Installing then immediately uninstalling "python" breaks Ubuntu 23.04 Desktop

Question

I completely broke my 2-month-old 23.04 installation today.

Steps:

1. Needed python for something so python -> Command 'python' not found...
2. Installed python sudo apt install python
3. Noticed it installed python 2.7 instead of python3 sudo apt remove python

Then the system crashed, flashed on the screen of the fs being corrupted and completely failed to post for ~30 minutes.

Now my Ubuntu boots into a terminal, no desktop, no networking, usb works though.

I'm not sure how any of this is even possible because:

• python has no installation candidate on any of my other systems (all fresh installs), I'm not sure how it installed in the first place
• should uninstalling freshly installed python affect Ubuntu desktop, especially since /usr/bin/python is no longer installed by default
• python3.11.4 is still installed on the system which is the default

Could I be looking at a hardware issue or might this be an Ubuntu thing?

Everything works fine on a live Ubuntu boot image.