Regarding the canonicity, I just hope the people behind the Star Trek Universe are a little smarter than whoever decided to put Darth Maul into Solo: A Star Wars Story, which only made sense if you'd seen some animated Star Wars show from years before (which I and my friends hadn't)
Imagine a big shocking Picard season 3 ending twist that only makes sense if you'd seen episode 4 of season 2 of Lower Decks. Then again, these people made a direct sequel to "The Cage" and made it an integral part of Disco season 2 so I guess anything's possible.
Best episode of S2 Disco.