. Both were very good, but I think the "swinging for the fences" succeeded in telling good character stories and having interesting "genres"/approached for the episodes.
I still could use some stronger sci-fi/exploring next season, but there was some good stuff this year. I think Under the Cloak of War and Ad Astra per Aspera provided the most to think about this season, though "Under..." was a better executed (no pun intended) episode.
I hope the expressed wishes of some of the producers, and some of us fans, is carried out and we get to see more episodes in season 3 (or 4, if 3 is too "locked in" in development terms already) - maybe 15? Would allow more room for all our great characters. #JusticeforOrtegas
One final general thought: there are points where it felt like COVID protocols were interfering with having enough characters or character interactions in scenes where they could have been used. Hopefully we are done with those kind of problems now.
As for my rankings for this season's episodes:
1. Those Old Scientists - 10: a perfect blend of SNW and LDS with nice continuations/expansions of all the SNW character storylines this season; and so funny!
2. Subspace Rhapsody - 9: I don't really like most musicals, but this was very well done and very entertaining. Could have used a little less autotune - I don't mind if not everyone is a great singer; this wasn't a "great singers universe" it was a "musical universe."
3. Under the Cloak of War - 9: even better after a rewatch. The production values were amazing and just an amazing story for M'Benga and the war veterans. I think the ambiguity of the ending will be discussed for decades and will likely be major part of why some people will rate this episode poorly.
4. Tomorrow and Tomorrow and Tomorrow - 8: Great time travel story and great story for La'an, starting her season long arc.
5. Charades - 8: One of the funniest Trek episodes ever; shows that not every storyline has to be self-serious, yet there were some very good character bits for Spock, Chapel, and Spock's relationship with his mom.
6. Ad Astra Per Asprera - 8: A lot of great stuff about this episode. I liked how it addressed a gamut of issues from discrimination, "passing", refugees/asylum, and activism. But the courtroom aspects were a little weak. Maybe it was that weird Discovery set they reused, but it didn't feel like there was any real courtroom procedure or rules, just a bunch of monologuing. Probably should have had it as a preliminary hearing (a la "Rules of Engagement") which would have allowed for the speachifying to seem more reasonable. And I understand why they had the other SNW crew not do too much as it would have taken away from Una's and her lawyer's primacy in the storyline, but just having them be largely observational missed an opportunity for both good stories and more dynamic storytelling.
7. Hegemony - 8: Good, moody return of the Gorn. And Scotty was a nice addition (though does he really go from a Lt to the chief engineer of the flagship in 6 years?). This being a cliffhanger detracted some from the story for me; hopefully they stick the landing next season which would probably help elevate this half in my view.
8. The Broken Circle - 7: A fun intro to the season, with some good character moments. A lot of table setting for season 2, but not bad.
9. Among the Lotus Eaters - 7: A nice try at a strange somewhat-new world, and nice callback to The Cage.
10. Lost in Translation - 7: I liked the Uhura/Kirk stuff, and the Pelia/Una stuff (in fact all the character stuff was just great), but the mystery was a little predictable and underwhelming and there wasn't enough plot twists or new approaches (minus the hallucinations actually being coherent messages once you knew what to look for) to help carry the episode.
