michael from star trek

Michael Burnham

Admiral Michael Burnham was a female 23rd century Human Starfleet officer raised on Vulcan by Ambassador Sarek and Amanda Grayson following the death of her parents.

As a commander , she served as the first officer aboard the USS Shenzhou in 2256 , under Captain Philippa Georgiou , with whom she had served since 2249 . ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ") In 2256, she was stripped of rank and sentenced to life imprisonment for mutiny , but she gained a second chance when she was assigned to the USS Discovery as a specialist . ( DIS : " Battle at the Binary Stars ", " Context Is for Kings ")

After the Battle at Pahvo , Discovery was "accidentally" transported to the mirror universe , eventually forcing Burnham to impersonate her counterpart , who had been captain of the ISS Shenzhou prior to her presumed death, taking Captain Gabriel Lorca , supposedly impersonating his own mirror counterpart, as a prisoner to the Emperor – as it turned out, the mirror Philippa Georgiou – while searching for information on the USS Defiant . However, after meeting Georgiou, Burnham realized that Lorca was his mirror universe counterpart and that she had been serving under an impostor. After warning Discovery of this, Burnham and Georgiou fought Lorca and defeated him, in the process destroying the ISS Charon and enabling Discovery to return to the prime universe, Georgiou in tow. However, difficulties with navigating the mycelial network caused Discovery to emerge at the wrong point in the timestream, at a time when the Federation was on the verge of defeat. ( DIS : " Despite Yourself ", " The Wolf Inside ", " Vaulting Ambition ", " What's Past Is Prologue ")

With no option left, Starfleet assigned Georgiou to command Discovery and ordered her to plant a hydro bomb on Qo'noS ; however, Burnham refused to abandon her principles again and prevented Georgiou from activating the bomb, instead using it to force a truce with the Klingons. For her role in ending the war, Burnham was pardoned , and her rank restored; in addition, she was awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor . ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

Soon after, a mysterious series of red bursts across the galaxy and the threat of the Section 31 AI Control led Burnham to reunite with both Spock and her mother Gabrielle Burnham who had actually been displaced in time rather than dying as was previously believed. Deducing that she herself, through time travel , had sent most of the red bursts as the second Red Angel , Burnham led Discovery and her crew 930 years into the future in order to keep the Sphere data out of Control's hands, having learned from her mother that in an alternate timeline , Control used the data to become sentient and destroyed all life in the galaxy. The crew of the USS Enterprise lied to Starfleet that Discovery and her crew were lost and, at Spock's recommendation, agreed to never speak of Discovery and her crew again under penalty of treason. However, Burnham managed to send a final signal back to 2558 to let Spock know that they had made it. ( DIS : " Saints of Imperfection ", " The Red Angel ", " Perpetual Infinity ", " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ")

Following her displacement into the 32nd century , Burnham spent a year as a courier , working with Cleveland Booker . ( DIS : " That Hope Is You, Part 1 ", " Far From Home ", " People of Earth "

After the arrival of Discovery a year later, Burnham reunited with the crew, although she struggled to fit in again to the point that she was demoted from First Officer to Chief Science Officer. During this time, Burnham dedicated herself to solving the mystery of the Burn and had to deal with the loss of Georgiou. ( DIS : " Far From Home ", " People of Earth ", " Scavengers ", " Unification III ", " Terra Firma, Part 2 ")

Following the defeat of Osyraa and the Emerald Chain , Burnham was officially promoted to Captain of Discovery . In this role, she led a diplomatic mission past the galactic barrier to make first contact with Species 10-C , something that placed her at odds with Cleveland Booker after his homeworld was destroyed by the Dark Matter Anomaly . Although Burnham was considered for command of the USS Voyager -J during this time, she turned it down in favor of remaining aboard Discovery . ( DIS : " That Hope Is You, Part 2 ", " Kobayashi Maru ", " The Galactic Barrier ", " Coming Home ")

Burnham would eventually become an admiral , marrying Cleveland Booker and having a son with him. ( DIS : " Life, Itself ")

• 1 Early life
• 2.1 The Vulcan Science Academy and Expeditionary Group
• 3.1 USS Shenzhou
• 3.2.1 The Federation-Klingon War
• 3.2.2 The mirror universe
• 3.2.3 End of the war
• 3.2.4 The red bursts
• 3.3.1 Arrival
• 3.3.2 Back aboard Discovery
• 3.3.3 Captain of Discovery
• 3.4 Later career
• 4 Alternate timelines and realities
• 5.2.1 Philippa Georgiou
• 5.2.2 Sarek
• 5.2.4 Sylvia Tilly
• 5.3.1 Ash Tyler
• 5.3.2 Cleveland Booker
• 5.4.1 T'Kuvma
• 5.4.3 Gabriel Lorca
• 6 Key dates
• 7 Memorable quotes
• 8.1 Appearances
• 8.2 Reference
• 8.3.1 Development
• 8.3.2 Reception
• 8.3.3 Continuity
• 8.4 Apocrypha
• 8.5 External links

Quick Answers

Michael in the 2230s with her stuffed tardigrade

Burnham was born on Earth , in 2226 . ( DIS : " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry ") She was named after her father, Mike Burnham .

In the early 2230s , Burnham and her parents resided on a space station. The isolation of the location lead to bad dreams involving a shadow . One night, to calm her and help her to conquer her fears, her father told her the legend of the girl who made the stars . ( ST : " The Girl Who Made the Stars ")

In 2236 , Burnham's parents, Gabrielle and Mike Burnham , were stationed on Doctari Alpha ; where, unknown to her at the time, they were working on a top secret project for Section 31 – a project to create a suit capable of time travel . A young Section 31 operative, Leland acquired a time crystal for the project, which was given to the lead researchers on the projects, the Burnhams. However, the Klingons tracked the crystal to Doctari Alpha. ( DIS : " The Red Angel ", " Perpetual Infinity ")

The Burnhams originally planned a vacation to Mars , but they stayed three more days to wait for a nearby star, Alpha Lupi , to go supernova . The explosion would provide enough energy for the crystal, and they'd then be able to test the Red Angel suit. The young Burnham thought it was her begging which made the family stay longer so she could witness the star going nova. ( DIS : " Lethe ", " The Red Angel ")

Michael in 2236

Just as the family was sitting down to dinner, Burnham saw a light through a telescope – a light that turned out to be the Klingons attacking the outpost. Mike Burnham attempted to barricade the kitchen door, while Gabrielle hid Michael in a cabinet. Mike was slain by the Klingons, but Gabrielle was able to escape, using the Red Angel suit to travel forward in time. Burnham did not witness the events, but she heard everything happen, or at least she thought she had. She claimed that the Klingons killed her father quickly, but took longer with her mother, whom she believed to have died as well. The attackers then sat down at Burnham's family table and ate the dinner the family had prepared and laughed. ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ", " Perpetual Infinity ")

Life on Vulcan

A young Michael Burnham at the Vulcan Learning Center

Michael was then raised on Vulcan by Sarek and Amanda Grayson and was the first Human to ever attend the Vulcan Learning Center . She initially struggled to adapt, having to recall the events of her parents' death in a series of questions posed by the Center. At one point she was crying alone because the Vulcan children had rejected her. Sarek assured her that when emotion brought her ghosts from the past, only logic could root her in the present. A young Burnham suggested that she learn Vulcan , but Sarek told her it was her Human heart, not her Human tongue that was the problem. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ", " Perpetual Infinity ")

Shortly after she arrived on Vulcan, Burnham was targeted by Vulcan logic extremists who believed that Humans were a threat to their logical civilization and who launched an attack on the Learning Center. The bombing left Burnham physically dead for three minutes, forcing Sarek to initiate a mind meld with her in order to revive her. As a result of this, a portion of Sarek's katra remained inside her mind, which later allowed him to communicate with her across interstellar distances and the two to shared physical sensations such as pain. ( DIS : " Battle at the Binary Stars ", " Lethe ")

After this incident, Burnham, believing that her presence put the family in danger, attempted to run away from home. Using the Red Angel suit, her mother appeared to Spock from the future, and helped him to locate his runaway foster sister, showing him a vision of an alternate timeline in which Burnham died from an attack by a vicious predatory animal. Sarek and the authorities found Burnham at Vulcan's Forge , thus saving her from being killed by the animal. ( DIS : " If Memory Serves ")

Early in handling the loss of her parents, Burnham would sometimes run away to the Cliffs of Surak and stare out at the view of Lake Yuron . ( DIS : " Anomaly (DIS) ")

During her childhood, her foster mother often read to Michael and to her biological son, Spock, particularly Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . Even as an adult, Michael still owned a physical copy of this book , which was a gift from Amanda. ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

