I can't believe I hadn't noticed this before but LOOK:
David Marcus has always felt underdone and underappreciated. But even with so little screen time they obviously tried to make every scene count. And his story is incredibly compelling, with added heartbreak because most people in the fandom don't seem to care or feel the full impact of the tradeoff Kirk makes with Spock and David between wrath of khan and search for spock. So to have Kirk cover David with his jacket but not actually show him do it hurts so much, but it feels very poetic at the same time.
Most of David's plot has to be inferred from the clues we get from the few scenes we do get from him and from what other characters say about him. We understand most of the feelings around him and his situation based on what Kirk shows us. In a way, he haunts the narrative before he even dies(if there's an actual term for that, let me know).
Until I actually thought about it and watched it again, this scene felt incredibly cold. But Kirk already had his breakdown, he's already let himself fall to the ground in grief. He can't stop again while they're all still in danger. So this moment feels almost generous. One last rite before the planet takes David's body in its self-destruction.
Bones and Scotty see this play out, but they don't say anything. David remains mostly unspoken. He is an unaccounted causality until Kirk shows his care and regard by leaving his jacket with David.
Even more heartbreaking, David doesn't need the jacket, but it's the only thing Kirk can do for him in their situation. A heavy contrast to Spock's funeral. In a way, it's more for Kirk's comfort than David's.
