Burnham's Mutiny... Not Canon?

[JohnR]

Sentencing Burnham to life imprisonment for this mutiny is complete bullshit, also. This is a Starfleet comprised of 'wide eyed explorers.' Considering she had a storied career and was connected to a powerful Vulcan, I can't see the Dark Tribunal sentencing her to anything more than 20 years and a dishonorable discharge. Maybe they couldn't read the verdict because of the bad lighting.

Well let's face it, this is series writing, not reality. If this happened in the real world, the Federation would be outraged at the sneak attack (Pearl Harbor, 9/11) and no U.S citizen would ever be rebuked in the passion of patriotism, never mind one who took out the enemy leader. Michael would have a statute erected for her.

But this is a TV show, occasionally the writers go bat crazy especially when the creative head is changed, so that is it. Accept this part as a suspension of reality and move on. That is the only way to keep one's head from exploding.

 

[Noname Given]

Sentencing Burnham to life imprisonment for this mutiny is complete bullshit, also. This is a Starfleet comprised of 'wide eyed explorers.' Considering she had a storied career and was connected to a powerful Vulcan, I can't see the Dark Tribunal sentencing her to anything more than 20 years and a dishonorable discharge. Maybe they couldn't read the verdict because of the bad lighting.

If she was truthful in her testimony (no reason to believe she wouldn't be as she felt she was the Enemy after this) - look at it this way:

- Had she stunned and captured T'Kuvma after he had killed her Captain; it's a good possibility the 'War' would be over, and truce/peace brokered.

- Instead due to her wholly emotional/heat of the moment actions; the Federation is in a war for its continued existence - and more of its citizens are dying every hour.

IDK - Life in prison seems justified here.

 

[shapeshifter]

This is a Starfleet comprised of 'wide eyed explorers.'

Nah, they are just space sick from all that post jump ship spinning.

 

[zar]

So if Burnham did not exist, and Captain Georgiou had killed T'Kuvma as she had planned, the war would have been the Captain's fault? Even after the Klingons had fired first and obliterated a Federation starfleet? Then Georgiou would have been court martialed and disgraced (although presumably not sentenced for life, since she wasn't also a mutineer.)

Seems .. unlikely. If killing a violent enemy leader who has attacked your people were a crime, Kirk would have been locked up long ago. OK, long ago in the future, if that makes any sense

If Burnham did not exist, then:

- Georgiou would have walked in a circle by herself, twice
- No one would have explored the beacon, because no shuttle was capable of navigating the asteroids
- The torchbearer would still be alive
- Sarek would get fewer headaches

If they somehow ended up at the same situation anyway, and Georgiou had killed T'Kuvma the way she planned, then she would still be dead (by her own hand) and she would also be innocent (because killing T'Kuvma wasn't the crime, mutiny was). The way I see it, that wouldn't change the fact that it would start the war, but it would affect how other characters feel about that fact. Many would see Georgiou's suicide run as heroic.

But with Burnham, not only is she already a criminal, the situation is different. She finds herself on board the ship on a mission to capture T'Kuvma, the clearly correct choice is available, and she makes the clearly wrong choice by switching the phaser and killing him. I don't think it's unbelievable that the other characters are so unforgiving.

 

[Timo]

...Who blames Burnham for starting the war? I have yet to meet a DSC character who'd make that specific claim.

Lorca says she "helped" start the war, half in jest. The loonie lady from the shuttle thinks she's complicit to the loss of the Europa somehow, but then again, she is crazy. Everybody else just thinks Burnham is a famous first mutineer. Heck, apart from Saru, we don't get the impression they even know the first thing about what happened in the pilot episode.

Timo Saloniemi

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

Wouldn't the actions taken by Lt. Cmdr. Gary Mitchell in "Where No Man Has Gone Before" be construed as mutiny? If so, then a mutiny occurred in episode # 2 on TOS in front of Spock's eyes.

You heard what Kirk said at the end. Gary's death was listed as giving his life in performance of his duty. He wasn't held responsible for what happened to him. So technically it doesn't count as mutiny, since Gary's mutation corrupted him.

 

[cultcross]

TNG season 1 establishes nation states and flags are such a thing of the past that most people don't know they ever existed, and yet that's completely ignored for the rest of the 24th century shows. These things are rarely that consistent. Sometimes, you've just got to go with it.

 

[Kor]

As shown by TOS "The Menagerie" and now by STD, Starfleet apparently has an odd quirk of changing long-established and accepted definitions, since today's military and naval codes define mutiny as a conspiracy involving more than one person.

Kor