On Burnham's tenth birthday , she and Amanda visited the seventh moon of Eridani D to attend a book exchange , an ancient Human ritual. ( DIS : " Lethe ")

On her eleventh birthday, Burnham read Alice in Wonderland out loud to herself, pretending to read it to her deceased parents. ( DIS : " Perpetual Infinity ")

The Vulcan Science Academy and Expeditionary Group

Burnham's personal belongings aboard the Shenzhou were influenced by her upbringing on Vulcan

In 2245 , Burnham began attending the Vulcan Science Academy , where she studied quantum physics . She graduated four years later at the top of her class and was a recipient of the Vulcan Scientific Legion of Honor . ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ", " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry ")

After her graduation, Burnham applied to join the Vulcan Expeditionary Group . Unbeknownst to Burnham, the Group rejected her application on the basis of Burnham being Human, and forced Sarek to choose between allowing Michael to join now, or allowing Spock – who was half -Human – to join in the future. After reluctantly choosing Spock over Michael, Sarek hid the truth out of personal shame and reported her rejection as being a result of her "insufficient" abilities. This led Burnham to believe that it was her weaknesses that resulted in the decision and that Sarek was wrong to believe in her – a sentiment her foster mother dismissed. Sarek's shame ultimately only grew when, eventually, Spock unexpectedly chose to join Starfleet instead of the Expeditionary Group, rendering Sarek's sacrifice of Michael's Vulcan career pointless. ( DIS : " Lethe ")

Starfleet career

Uss shenzhou.

Burnham with Sarek aboard the Shenzhou

Sarek sought to find Burnham a place where she could thrive and approached Captain Philippa Georgiou to give his ward an opportunity in Starfleet. Burnham, therefore, joined the service and was assigned to the Shenzhou under the command of Georgiou in 2249, at the age of 23. Serving as a xenoanthropologist , she eventually rose to the rank of commander, and by 2256, had become Georgiou's first officer. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ")

Just prior to the Battle of the Binary Stars , Burnham was charged with mutiny after incapacitating Captain Georgiou and taking command of the Shenzhou , preparing to attack the Klingons by firing on them first. She subsequently pleaded guilty to these charges during a court martial , and was stripped of rank and sentenced to life in prison. ( DIS : " Battle at the Binary Stars ") She thus became the first and only officer ever convicted of mutiny in the history of Starfleet to that date.

USS Discovery

The federation-klingon war.

After serving six months in prison, Burnham was transported via shuttlecraft to another facility at Tellun . The shuttle transporting them was disabled, but she and three other prisoners were rescued by the USS Discovery . Following orders by Captain Gabriel Lorca , she participated in a boarding party aboard the USS Glenn . Lorca then offered her a berth aboard Discovery , assuring her that her life sentence would not be a problem. Burnham began sharing quarters with Sylvia Tilly . ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

Burnham was reassigned from the command division to the sciences division and allowed to wear a Starfleet uniform again, albeit without any rank or other insignia. Lorca assigned her to work on the tardigrade , which had been captured aboard the Glenn . Burnham named the creature "Ripper" because of its strength and ability to damage even a starship's tritanium hull. In collaboration with Tilly and Paul Stamets , she discovered the tardigrade's connection to the mycelial network , which enabled the full utilization of the spore drive in order to stop the Klingon attack on Corvan II . ( DIS : " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry ")

In the following weeks, the Discovery used the spore drive several times; Burnham grew concerned with the effects of this usage on the tardigrade, which became weaker and seemed to be at great discomfort when utilized for the drive. After voicing her concerns to acting captain Saru , she was confined to quarters by him. Following the successful mission to rescue Captain Lorca, she and Tilly released the tardigrade into space, where it regained its strength and traveled away. ( DIS : " Choose Your Pain ")

After recovering Sarek from an assassination attempt by the same extremists who had targeted her as a young girl, Burnham was offered a position as bridge science specialist by Lorca, which she accepted. In the process, Burnham learned the truth about her rejection by the Expeditionary Group – Sarek had chosen to enable Spock to serve with the Group instead (although Spock had turned down that offer). ( DIS : " Lethe ")

Burnham then assisted Stamets in stopping Harry Mudd from stealing the Discovery and selling it to the Klingons. Burnham, Lorca, and Tyler then turned Mudd over to his fiance, Stella Grimes and her father . During this time, she and Tyler developed feelings for each other. ( DIS : " Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad ")

Burnham then went with Tyler and Saru to Pahvo . There, they hoped to use a crystal structure to act as a SONAR in order to detect cloaked Klingon ships. During this time, Burnham noticed that Saru had become fearless after making first contact with the Pahvans. However, he had become hostile toward her and Tyler. Burnham was then able to convince the Pahvans to withdraw their influence over him and allow to complete their mission. Burnham was successful and the three of them returned to Discovery . ( DIS : " Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum ")

The mirror universe

Following the Battle at Pahvo and the subsequent deception by Lorca , the Discovery found itself stranded in the mirror universe . Burnham took the place of her counterpart , long assumed to be dead, in an attempt to find a way home. While in command of the ISS Shenzhou , she was ordered to hunt down Gabriel Lorca, who was attempting a coup against the emperor. Her shuttlecraft was destroyed during this operation and she was presumed dead. Burnham was forced to disguise herself as her Terran counterpart on the Shenzhou in order to retrieve the data files on the Constitution -class USS Defiant to uncover how it crossed into the mirror universe's past. Burnham and Lorca play the part of their Terran selves. Ensign Connor, who is now Captain Connor, attempts to kill Burnham in an attempt to maintain his new position, but fails. The crew of the Shenzhou applauds Burnham for her killing as she takes the captain's chair. Later, Burnham appears exhausted keeping up the act and goes to her quarters where she and Tyler, who joined Burnham as her personal bodyguard, have sex. ( DIS : " Despite Yourself ")

Burnham becomes increasingly agitated with her facade as mirror Burnham, and questions how long someone can keep a facade up until they actually become something they initially were not. She was alarmed by mirror Saru, who was a nameless slave in this universe, and decided to name him Saru in honor of her friend. Mirror Saru was shocked by her friendly gesture.

Burnham was tasked to destroy a rebel base on the planet Harlak. Instead, she and Tyler opted to form a secret alliance with the Vulcans, Klingons, Andorians, and Tellarites, who opposed the Terran Empire. Voq appeared, the mirror universe counterpart of the Klingon she fought at the Binary Stars, and asked Mirror Sarek, known as The Prophet, to mind meld with Burnham to see if her intentions were pure. Mirror Sarek was taken aback by Burnham's memories and concluded she was a compassionate person who meant them no harm. Burnham became curious of Voq's ability to forge alliances with other alien races in order to find the solution to the Klingon war in her universe. Voq's explanation triggered Tyler, who spoke in Klingon and attacked Voq. Burnham convinces mirror Voq to spare Tyler's life. When Burnham and Tyler returnws to the Shenzhou , having faked the attack, she confronted Tyler. Tyler admitted that he didn't think he was actually Ash Tyler. It became apparent that Tyler was actually Voq and that speaking with mirror Voq set off his true nature, having been brought on the Discovery originally as a sleeper agent. Burnham was confused, but then realized that Tyler was the one she fought at the Binary Stars. Tyler, now mentally fully turned into Voq, attempted to kill her. Burnham was unable to defend herself, and mirror Saru arrived and attacked Tyler, saving her. Burnham faked Tyler's execution, actually transporting him to the Discovery together with the files from the Defiant , where he is held captive. Later, Burnham was dismayed to learn her falsities at Harlak had been uncovered by the silent emperor, who turned out to be her former captain Philippa Georgiou's mirror version. ( DIS : " The Wolf Inside ")

Burnham and Lorca were transported to the ISS Charon , as the revelation that Georgiou was the emperor weighed down on her, making her feel the situation was a reckoning for her betrayal of her own Georgiou. Lorca refused to bow to Georgiou, and was taken to an agony booth. Georgiou suspected Burnham of deception, and holding a knife to her neck asked why she came there, revealing she was aware that she conspired to kill her and take her throne with Lorca. Burnham was left shocked by this revelation of her mirror counterpart's betrayal as well. When she referred to the emperor as "Philippa", she was outraged, as she would normally have referred to her as "mother". Later, Burnham revealed prior to her execution that she was from another universe, using prime Georgiou's insignia as proof. Emperor Georgiou agreed to make a deal with Burnham to exchange the spore drive technology in exchange for her freedom to go home. Later, Burnham learned more about her mirror counterpart's history. In this universe, due to Terran supremacy, rather than Sarek and Amanda raising Michael after her parents were killed, Emperor Philippa Georgiou did instead. However, mirror Burnham's quest to hunt down Lorca appeared to be a ruse, as she was conspiring against her own adoptive mother to kill her and take her throne with Lorca, who mirror Burnham once viewed as a father figure, until she grew up and it became romantic. Georgiou told Burnham about Lorca planning to "cross time and space itself to take what was rightfully his" and Burnham put the pieces together, along with Georgiou's sensitivity to light (the single biological difference between the Terrans and Humans), that Lorca was from the mirror universe and their crossing over was not an accident. ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ")

