I'd like Burnham to be reinstated to full rank (Commander, IIRC) and become Saru's XO.
Last edited:
When Do You Want To See Burnham Become The STD Captain?
- Thread starter Kane_Steel
- Start date
In principle there could be multiple crew with the rank of Captain,but one commander of the ship
IfBurham become a Captain it should later in the series an running another ship.
IfBurham become a Captain it should later in the series an running another ship.
I really can't see how Burnham could be captain. Supposedly she's responsible for starting the Klingon war and worse, mutinying against Captain Georgiou. Regardless of any heroics she may do or lives she saves, the best she could hope for is a pardon. Starfleet would never again commission her as an officer, much less a command officer.
Burnham did not start the war. It's obvious the war would have happened even if she hadn't done anything. The Klingons always wanted war and they were going to start it no matter what. None of this is Burnham's fault.
As for the mutiny - well that is a serious charge, of course, but again it's obvious that Burnham didn't do it for her own personal glory, or a desire to take permanent command of the ship. She did it because there was an immediate danger and Burnham believed that Georgiou's inaction would be a danger to the ship. So that has to be taken into account as well.
The computer
I agree that Burnham isn't responsible, however the show has numerously pointed out that she is for some reason, so that's why I included the "supposedly".
We'll have to agree to disagree on the mutiny thing as I think Burnhams actions and intent were taken into account during the court martial. Burnham, no doubt, told the court that she felt Georgiou's inaction represented a danger to the ship and crew. The prosecution (and defense) would also have deposed Saru and all the other senior staff and taken their testimony as well as call them to the stand. I imagine that some of the questions that would have been asked is "Were any of the orders given by Captain Georgiou unlawful?" or "Do you feel that Captain Georgiou's actions or inactions were a threat to the Shenzhou or her crew?" Just because Burnham disagreed with Georgiou's orders doesn't give her reason to mutiny, especially if the orders were lawful.
Burnham might have had a reasonable defense for her mutiny charge, but as seen, she didn't put up any defense and even made a speech that made her seem guilty for the war as well. This was mainly because she blamed herself for Georgiou's death and those on her ship, since Burnham's entire point for mutinying was to save her ship, crew, and captain. None of which she managed to do because her captain stopped her from doing anything of note in her mutiny besides actually mutiny and assault her captain....with a Vulcan neck pinch. Burnhan's munity accomplished nothing, or changed the outcome of anything that happened, unless her being on the bridge would have helped with the following events, rather than her being in the brig nearly the entire time.
I guess I forgot... did Burnham actually testify? I only seem to remember the shadowy figures passing judgement to her while she sat stoically. I'll need to rewatch the pilot again.
Burnham belongs nowhere near the centre seat. Not today, perhaps not ever. Every courts martial takes into account circumstances. Simply believing the captain was wrong is not a good enough--by a parsec or four--reason for mutinying. Thinking otherwise is the worst possible case of affective fallacy I've seen in a long while. Feelings don't trump reasoned decision-making and gut instinct has to be backed up by something other than "My foster father said this..."
The problem is, the writers are the ones who screwed this up. I came into this series wanting to find Michael sympathetic. Then she mutinied. How on earth could they have thought that that was in any way a sympathetic action? It was a narrative disaster. It could have been handled otherwise without sacrificing anything. She could have still "started" the war by giving the captain advice that then led to the Klingons firing on the Federation, thus killing the captain, etc., etc. You'd still have an arc of redemption, if you so desired, but it would not have been tainted by the mutiny charge.
As an aside, what makes anyone here think that the "fact" that the war would've started without Burnham's intervention will ever be sussed out? Unless the UFP has some kind of SIGINT intercept of T'Kumva twirling his moustache and monologuing about how he's going to start a war, no one else will ever know any other side of the story but what they see with their own eyes: that Burnham shot the Torchbearer and that the Klingons became aggressive afterwards.
I'm with @Feron. Lorca's a better captain than any potential alternative, by far. The writers crippled Burnham from the beginning and there's no redemptive arc that realistically leads to the centre seat unless you throw all logic out the window. Reinstatement at her original rank is pushing it but, even then, in order for that to be realistic, the UFP will have to find out the entire, contextual circumstances of how the war started, including what T'Kumva was planning.
And that, I'm afraid, stretches credulity as well. The Discovery writers team screwed up. The best that can be hoped for now is not to compound it by doing something like putting her in the centre seat.
The problem is, the writers are the ones who screwed this up. I came into this series wanting to find Michael sympathetic. Then she mutinied. How on earth could they have thought that that was in any way a sympathetic action? It was a narrative disaster. It could have been handled otherwise without sacrificing anything. She could have still "started" the war by giving the captain advice that then led to the Klingons firing on the Federation, thus killing the captain, etc., etc. You'd still have an arc of redemption, if you so desired, but it would not have been tainted by the mutiny charge.
As an aside, what makes anyone here think that the "fact" that the war would've started without Burnham's intervention will ever be sussed out? Unless the UFP has some kind of SIGINT intercept of T'Kumva twirling his moustache and monologuing about how he's going to start a war, no one else will ever know any other side of the story but what they see with their own eyes: that Burnham shot the Torchbearer and that the Klingons became aggressive afterwards.
I'm with @Feron. Lorca's a better captain than any potential alternative, by far. The writers crippled Burnham from the beginning and there's no redemptive arc that realistically leads to the centre seat unless you throw all logic out the window. Reinstatement at her original rank is pushing it but, even then, in order for that to be realistic, the UFP will have to find out the entire, contextual circumstances of how the war started, including what T'Kumva was planning.
And that, I'm afraid, stretches credulity as well. The Discovery writers team screwed up. The best that can be hoped for now is not to compound it by doing something like putting her in the centre seat.
Last edited:
Maybe as a Borg queen?
I believe Burnham should be stuck at Commander for the rest of her career, but that is unlikely to happen.
As per Captain Spock and Captain Kirk, both on the Enterprise (not a fan of Burnham returning to Captain as per the plot)
Ha ha, same here. Her blank uniform drives me crazy for some reason.
Keep her as a Specialist NCO or, if you must, a Warrant Officer. Since she's actually been utilising her advanced degree in xeno-anthropology a lot lately, I should think the Warrant option would allow us to both satisfy her potential in a redemptive capacity but also remind everyone that she eff'd up badly enough that she will never be what she could have been. Every action has a consequence. There should be no reset button for that kind of stupidity.
To me, that would get the writers out of a bad situation they created when they had her mutiny whilst at the same time giving Burnham a chance to advance...but never sit in the centre seat.
It would also allow us Lorca acolytes to keep Gabe where he belongs: in the captain's chair ;-)
I would much rather face prison time than constantly have to deal with people seeking a "promotion" by killing me.
Plus, to stay on as captain there she would have to act in horribly evil ways for the rest of her life. Most rational people would get away from the MU as fast as they can.
