The problem this season though is Michael has no definable growth as a character. Yeah, her relationship with Spock has been salvaged over the last several episodes. But why exactly did that happen? Did she realize she was wrong about anything? Has she changed her approach with him? It sure doesn't seem so based upon what we see onscreen. Basically it reminds me of a lot of the back half of the first season, where the writers mistake "bad things happen to Michael" for depth of characterization.
No growth? She blamed herself for her parent's deaths and then finds pout it was never her fauklt, and her parents were lying to her because they were Section 31 <--- And we see her having to deal with that, as well as the fact her mother was still alive; but while watching her, never told her util she had no choice?
From Season 1 - she tried to be Vulcan (to please Sarek) - does well enough on a test to become part of the Vulcan Expeditionary force but is denied because her Father chooses to leave the spot for his biological son - but Sarek leaves her with the impression she FAILED to do well enough to get a spot - and again we see her have to deal with that reveal.
Compared to TNG - where besides the occasional Worf situation in the same vein as abov (IE Some emotionally cataclysmic aspect of his family's past...); the most 'character development' we got in TNG were examples like:
- Picard hates kids.
- Picard's family owns a vineyard and his brother makes wine.
- Picard was studying to be an Archaeologist before he went for a career in Starfleet.
- Riker wanted to make Captain prior to age 30 (Yet passed up a Command of his own to be First Officer on the Enterprise; and passed on two other such offers during the run of the TNG TV series.
- Riker Is from Alaska and has Daddy issues.
-Riker grew a Beard.
(And I'm keeping it to the first two TNG seasons although by comparison TNG had 46 episodes at that point and ST: D to this point had 28 (will have had 29 or even 30 if you take into account the 4 short treks add up to about 1 full episode).
Yeah, no actual character development of Burnham during the first 28 episodes in comparison? Give me a break.