Burnham worked out a plan to deliver Georgiou to Lorca in the same way she planned. Burnham told Lorca that she would stay in exchange for Discovery 's safe passage home, but it was a ruse, as Georgiou and Burnham began attacking and killing Lorca's men. Eventually, Burnham got the upper hand on Lorca with a phaser, telling him that they would've helped him get home, because that's who Starfleet was, and that was who she was, which was why she wouldn't kill him. Georgiou, however, killed him instead. She then allowed Burnham to go back home, with her reign as emperor gone given Lorca's rebellion, deciding to die killing Lorca's men. However, Burnham saved Georgiou at the last minute, holding onto her, as they were transported back to the Discovery and into the prime universe. ( DIS : " What's Past Is Prologue ")

End of the war

The Discovery jumped nine months ahead in 2257, with the Federation suffering significant losses in the war with the Klingons. Burnham revealed to Admiral Cornwell and Sarek about the arrival of their guest, Emperor Georgiou. Burnham asked Cornwell to give Emperor Georgiou political asylum, feeling sympathy for her, despite not being her Georgiou. Later, Tilly convinced Burnham to confront Ash, who was now fully recovered with dual memories, feeling deep remorse for Voq's actions. Sarek told her not to regret loving someone, encouraging her further. Burnham ultimately ended their relationship. Ash begged her, saying he couldn't make it without her, but Burnham explained she was lost after the battle of the binary stars, and having to reclaim life was punishing and solitary. ( DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ")

Burnham awarded the Medal of Honor

Emperor Georgiou posed as Prime Georgiou, enlisted by Starfleet to end the war, however she saw fit, in exchange for her freedom. Burnham, Tilly, and Tyler accompanied her to Qo'nos. Ultimately, Burnham was forced to stop Georgiou's genocidal attack on the Klingon home planet, outraged at Cornwell and Starfleet for enabling the act. Burnham manipulated Georgiou to give her the explosive device by telling her that if she didn't, she would have to watch her daughter die again. Georgiou reluctantly agreed and walked off to her freedom. Burnham offered L'Rell a peace treaty, to call off the Klingons' planned invasion on Earth in exchange for the device as a measure of peace and diplomacy in order to end the war. Ash reassuree a reluctant L'Rell to take charge. After the incident, Burnham's act of diplomacy in finishing the war ended with her, and many of the Discovery crew, decorated by Starfleet with the Medal of Honor for their heroic actions. Burnham was fully reinstated as a commander in Starfleet, her record was expunged, she was pardoned by the Federation President, and she became the chief science officer for the Discovery . Burnham and Tyler decided to go their separate ways, Tyler planning to find a union between Humans and Klingons with L'Rell, and Burnham back aboard Discovery . On their course to Vulcan to pick up the new Discovery captain, they received a transmission from Captain Christopher Pike of the USS Enterprise . ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ", " Brother ")

The red bursts

Burnham analyzing the red bursts with Ash Tyler and Christopher Pike

En route to Vulcan, the Discovery stopped to assist the USS Enterprise , which had experienced a ship-wide systems failure. Burnham was disappointed to learn from Captain Christopher Pike that her foster brother was not on board the ship, and was worried that she would not have an opportunity to patch things up with him. With the approval of Captain Pike, she went to her brother's quarters to find that he had been keeping track of the red bursts and that this might have something to do with his current condition. ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ", " Brother ")

Burnham later helped cure a mentally-disabled Spock by taking him to Talos IV , where the Talosian Keeper and his people were able to cure Spock in exchange for the memory of the start of the conflict between Spock and Burnham. ( DIS : " If Memory Serves ")

Learning that Section 31 's Control was seeking to evolve so that it could become sentient and wipe out all sentient life in the galaxy, Spock helped Burnham temporarily trap The Red Angel in the 23rd century before she was pulled back in to the future. After Burnham's mother was pulled back to the 32nd century Spock and Burnham began to repair their relationship. ( DIS : " The Red Angel ")

Determining that Discovery held data that Control was looking for in order to evolve, Burnham helped take Discovery into the 32nd century. When Spock was unable to accompany them, she advised her foster brother that there was a galaxy full of people looking to reach out to him, and that he should seek the person furthest from him for guidance. After defeating Control, Burnham and the rest of the Discovery crew jumped 930 years into the future to not allow Control to be able to return. ( DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow ", " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ")

The 32nd century

Arriving through the wormhole in the year 3188 , Burnham crashed into Cleveland Booker 's ship . Both Booker and Burnham crashed on the planet Hima . An uneasy alliance was formed between the two. She learned that the United Federation of Planets had mostly been dissolved because of an event called The Burn which destroyed most of the galaxy's dilithium and killed many people. Booker took her to Requiem a large city on the planet, where she was captured and interrogated by Andorian - Orion authorities. The two were chased around the planet by them using portable transporters . The two reached Booker's ship where he revealed his cargo to Burnham, a trance worm named Molly . After escaping the authorities Burnham accompanied Booker to Sanctuary Four to deliver Molly. Booker then took her to meet Aditya Sahil at a Federation relay station. The two discussed the situation and both agreed to find the Discovery and her crew and help reform the Federation. ( DIS : " That Hope Is You, Part 1 ")

Burnham became a courier and, along with Booker, tracked down what information she could about The Burn and the whereabouts of Starfleet and the Federation. She made many connections and had gone through some changes personally while she waited for Discovery to come through the wormhole. ( DIS : " People of Earth ")

Back aboard Discovery

A year later, Burnham came across the Discovery as the crew was attempting to get the ship out of parasitic ice so they could leave the planet. Burnham's ship used a tractor beam to lift Discovery off the surface. Burnham contacted the ship to tell them she had waited a year for them to arrive and that she had finally found them. ( DIS : " Far From Home ")

Michael's new haircut

Upon arriving back on Discovery , she was greeted by the crew. They all hugged her and shared a moment with her. Burnham explained what had happened in the last 930 years. Burnham shares a moment with Tilly where she admits that things have changed for her during her time apart from the crew. Following a message from a Starfleet admiral sent twelve years prior, Burnham and the crew head to Earth where they encountered the United Earth Defense Force , after a confrontation, the members of the EDF beamed on board to investigate the ship. When a raider known as Wen showed up, Burnham and Booker took it upon themselves to take the ship's dilithium and distract Wen. The plan worked and Burnham and Booker beamed back to Discovery with Wen and got him, Captain Saru, and Captain Ndoye to speak. After some tension, Wen and Ndoye agree to halt hostilities and share resources. Burnham stayed on Discovery as first officer to Saru. Later, the two learned through Paul Stamnets that the Earth Defense officer known as Adira was the host for a Trill symbiont named Tal, which was the admiral that sent the message twelve years prior, but Adira was having trouble accessing the memories of the previous host so they set out for answers. ( DIS : " People of Earth ")

Burnham went with Adira to Trill so Adira could reconnect with the memories of the Tal symbiont 's previous hosts, but after the Trill Guardians saw Adira and realized they were Human, they confronted them for being a non Trill host and questioned the Federation. As Burnham and Adira walked away from the meeting, they were ambushed so the Tal symbiont could be retrieved, but Burnham protected Adira and dealt with the attackers. At that moment, Guardian Xi approached and offered to guide them. He took them to the Caves of Mak'ala where Adira could heal their lost connection with the previous hosts by entering the sacred pools, however, after being in the water for a while, her life signs began to drop and Burnham had to dive in to help. They both experienced the memories of when Gray Tal (the previous host and Adira's boyfriend) became joined and later died, passing the symbiont on to Adira. Burnham convinced Adira to face these memories because this would fully join them and that way Starfleet could get the message that Sena Tal had for them. After the ritual was finally complete the Trill apologized for their prior behavior and told Michael that when the time was right they might join the Federation again. Michael and Adira then went back to Discovery where the two shared a moment in Adira's quarters as they played cello. After finishing, Adira told Michael that they knew the coordinates for the Federation Headquarters. ( DIS : " Forget Me Not ")

