Highlights
- Star Trek: Discovery’s protagonist, Michael Burnham, faces harsh backlash for her mutiny, murder, and assault, making for compelling character growth.
- Fans debate whether Burnham deserves the blame for tragic losses during the Klingon war, adding depth to the series.
- Understanding the emotional core of Burnham’s arc is essential for enjoying the show, despite initial issues with the writing.
Star Trek: Discovery‘s unique protagonist and premise are a source of immense critical acclaim for the franchise. However, one fan has taken to critiquing one of the major points of the protagonist’s characterization to understand the series better.
Star Trek: Discovery features one of the franchise’s most interesting protagonists in Sonequa Martin-Green’s Michael Burnham, Starfleet’s first mutineer and the most drastic example of character redemption that Star Trek offers. After letting her emotions and concern for her compatriots get the best of her, Burnham finds herself being let off of a crushing life sentence to serve in active duty once again–but the disdain and vitriol from her contemporaries don’t go anywhere. This dynamic and Burnham’s struggle to redeem herself are the driving forces behind some of Star Trek: Discovery‘s best episodes.
While many Star Trek: Discovery fans accepted this overwhelmingly negative attitude towards the protagonist as part of the hurdles to Michael Burnham’s eventual ascension to the rank of Captain, one fan had a bone to pick with the writer’s choice here. Reddit user NatAwsom1138 took to the platform’s r/startrek board to query his confusion in a post titled “What exactly do people blame Michael Burnham for in Discovery season 1?” In the post, the user notes that they are rewatching the series and states that everyone in the Federation and Starfleet seemingly blames Burnham’s mutiny for the tragic losses from the Klingon war. As NatAwsom1138 sees it, the only issue is that Burnham’s mutiny is not responsible, as it completely failed.
Other Star Trek: Discovery fans quickly pointed out the severity of her mutiny, assault of a superior officer, and murder of a guard before open hostilities kicked off, and how her overly emotional actions could be seen in an ominous light by others. These two things, taken together, create a fertile situation for Burnham to get all the hate and animosity she does, made all the more poignant by her only serving half a year of what was meant to be a life sentence. While these actions did not lead to the start of the war, Burnham made herself a pretty convenient scapegoat for the pain people felt at the resulting war. This is a conclusion that NatAwsom1138 assents to in an edit, noting an in-universe acknowledgment of the nature of the blame.
While Star Trek: Discovery‘s new status quo was perfect for the series’ second half, the hatred for Burnham is an unavoidable part of the first season’s emotional core, and a lack of proper understanding could easily make suspension of disbelief that much harder. While the writers could have been a bit more intentional with the commentary that clarifies things, as NatAwsom1138 notes the first mention of this comes from a passing comment in episode five, and even Burnham herself seems convinced she’s to blame for the war, at times. Understood for what it’s meant to be, this is a good state of affairs, but that understanding might not be forthcoming for many first-time viewers.
While there were some issues with the writing in Discovery at times, and the series was a big driver for differences between the older and newer Star Trek shows, on the whole, Discovery has made a positive mark in the minds of fans. With the final season expected to air this year, fans might find themselves missing the characters and plotlines from the show more than they expect.
Star Trek: Discovery is available for streaming on Paramount Plus
Source: NatAwsom1138/Reddit
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