I never understood why people thought he’d be a good lead. He’s entertaining, yes, but he’s a total asshole and hardly a model of Star Trek’s aspirational moral vision. He’s the kind of guy you imagine sitting up all night trolling people on whatever 25th century equivalent they have of Reddit.
Honestly, both Sisko and (TOS) Pike were assholes when they’re first shown too. They’re people in pain, who don’t really know how to deal with that pain and move on.
To me, that’s a much more interesting character journey, and says much more about Trek’s “aspirational” future. That arguably what Roddenberry valued about this future society is that no one is ever so broken as to not have a chance to become better, find their purpose, and a reason to go on again.
Plus, in my opinion, much of the cast for DSC fall into the “total asshole” category when we first meet them too. But I thought the difference was they were not likable or relatable in how they were assholes.
You understand why Sisko treats Picard like a jerk in DS9’s “Emissary.” It’s not right, but the man is still hurting from his wife, and still constantly living in the moment of her death. And Shaw has a similar backstory with survivor’s guilt. That’s something you can wrap your head around and understand why someone is in a bad place. And Shaw’s journey over season 3, where he’s outwardly a prick, but down deep he cared about Seven of Nine and DID respect her, makes that revelation when Tuvok plays his recommendation for her captaincy at the end feel earned.
Contrast that with Stamets on DSC, where he’s just an arrogant prick because he’s an arrogant prick when we first meet him.