Captain of Discovery

Captain Burnham

After the Discovery was captured by the Emerald Chain, Burnham helped retake the ship from the Chain's leader, Osyraa. Afterwards, Saru suggested Michael became the new captain of Discovery and temporarily left to take his fellow Kelpian Su'kal back home for the first time since Su'kal was a child. In his absence, Admiral Charles Vance promoted Burnham to Captain and named her the CO of the Discovery , realizing that Burnham was just the kind of officer needed to heal the Federation. ( DIS : " That Hope Is You, Part 2 ")

Later career

Decades later, Burnham was married to Cleveland Booker with a son and had risen to the rank of admiral . She and her family settled on Sanctuary Four and lived in a large and comfortably furnished home. Book apparently maintained an interest in the care of wildlife as he presented his wife with the first sample of honey from the new beehive he built for her coffee which she playfully said was "waxie." Before leaving on a mission, she spent the morning repairing a fence. Her son arrived in a shuttle to escort her to Federation Headquarters . Burnham took command of the USS Discovery one last time. She did this to send the ship, which was returned to its 23rd century configuration, and Zora on a Red Directive mission into deep space to wait for " Craft ," although Burnham didn't know if that was a person or a vessel. As the mission was expected to take longer than the crew's lifetime, Burnham suggested that Zora could look up their descendants when Discovery was eventually recovered by Starfleet and promised the AI that there would be a new beginning waiting for her upon Zora's return. Taking Discovery 's captain's chair for the last time, Burnham reflected upon her long journey before embarking upon her old ship's final mission. ( DIS : " Life, Itself ")

Alternate timelines and realities

According to Gabrielle Burnham , she witnessed hundreds of versions of her daughter's death during her time traveling efforts to stop Control . ( DIS : " Perpetual Infinity ")

In one alternate timeline , Burnham was killed by a creature in Vulcan's Forge after running away from home. Gabrielle, as the Red Angel , warned a young Spock who alerted Sarek and Amanda Grayson who came to Burnham's rescue just in time. ( DIS : " If Memory Serves ")

In an alternate timeline shown to Burnham by the time crystal , the USS Enterprise was destroyed by an unexploded photon torpedo that breached the hull and eventually detonated while Control , in the body of Leland , stormed the bridge of the USS Discovery and slaughtered the bridge crew. After defeating Burnham, Control killed her with a point-blank phaser shot to the face. Burnham prevented this with her plan to take Discovery into the future with Control instead only having a brief skirmish with the bridge crew before moving on rather than slaughtering them and the Enterprise being saved by the sacrifice of Admiral Katrina Cornwell . Burnham and Spock surmised that the time crystal had shown Burnham this possible future so that she could avoid it. ( DIS : " Such Sweet Sorrow ", " Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2 ")

In another alternate timeline, Starfleet rescued Discovery from the time cycling too late and Moll and L'ak found the Progenitor technology, causing the Federation to fall to the Breen . Burnham and all of Discovery 's crew died as a result of this. When Burnham and Commander Rayner arrived on this Discovery in 3218 from a time jump, they found the ship covered in dust and only Zora left who had lost most of her memory who revealed what had happened. Zora helped the two figure out the pattern of the time cycling and begged them to make things right before Burnham and Rayner were sent to another time period. This future was averted when Burnham, Rayner and Paul Stamets , with the help of the Discovery crew of an alternate 2256 , stopped the time cycling six hours after it began. ( DIS : " Face the Strange ")

In another alternate timeline, a few weeks after first stepping foot onto Discovery , Burnham encountered her future self who was attempting to enlist the aid of Discovery 's crew in 2256 to break the time cycling. Burnham believed her future self to be a shapeshifter or something similar and refused to believe that it could possibly be herself as the future Burnham was a Starfleet Captain while Burnham was a mutineer. The future Burnham was forced to subdue her past self with a Vulcan neck pinch , but Burnham recovered and confronted Stamets and Rayner in engineering, demanding that Stamets shut down the warp core. Rayner recognized that Burnham didn't want to risk messing things up again and used his knowledge from her future self, namely that Burnham felt that she didn't deserve to be on Discovery after what she did, to earn her trust. Rayner revealed that Burnham did deserve to be here, and she's did a damn good job and everything that's she was going to go through was going to make her into one hell of a captain. Burnham eventually relented and allowed the group to proceed with their plan. This timeline was erased when the time bug was removed before it could reset the cycle again as the changes made in each time period wouldn't become permanent until the bug reset. ( DIS : " Face the Strange ")

Relationships

Burnham's tree of connections and memories

After returning a Akaali lalogi orb to its owner in 3190, Burnham found herself thinking a lot about family, friendships, and connections, and the impact the past had on her present. It inspired her to create a similar family tree to model those that had shaped her life. After surviving a near-death experience alongside Zora , Burnham added more of her present friendships from the Discovery crew to her tree, and inspired Zora to do the same. ( DIS : " Stormy Weather ")

Friendships

Philippa georgiou.

Burnham's first meeting with Georgiou in 2249

Burnham and Philippa Georgiou had almost a mother–daughter relationship; after taking on Burnham as a member of her crew, Georgiou decided to take a chance on Burnham and made her first officer . From their first encounter, Philippa boosted Michael's self-esteem, telling her that her confidence was justified, much to Michael's shock and complimenting her back. Over the course of seven years, they developed an extremely close relationship. Georgiou grew to trust Burnham, and while exploring with her in 2256, said she trusted her with her life. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")

Georgiou once took Burnham to her home city of Pulau Langkawi , Malaysia , to see the beautiful beaches . ( DIS : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

On a relatively primitive planet, the duo opened a well, and enabled the planet's residents to survive a coming eighty-nine-year drought. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")

Burnham warned Georgiou of her encounter with a Klingon, and with hesitation, Georgiou believed her and locked weaponry on the object. Starfleet ordered the Shenzhou to wait until reinforcements arrived. When Burnham recommended firing first against the Klingons, Georgiou refused. Burnham disabled Georgiou with a Vulcan nerve pinch and took command of the ship, ordering an attack on the Klingon vessel. Georgiou recovered in time to stop the attack. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")

Georgiou arrested and imprisoned Burnham for mutiny. However, Burnham escaped the brig after telepathic encouragement from Sarek, and convinced Georgiou to take T'Kuvma hostage, instead of making him a martyr. Georgiou told Burnham she worried that one day her Vulcan upbringing would cloud her Human side, and was disappointed to learn that she had such an ego to believe she could rip the Vulcan shell away from Burnham. Burnham retorted that she turned against her because she believed it was the only viable option to avoid a full scale war, and to save her life as well as the crew's, which was worth going against Starfleet's principles. Georgiou did not respond to her justification, but agreed to go with her plan to infiltrate the ship together, rather than Burnham alone as she originally suggested, indicating Georgiou had not given up on her.

Burnham prepares to fight side by side with Georgiou

Using an explosive sent to T'Kuvma's ship with a Klingon corpse as a distraction, the duo boarded the ship and attacked. Burnham fought off Voq , but Georgiou was killed during the Battle of the Binary Stars, by T'Kuvma. A moment later, Burnham shot T'Kuvma and made a martyr of him. Burnham was distraught, weeping at the loss of her friend and captain, and becoming consumed with grief. Following Georgiou's death, Burnham felt she was responsible for the death of her captain and friend, completely guilt-ridden. ( DIS : " Battle at the Binary Stars ")

Burnham unable to retrieve Georgiou's body

Six months after Georgiou's death, Burnham received Georgiou's will, in which Georgiou had left Burnham her most prized possession, a telescope handed down through her family for centuries. In her will, Georgiou said she was proud of Burnham as if she were her own daughter. ( DIS : " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry ") However, Burnham felt undeserving of the possession, believing herself to be guilty of Georgiou's death, so she gave the telescope to Saru instead. ( DIS : " Choose Your Pain ")

Burnham felt having to face Georgiou's Terran counterpart , the emperor, was a reckoning for her betrayal. She remained feeling extremely guilty for having went against her captain's wishes. After revealing her true identity, Burnham told Emperor Georgiou that their bond seemed to cross universes, as Burnham and Georgiou's mother/daughter-like bond is a literal mother/daughter bond in the mirror universe. ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ") Burnham's guilt over her captain's death led her to declare she would not let Emperor Georgiou die, no matter how cruel or ruthless she is. ( DIS : " What's Past Is Prologue ") When she returned to the prime universe with Georgiou, having kept her promise, she admitted she wanted to show her a place of morality and hope. Mirror Georgiou told her that she wished to save her because she couldn't save her own Georgiou and that it weakens her, to which Michael responded, " Well, I feel it every day of my life ". ( DIS : " The War Without, The War Within ")

