And it's a shame that they didn't stick with that. But they didn't. By Season 2 she was an archangel from the distant future sent to mark up the galaxy and save the world before sending everyone 1000 years into the future...to a fallen Federation that only she and her crew could rebuild. She's now smug and condescending and the fix to every problem. Vulcan and the Federation decide they need a third-party oversight council to keep both sides honest so they choose....Michael Burnham....all by herself....a Federation military starship captain. Even when things are falling apart all around for her...i.e. her relationship...or literally to be in on a burning bridge that a 100,000 year old super intelligence tells her will kill her...it's all only an opportunity for her to diva her way to teary-eyed victory.I’d love to see the case made for how Burnham is a character without flaws. She got her captain killed and ship destroyed while sparking an intergalactic war and that’s just her first few episodes.
We can talk about Kirk and Janeway, and archetype vs condescension, about the Marvel-ization of modern popular entertainment. And about gender and race and double standard vs calling those things even when they're not the issue.
The show's changed, and so has she. Alas.