The scene was gratuitous, but then pretty much everything was in ID. On the scale, though, you're totally right.
I was thinking more about the Discovery premiere, and I got to thinking - I know what the problem with the set up is i.e. Burnham.
SPOILERS
Georgiou's death should have been the trigger for this emotional crisis she faces, after perhaps repressing it all her life, growing up as a Vulcan. Right now we're left thinking the encounter with the Klingons triggers this memory and emotion she's been repressing, but she's fairly emotive (logical, sure, though not critical) and all of that undercuts what I think is meant to be her arc. She's shown as spirited and competitive, in direct opposition to how she first arrives on the Shenzou (well, she's always competitive) and her trajectory in the two episodes is less about her emotional disposition than her mental one.
Anyways.