Sarek and Burnham had a father-daughter relationship due to the fact that, after her parents were killed, Sarek took Burnham as his ward . Afterward, he helped her countless times whenever her judgment was clouded by her Human emotions. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ")

Saru tells Burnham her absence is a loss to Starfleet

Burnham served with Saru aboard the Shenzhou , though they were meanwhile in near-constant disagreement in how to read and approach situations. Georgiou noted their rare agreement for once. ( DIS : " The Vulcan Hello ") Even after Burnham's mutiny, which came as a surprise to Saru, he still considered Burnham a valuable asset and the smartest officer in Starfleet, but he was now afraid of her and considered her very dangerous. ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

Burnham reported to Saru that every jump the ship made with the spore drive was negatively impacting Ripper. Saru dismissed this, while she warned that she was unsure of how many jumps the tardigrade could sustain. Later, Saru confronted Burnham upon discovering Stamets had taken the spore drive offline. Tilly, Stamets, and Burnham were looking for compatible DNA sequences, as Burnham said they could use a Human host. Saru noted that he told her to stand down earlier and she disobeyed another order. Burnham said she knew his Kelpien culture made him alert of enemies but assured him she wasn't one of them. Saru angrily fired back that she wasn't an enemy, but a predator, leaving Michael hurt. He told her that saving Ripper would not bring back nor change the fact that her behavior was exactly the kind that led to the death of Georgiou.

Burnham later asked Saru whether he was afraid of her. Saru said he was angry and jealous that he never had the chance to be the first officer under Georgiou and learn everything she had to teach. He anticipated that Burnham would get her own command and he would move up, but he never got that chance. He believed that if he had, he would have been more prepared for the events of today. Burnham assured Saru that he did very well and that Captain Georgiou would have thought so, as well. Burnham then went under her bed to get Captain Georgiou's telescope and told Saru that it is his now. Saru then told Burnham to save Ripper. ( DIS : " Choose Your Pain ")

Sylvia Tilly

Michael Burnham meets her new roommate

Burnham and Sylvia Tilly eventually grew to have an unlikely bond. She was assigned to be Cadet Tilly's roommate on the Discovery after six months of imprisonment. Tilly awkwardly admitted that Burnham was sleeping on her bed and that she suffered from chronic snoring. She then tried to make conversation with Burnham, learning her name and trying to form a "more approachable" nickname with "Mickey". Burnham rejected this, however. Tilly then noted that the only other person she had heard of with the name was the infamous mutineer, Michael Burnham, but it couldn't be her new roommate. Burnham glared at her, confirming the outlandish notion, making Tilly nervous.

Tilly tells Michael it is her first boarding party

Burnham and Tilly had another awkward exchange when Tilly lied, saying the engineering officers had assigned seats. Burnham learned from Stamets later that this wasn't true and went back, next to Tilly, as she tried to ignore her. On Tilly's first boarding party with Burnham, Tilly apologized, explaining that it was important for her to make a good impression and that she didn't want to be seen with a mutineer. Burnham understood and said it was okay, but Tilly said it wasn't okay, and that she was just afraid of what other people would think of her.

Burnham softens up to Tilly, and explains the history behind the rare physical book copy of Alice in Wonderland she has kept

Later, Tilly was shocked to see that Burnham had not left the ship, as Lorca extended her stay to contribute to the war effort. Tilly told her she was glad and confided that she intended to be a captain someday, but there were things about command she didn't yet know. Having read everything on Georgiou – which Burnham quietly corrected to "Captain Georgiou" – she suggested that Burnham could help teach her. Tilly was surprised when Burnham unpacked an actual, physical book, which Burnham handed to her: Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . Burnham explained that her foster mother used to read it to her son and Burnham, and that it taught her that the world was not always logical. When Tilly asked her name, Burnham replied, " Amanda . " ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

Tilly secretly helped Burnham, giving her spores to successfully tame and befriend Ripper. Burnham smiled, appreciating her help. Later, in her shared quarters with Tilly, the cadet congratulated Burnham on a job well done, but the tardigrade being utilized in a way that caused it to feel agony clearly weighed on Burnham, in spite of the heroic act. She then said she had another reputation growing. Tilly noticed Burnham hadn't opened the capsule containing Georgiou's will and encouraged her to open it by noting her bravery and saying she wasn't afraid of anything. ( DIS : " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry ")

Tilly and Burnham later ate lunch together. Tilly told her roommate that she looked awful, and Burnham sarcastically thanked her. Tilly suspected something was wrong with her, but Burnham dismissed this. Tilly then assumed Burnham had made new, more interesting friends but she assured her it wasn't her. Burnham explained it is about her, having been preoccupied with Ripper's condition from the use of the spore drive that she has no job to do aboard the ship. Tilly told her that it was time to reflect upon herself, emotionally. Burnham said she didn't like that, to which Tilly responded, " Really? I love feeling feelings ". Later, they worked on helping Ripper together. Burnham and Tilly released Ripper together. ( DIS : " Choose Your Pain ")

Ash Tyler was one of the very few aboard Discovery who did not judge Burnham harshly for her earlier crimes and escaping justice. Upon meeting her, Tyler declared that he preferred to evaluate people based on their current behavior rather than their pasts. ( DIS : " Lethe ") As time went by, the two began to form a friendship which eventually blossomed into romance.

Cleveland Booker

T'Kuvma 's plan to wage war against the Federation was set in motion. Burnham committed a failed mutiny in order to stop this with the intention of firing at the Klingons first. Later, after escaping captivity, Burnham suggested capturing T'Kuvma to cause his reputation to damage. By doing so, Burnham predicted the Klingon war effort would not be successful if its leader had been quickly suppressed. However, when Burnham and Georgiou encountered T'Kuvma and Voq at the Binary Stars, T'Kuvma killed Georgiou. Burnham disregarded her previous suggestion upon seeing Georgiou being killed, and in an emotional response, she killed T'Kuvma. ( DIS : " Battle at the Binary Stars ")

Gabriel Lorca

The nature of Lorca 's relationship to Burnham was mysterious for a long time. Unknown to Burnham and the rest of Discovery at the time, Lorca was secretly his mirror universe counterpart in disguise, with a plan to get back to his universe and convince Burnham to pose as her presumed dead counterpart to rebel against Emperor Philippa Georgiou in an attempt to take the throne for himself. ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ") Tilly felt that Lorca "practically adopted" Burnham. ( DIS : " Lethe ") Emperor Georgiou revealed to Burnham that her mirror universe counterpart had conspired with Lorca to kill her, and that he groomed her. At one point as a child, Georgiou felt the mirror universe Burnham saw Lorca as a father figure, but when she grew up, the relationship became romantic, much to Prime Burnham's shock and disgust. ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ")

Upon their initial meeting, Burnham noted to Lorca that her prison shuttle changed course halfway through the journey, and assessed that Lorca had brought her to Discovery intentionally, testing her abilities. She revealed she knew about the experimental technology he had been using. Lorca told Burnham her suspicions were correct, but he didn't choose her for the reasons she thought. Lorca explained that, due to the circumstances of the war, he wanted to recruit her because her actions leading up to the Battle of the Binary Stars were predictive, and she chose to do the right thing despite it being against protocol. He believed this to be thinking that "wins wars". Lorca convinced Burnham to stay, manipulating her by suggesting that she stay to achieve atonement or redemption for Georgiou's loss. ( DIS : " Context Is for Kings ")

Lorca was hesitant to send Burnham away to find Sarek, who was in danger. Lorca told Ash Tyler to bring Burnham back in one piece or don't come back at all, to which Tyler assumed he was referring to the ship. At one point, Lorca questioned how Sarek could mind meld with her, as she was not Vulcan. In actuality, Lorca had been using information based on the mirror Burnham by mistake, who had not been raised by Vulcans. Later, Burnham told Lorca she was grateful to be serving under a captain like him. ( DIS : " Lethe ")

Tyler and Burnham transported to Kol 's ship and plant sensors that created an algorithm for detecting the cloaked Klingon ships, much to the disapproval of Lorca. Eventually Lorca agreed to let her go. Burnham explained that she needed to go, being the most qualified person having been on the same vessel and knowing the surroundings, but Lorca curiously and illogically disagreed. Due to the nature of Lorca's relationship being revealed later, it was clear Lorca did not want to face Burnham getting killed again, being vital to his plan to stop the emperor and also because of his romantic feelings for her based on her mirror counterpart. ( DIS : " Into the Forest I Go ")

