As for whaleship: I'm a little surprised when I see Edelweiss or Evening Primrose that aren't level 80 in a helper group. Edelweiss is an event girl, so anyone can get her. Evening Primrose is the free 5* you start the game with. As for second affection, it makes a huge difference. It's around 3k total power. That's more than any single piece of jewelry - and cheaper too. Across 40 girls that's 120k total power. That's more stats than my 5 girls in team 8 have.

Does everybody get Evening Primrose as their first free 5* now?

I thought so. Maybe not - too lazy to start a fake account just to check.

Maybe it is now, but not 1 year ago...
My first 5* was Bipinna Cosmos

My 1st on this account was Toad Lily.

Doesn't Evening Primrose replace the old starter 4* and guaranteed 5* roll?

When I first started last March, Toad Lily was the guaranteed 5*. It has apparently since been changed to Evening Primrose.