Michael Burnham should have never been involved with Starfleet Academy

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As a gamer with a deep affection for Star Trek: Discovery, I find the choice of Michael Burnham to induct the new class of Starfleet Cadets rather perplexing, given my personal experiences with fictional characters and their roles.

Imagine a scenario where an individual lacking the necessary skill or qualification, like someone without a driver’s license evaluating your driving test, or a vegetarian assessing your ability to prepare ribs, or someone with limited drawing skills judging your paintings – is planning to establish a school teaching those very skills.

As Michael Burnham, I stand before the hallowed grounds of the Starfleet Academy, a place that has always been foreign to me, despite leading crews through perilous voyages and guiding the next generation in Discovery. It’s surreal, even for someone like me who has defied expectations at every turn, to find myself here as the one opening the academy doors.

It’s quite amusing and odd that she, who never attended the academy herself, is the one inducting the new recruits. One might expect someone like Saru, Jett Reno, Sylvia Tilly, or others who actually went through the Academy to give the speech welcoming the new class. Instead, it’s surprising that an outsider was chosen for the role.

What’s worse is that Burnham is forever going to be known as the woman who committed treason and got her captain killed. Scared of a horrible plot point that no writer could ever fix, Burnham is one of the least appropriate captains in Starfleet history to ever induct a new class of students. How do you justify her standing in front of recruits, expecting them to take an oath of service, when she couldn’t do that?

It appears unusual or seemingly not well-planned for her to be the one who would effectively restart the school, wouldn’t you agree?

It would have been less fitting for most characters to deliver that speech welcoming the new cadets, except perhaps Burnham. Although her character underwent significant changes from seasons three to five, she remains indelibly associated with the actions she took in the pilot episode – acts of treason and instigating a war.

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2024-09-09 00:23