When Lorca jumped Discovery to the mirror universe, Burnham revealed, based on the personnel files, she was presumed dead and his counterpart was a fugitive wanted for her murder. Lorca told Burnham to look outside and said, " A different universe and yet somehow the same people have a way of finding each other… might be the strongest argument that I've ever seen for the existence of destiny. " Burnham dismissed Lorca's destiny argument, insisting that " Destiny didn't get me out of prison, captain. You did. " At this point, Lorca relied on Burnham to take care of the crew. Burnham agreed with the plan to disguise as their Terran selves in order to retrieve the files on the USS Defiant to find a way back home. ( DIS : " Despite Yourself ")

After Tyler was revealed to be a sleeper agent Klingon, Lorca held Burnham's hand, telling her she wasn't alone. ( DIS : " The Wolf Inside ") Lorca's secret plan to lead Burnham to Emperor Georgiou was successful, as she was summoned to the ISS Charon . Burnham told Lorca it felt like having to face Georgiou again was a reckoning, but Lorca told her that Captain Georgiou was dead and Emperor Georgiou was a ghost. Burnham retorted, " Haven't you ever been afraid of a ghost? " Later, after spending time with Emperor Georgiou as Lorca went to an agonizer booth , Burnham finally realized that Lorca's sensitivity to light was a trait all Terrans possessed, and from Georgiou's words, Lorca believed destiny brought her daughter and Lorca together. Burnham pieced together that Lorca was from the mirror universe and it was not an accident they jumped there. ( DIS : " Vaulting Ambition ")

With Lorca's true nature revealed, Burnham agreed to help Emperor Georgiou due to her attachment to the prime Georgiou. She tricked Lorca the same way they intended to trick Georgiou, by handing Georgiou over to Lorca, and a bemused Lorca told Georgiou that Burnham was destined to betray her in every universe. Lorca questioned Burnham's motives, and Burnham told him that in exchange for Discovery 's safe passage home, he could have her, but only "her mind" (indicating to Lorca her awareness of his romantic feelings for her). Lorca agreed and communicated this information to Saru on Discovery . However, Burnham and Georgiou worked together to attack and kill Lorca's men. Burnham and Lorca fought, and he told her he didn't want to have to kill her. Burnham grabbed a phaser and told him that they would have brought him home had he asked, and because she was Starfleet, she wouldn't kill him. Emperor Georgiou quickly impaled Lorca instead and Lorca attempted to die holding onto Burnham, but she turned away instead. ( DIS : " What's Past Is Prologue ")

Years later, after time traveling back to a version of Discovery that was still captained by Lorca, Burnham appeared to be mostly annoyed by the news, but it didn't end up mattering as Lorca was on an away mission at the time of her, Stamets, and Commander Rayner 's visit. ( DIS : " Face the Strange ")

• 2226 : Born on Earth
• 2236 : Adopted by Sarek and Amanda Grayson after the death of her father and mother
• 2245 – 2249 : Attends the Vulcan Science Academy
• 2249: Assigned to the USS Shenzhou under the command of Captain Philippa Georgiou
• Participates in the Battle of the Binary Stars ; abandons the Shenzhou with the remaining crew after the death of Captain Georgiou; is later court martialed on charges of dereliction of duty, assaulting a fellow officer, and mutiny , to which she pleads guilty, leading to a loss of rank and a sentence of life imprisonment
• Is assigned to the USS Discovery on the behest of Captain Gabriel Lorca
• Given a position of bridge science specialist by Lorca
• Due to her efforts in ending the war she is pardoned by the Federation President and is reinstated to the rank of commander
• Awarded the Starfleet Medal of Honor
• Serves as science officer under the temporary command of Captain Christopher Pike
• Reunited with her mother on Essof IV
• Travels forward in time to the 32nd century , presumed dead by Starfleet
• Arrives to Mercantile and befriends Cleveland Booker .
• Becomes a courier alongside Booker, while searches for the Discovery .
• Reconnects with the Discovery .
• Appointed First officer of the USS Discovery
• Demoted to Chief Science officer
• Appointed Captain of the USS Discovery

Memorable quotes

" From my youth on Vulcan, I was raised to believe that service was my purpose. And I carried that conviction to Starfleet. I dreamed of a day when I would command my own vessel, and further the noble objectives of this great institution. That dream is over. The only ship I know in ruins. My crew … gone. My captain… my friend. I wanted to protect them from war . From the enemy. And now we are at war… and I am the enemy. "

" The real world doesn't always adhere to logic. Sometimes down is up, sometimes up is down… and sometimes when you're lost, you're found ."

" We are no longer on the eve of battle. Even so, I come to ask myself the same question that young soldier asked the general all those years ago: 'How do I defeat fear?' The general's answer? 'The only way to defeat fear is to tell it no.' No, we will NOT take shortcuts on the path to righteousness. No, we will NOT break the rules that protect us from our basest instincts. No, we will NOT allow desperation to destroy moral authority. I am guilty of all these things. Some say that in life, there are no second chances. Experience tells me this that this is true. But we can only look forward. We have to be torchbearers casting the light so we may see our path to lasting peace. We will continue exploring, discovering new worlds, new civilizations. Yes – that is the United Federation of Planets…. Yes… that is Starfleet… Yes, that is who we are… And who we will always be "

" Let's fly. "

Appearances

• Star Trek: Discovery
• ST : " The Girl Who Made the Stars "
• SNW : " Memento Mori " (archive voiceover)
• ST : " Runaway " (Picture only)

Background information

Development.

Burnham was played by Sonequa Martin-Green as an adult and Arista Arhin in flashback scenes of her childhood.

One reason the first name "Michael" was chosen for this character was that Bryan Fuller often had female protagonists who had typically male first names (such as "Chuck" and "Jaye"). " When we all sat down, of course, the idea was going to be that she was going to have a male name, or typically male name, " recalled Executive Producer/Writer Aaron Harberts . " We were just pitching around the writers' room. We had a couple on the board and I said, 'Well, how about Michael?' Because I had remembered a gossip columnist in Chicago . I used to work in Chicago in publicity, and Michael Sneed , she wrote for the Chicago Sun Times . Then, there was the bass player for The Bangles , a musician named Michael Steele . I'd always thought that the name Michael was just really cool and different. We pitched that to Bryan and he was like, 'Let me think about that.' That's how we seized on it. " [1]

Extremely contented prior to learning there was an opportunity to possibly appear regularly in a Star Trek series, actress Sonequa Martin-Green was meanwhile looking forward to her next project. " I was in such a place of contentment and peace about everything, " she related. " I was excited for what was next. I was excited to turn the page. I was just trusting what was happening […] and then Star Trek came – it felt like a snug fit. It really did. " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 190 , p. 19)

Though she watched a lot of Leonard Nimoy 's portrayal of Spock in Star Trek: The Original Series , Sonequa Martin-Green based her performance of Michael Burnham on the character's backstory. " In terms of who I modeled myself after, " the actress recalled, " it's just the story. There's a lot going on, so I just had to dig into all these different facets of who I am, as Michael Burnham, and try to make them as real as I could. " Martin-Green also imagined that Michael Burnham had been named after her biological father, which was later confirmed in DIS : " Perpetual Infinity ". Though this would make her proper name Michael Burnham Junior, she is never referred to as such.( Star Trek Magazine  issue 190 , p. 20)

In September 2016 , Bryan Fuller met with Sonequa Martin-Green to play his lead character, Michael Burnham. " Her audition was fantastic, " Fuller remarked. " I found her incredibly insightful as an actor and delightful as a Human being. " Aaron Harberts was also impressed with the actress. " We read a lot of people who either went too robotic or too emotional, " he recalled. " She was able to be aloof and logical but still warm and surrendering her emotional side to the audience. " ( Entertainment Weekly , issue 1476, p. 27) Harberts also recollected, " I'll never forget Sonequa walking in the door to read for Michael Burnham. We looked at so many actors for that part. " In agreement, Gretchen J. Berg attested, " We felt we weren't gonna find her. " Continued Harberts, " Yeah, and it was just… We were down to the wire, and to have her just walk in, and the warmth that she brought with her, and she just kind of made eye contact with all of us, and I just remember, like, looking into her eyes and just saying, 'Yeah, that's… that's Michael Burnham.' And barely even listening to her read, I mean, just kind of waiting for her to be done so that we could run out and call CBS and say, 'We've found her.' " ("Discovering Discovery : The Concepts and Casting of Star Trek: Discovery ", DIS Season 1 DVD & Blu-ray special features)

However, as Rod Roddenberry recalled, there was some initial difficulty with finalizing the casting of the Michael Burnham role. " Sonequa Martin-Green, when she came in, we loved her, but she wasn't available, " he explained. " And so, we were kinda bummed, but there were a lot of great people at that point, and so we looked down the road; there were some other people that we looked at. " [2] Martin-Green assumed that her lack of availability, which was due to commitments she had made to another project, ruled her out for anything related to Star Trek in the future. " It moved on for me because of the scheduling conflicts, " she reflected. " So, I said, 'You know what? It felt like a snug fit, but, it's gone, so that's fine. I trust what's happening. I trust what's meant to be will be.' I let it go. " However, when Discovery 's premiere date subsequently got delayed, it had a knock-on impact on the casting of the role . " Then Star Trek came around again, " Martin-Green stated. " I said, 'I knew it was a snug fit.' " ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 190 , pp. 18 & 19-20) Rod Roddenberry added, " All of a sudden, she became available, and, you know, everyone felt the same way [….] She just stood out, and so we were so lucky. " Roddenberry didn't take credit himself for having found Martin-Green, an accomplishment he attributed to "the entire team." [3]

When she learned that she had won the role of Michael Burnham, Sonequa Martin-Green was with her husband at a restaurant in Buenos Aires. " My team called, and they said, 'It's happening.' My husband actually recorded it. And so, I cried, and everything, and it's forever captured, " she reminisced. " So, it was just… surreal. It was completely surreal. Like, 'Is this happening?!' My husband and I kept looking at each other, and we wouldn't say anything. We would just look at each other and go (she opened her mouth, and kept it open). " [4]

Writing staffers such as Erika Lippoldt and Bo Yeon Kim found that the casting of Sonequa Martin-Green in the role of Michael Burnham helped inform their writing of the character. " Once we saw her in the first two episodes, we were kinda like, 'Oh, okay; that's who she is,' you know, because the very early drafts, we had her much more Vulcan, " Lippoldt stated. " You know, like, she was just full on, like, completely logical, not really any emotional intonations, but Sonequa's just naturally a very empathetic person. " Kim agreed, " I think, you know, it's one thing to write and to imagine how the character would sound and look in your head, but I think once it went through the Sonequa filter and she was sort of reinterpreting what was on the page in her own beautiful way, that's when it kind of finally clicked for us. But then, even so, that was all just watching, at least for us, Erika and me, it was watching her on the dailies. " When Lippoldt and Kim got a chance to visit the set during the shooting of " Into the Forest I Go ", Kim realized she couldn't imagine anyone else playing the part. [5]

Bryan Fuller was the person who publicly revealed that the main character of DIS would be a female who wasn't a captain. He announced this news on 10 August 2016 , during an interview session with journalists at the Television Critics Association Summer Tour. [6]

In early news stories which suggested the casting of Sonequa Martin-Green in this role, the character was given the name "Rainsford". [7] Martin-Green's casting as Burnham was officially announced on 3 April 2017 . [8]

By the time 2017's San Diego Comic-Con was held, it had been publicly revealed that, in the then-forthcoming TV series Star Trek: Discovery , Burnham would serve as the Shenzhou 's first officer. During the DIS panel at the aforementioned event, the show's producers chose the occasion to drop the bombshell that Burnham would be Spock's adopted sister. ( Star Trek Magazine  issue 190 , p. 20)

Burnham is not the first character to have been depicted as being adopted by Sarek; in the first draft script of Star Trek III: The Search for Spock , Sarek adopted a Vulcan male named Galt , who had been spying for the Klingons.

Burnham's backstory, involving her parents being killed in a terror raid by Klingons and she then being raised on an alien planet (i.e. Vulcan), also shares some similarities with Worf , whose father was killed in an attack by Romulans before he himself was likewise raised on an alien planet (i.e., Earth). This was pointed out to Aaron Harberts on AT : " O Discovery, Where Art Thou? ", but he stated that he hadn't previously thought of the similarities between Burnham's backstory and that of Worf.

Apparently, Burnham never attended Starfleet Academy ; she graduated from the Vulcan Science Academy in 2249 and was immediately assigned to the USS Shenzhou .

Burnham is the second of two main characters to be canonically portrayed as being recruited aboard a series' main starship immediately after serving time in prison; Tom Paris likewise joined the crew of the USS Voyager after serving time at New Zealand Penal Settlement .

Aaron Harberts once joked that Michael Burnham doesn't ingest fluids, but then stated that he reckoned her favorite drink was tea . ( AT : " O Discovery, Where Art Thou? ")

Michael Burnham is the only character to appear in every episode of Star Trek: Discovery .

In the Gallery DIS novel Desperate Hours , Burnham became first officer in 2255 , following the promotion of the previous first officer, Sonnisar ch'Theloh ( β ), who left to accept a post as the commanding officer of the starship USS Tereshkova ( β ).

Burnham makes an appearance in Star Trek Online , with Sonequa Martin-Green providing her voice. In the two-part episode "The Measure of Morality" for the game's tenth anniversary, the player character's ship is pulled to Excalbia , where the Excalbians force them to undertake further "trials" to determine good and evil (a sequel of sorts to The Original Series episode " The Savage Curtain "). While Yarnek and President Lincoln oversee the trials, another Excalbian takes the form of Burnham, joining the player character, one of their bridge officers, and Seven of Nine in representing "good" while facing the forces of "evil", represented by enemies from some of the player's past missions (the Tal Shiar , the Borg , the Iconians ), from Burnham's Starfleet career ( Control , taking the form of the Discovery crew), and finally a Borg Queen created from Control's nanites and Seven's genetic material. After the "trials" are concluded, Burnham – who is aware she is an Excalbian duplicate – is allowed to maintain that form permanently, and returns with the player to Alliance space to reactivate her Starfleet commission. Burnham is the second Discovery -era character to be "resurrected" in the 25th century, the first being Stamets (who was recreated as a hologram with a mobile emitter ).

The novel Dead Endless depicts a parallel universe where Burnham did not mutiny against Georgiou and the Federation-Klingon War never happened. In this universe, Burnham is captain of the Discovery at the time of the story.

Burnham appears as part of Paramount+'s "Paramount Mountain Expedition" commercials. In the commercial "Ice Bridge", Burnham attempts to cross the titular bridge, only for it to crack, prompting her to tell her crew of other Paramount-related characters to lose some weight. When Lt. Dangle of Reno 911 eagerly begins stripping out of his uniform shirt, Burnham can only look in confusion before exclaiming they need to lose more weight, prompting Coach Bill Cowher to send Dangle packing. In an alternate version, "Ice Bridge 'Crack'", her attempt to cross the bridge has her telling the group that there was a giant crack in the ice from their weight, prompting Beavis and Butt-Head to immediately start laughing at "giant crack", annoying the group with Burnham trying her best to stay professional.

External links

• Michael Burnham at Memory Beta , the wiki for licensed Star Trek works
• Michael Burnham at Wikipedia
• 1 Bell Riots
• 3 Daniels (Crewman)

Memory Beta, non-canon Star Trek Wiki

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Michael Burnham

Michael Burnham was a Human woman, a career Starfleet officer in the 23rd century who led the Federation vessel USS Discovery on a time travel voyage to the 32nd century and became that starship 's captain . ( DSC novel : Desperate Hours ; DSC episodes : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ", " That Hope Is You, Part 1 ", " That Hope Is You, Part 2 ")

• 1.1.1.1 Encounter with the Klingons
• 1.1.2.1.1 Captain of Discovery
• 1.1.2.2 33rd century
• 2 Service record
• 4.1 Connections
• 4.2.1 Appearances
• 4.2.2 References
• 4.3 External links

Biography [ ]

Burnham was born on Earth in 2226 . In the early 2230s decade , Burnham lived with her father aboard the Torus 4 deep space research outpost [1] , and he told her stories about the girl who made the stars . Later, Burnham and her parents, Mike and Gabrielle Burnham , lived at a Vulcan-human facility on Doctari Alpha . Her parents planned a trip to Mars, but she wanted to stay to watch a star go supernova . Unfortunately, the Klingons attacked the facility. As Burnham's father barricaded the kitchen door, her mother hid her in a cabinet. Despite not seeing her parents' deaths, Burnham heard the Klingons gloat about killing her father quickly and her mother longer. Burnham continued to listen as the Klingons laughed and had dinner. ( Short Treks episode : " The Girl Who Made the Stars ", DSC episodes : " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry ", " Will You Take My Hand? ")

Burnham was taken in by Vulcan Ambassador Sarek and his human wife, Amanda Grayson on Vulcan . She became the first human to attend the Vulcan Learning Center . During her time there, Burnham was targeted by Logic extremists who were against Vulcan-human interactions. Burnham was physically dead for three minutes and Sarek was forced to initiate a mind meld with her in order to revive her. As result of this meld, a portion of Sarek's katra remained in Burnham's mind and the two would share a link with each other that would allow them to communicate over great distance and feel each other's pain. ( DSC episodes : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ", " Lethe ")

Burnham and her foster brother Spock would listen to Amanda when she read Alice's Adventures in Wonderland . Burnham was given a hard copy from Amanda that she would keep with her well into adulthood. When she was ten years old, Burnham and Amand went with her to a book exchange on Eridani D . ( DSC episodes : " Context Is for Kings ", " Lethe ")

In 2245 , Burnham attended the Vulcan Science Academy , studying quantum physics . She graduated in 2249 at the top of her class and received the Vulcanian Scientific Legion of Honor . Burnham applied to the Vulcan Expeditionary Group , but was rejected. Unknown to Burnham, she was rejected because she was human and Sarek was forced to choose between her or Spock, who was half-human. Thus, Sarek chose Spock and Burnham believed that it was her weaknesses that resulted in this choice, and that Sarek was wrong to believe in her – a sentiment Amanda dismissed. Sarek's shame ultimately only grew when, eventually, Spock unexpectedly chose to join Starfleet instead of the Expeditionary Group, rendering Sarek's sacrifice of Burnham's Vulcan career pointless. ( DSC episodes : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ", " The Butcher's Knife Cares Not for the Lamb's Cry ", " Lethe ")

Starfleet career [ ]

Commander Michael Burnham in 2255 .

USS Shenzhou [ ]

Sarek spoke with the USS Shenzhou 's captain, Philippa Georgiou about taking on Burnham. Thus, in 2249 , at the age of 23, Burnham joined Starfleet and the Shenzhou 's crew as a xenoanthropologist . By 2255 , Burnham was a lieutenant. In that year, Burnham was named the Shenzhou 's acting XO over the Chief science officer, Lieutenant Saru . Burnham, along with the USS Enterprise 's science officer and foster brother, Spock were sent to board the Juggernaut at the Sirsa III colony. After they boarded the ship, Burnham and Spock agreed tests to see if they were worthy to join the Turanian Dynasty . During their tests, Burnham and Spock were able to overload their phasers and disable the Juggernaut. Burnham was promoted to Lieutenant Commander and became the XO . ( DSC novel : Desperate Hours ; DSC episodes : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ")

In 2256 , Burnham went with Captain Georgiou to the Crepusculan homeworld . There, they were able to save the Crepusculans from extinction by drilling through bedrock to release water to them. During their time there, Georgiou spoke with Burnham on possibility of being given her own command of ship. ( DSC episode : " The Vulcan Hello ")

Encounter with the Klingons [ ]

In May of 2256 , the Shenzhou was sent to investigate damage done to a interstellar relay in a binary star system . When an object that created a scattering was found, Burnham was allowed to use a Environmental suit and thruster pack to investigate this object. Enroute to the object, Burnham lost contact lost contact with the Shenzhou . There, she discovered a Klingon there and tried to make contact with him. Unfortunately, Burnham inadvertently killed the Klingon and returned to the Shenzhou.

Burnham woke up three hours later in the ship's medical bay. She told Georgiou and the crew that the object is Klingon and that they were there. Burnham contacted Sarek and asked him about how the Vulcans established a relationship with the Klingons. After listening Sarek's story about a Vulcan ship's excursion in H'atoria , Burnham recommended to Georgiou that they should open fire on the Klingons before they do. However, Georgiou refused this idea and ordered Burnham to stand down. Unfortunately, Burnham used the nerve pinch on her and decided to take command of the Shenzhou . As she ordered the crew to open fire, Georgiou came about and charged with mutiny as more Klingons arrived.

Burnham was relieved of her post and was sent to the brig. However, Burnham was released from the brig when the Shenzhou suffered damage. Burnham suggested to Georgiou that they capture the Sarcophagus 's commander, T'Kuvma . Georgiou agreed to the plan and they both beamed aboard the Sarcophagus . Burnham fought with T'Kuvma's protege, VoQ . Unfortunately, T'Kuvma killed Georgiou in front of her and Burnham chose to kill him. Burnham tried to bring Georgiou's body back with her but was unable. After the Shenzhou was abandoned, Burnham was taken to Earth where she was court martialed and pleaded guilty to the charges of mutiny, assaulting a fellow officer, and precipitating war between the Federation and the Klingon Empire. She was stripped of her rank and imprisoned for life. DSC episodes : " The Vulcan Hello ", " Battle at the Binary Stars ")

For the next six months, Burnham was sent to prison. Burnham, along with three other prisoners – Stone , Cold , and Psycho – were on board the shuttle SPT 21 being transferred to Tellun . Enroute to Tellun, the shuttle ran into Species GS54 . Luckily, the shuttle, Burnham and the others were rescued by the USS Discovery .

USS Discovery [ ]

Onboard the Discovery , Burnham met up with several crewmates from the Shenzhou , such as Keyla Detmer who refused to speak with her. After a scuffle with the other prisoners, Burnham was brought before the Discovery 's captain, Gabriel Lorca . Despite Burnham asking why she was brought aboard the Discovery , she listened to Lorca offering to help him with his mission. Despite Burnham refusing the offer, Lorca was able to get her to agree to briefly assisting them in their mission. Burnham was given quarters to share with Cadet Sylvia Tilly . ( DSC episode : " Context Is for Kings ")

Due to her role in bringing the 2256-57 war with the Klingons to an end, Burnham was pardoned by the Federation President and her rank of commander was restored. ( DSC episode : " Will You Take My Hand? ")

32nd century [ ]

Burnham at Hima's Mercantile in 3188 .

Burnham was able to use the Red Angel suit to travel into the future. She landed on Hima in 3188 and sent to the suit back to 2258 to signal Spock and the USS Enterprise that she arrived. Burnham also set the suit to self-destruct in order to ensure that it and the crystal would not be used. ( DSC episodes : " That Hope Is You, Part 1 ", " Die Trying ")

After meeting with courier Cleveland Booker and Federation liaison officer Aditya Sahil at Spaceport Devaloka , Burnham spent the next year working as a courier and investigating The Burn . During her time as a courier, she was able to hire a fleet to take on the White Palm syndicate. She was also able to discover a message from Starfleet Admirals Charles Vance and Senna Tal from Earth asking people to come. She was then shown Donatu VII , where couriers' families lived in secret. Burnham and Booker were able to help defend the world from the White Palm and suggested turning Donatu VII into Mercantile exchange in order to protect.

Burnham, along with Booker and other couriers were able to defeat White Palm and take control of Starbase 906 away from the Stabases "Chief XO ", Remington . She then named Iliana Pa'Dan as the new commander of the starbase. Burnham considered continuing on as a courier with Booker. However, she was informed by Sahil that Discovery had been found at The Colony . She and Booker took his ship to the Colony and rescued Discovery before the Parasitic ice could crush the ship. She told the crew that it had been a year since she last saw them. ( DSC episodes : " Far From Home ", " People of Earth "; DSC novel : Wonderlands )

Captain of Discovery [ ]

For her actions in retaking Discovery , Burnham, with Vance and Saru's approval, was promoted to Captain of Discovery . For her first assignment, she would be dropping off dilithium at several Federation world, non-member worlds and a starbase. ( DSC episode : " That Hope Is You, Part 2 ")

33rd century [ ]

Eventually, Burnham and Booker would marry and settle on Sanctuary Four . The two of them had son, Leto Booker , who became a Starfleet captain like his mother.( DSC episode : " Life, Itself ")

Service record [ ]

• Personal log , Michael Burnham

Appendices [ ]

Connections [ ], appearances and references [ ], appearances [ ], references [ ].

• SNW episode : " Strange New Worlds "
• ↑ Short Treks episode : " The Girl Who Made the Stars ".

External links [ ]

• Michael Burnham article at Memory Alpha , the wiki for canon Star Trek .
• Michael Burnham article at the Star Trek Timelines Wiki .
• 1 Ferengi Rules of Acquisition
• 2 Odyssey class
• 3 Typhon class

Den of Geek

Star Trek: Discovery’s Sonequa Martin-Green on the Past and Future of Michael Burnham

Exclusive: Star Trek: Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green reflects on the wild story of Michael Burnham, including her thoughts on the character's post-Discovery future.

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“Between season 1 and season 5 is an entire life.” That’s a real understatement on the part of Sonequa Martin-Green in an interview with Den of Geek magazine , describing the five-season and seven-year journey of her character Michael Burnham, the protagonist of Star Trek: Discovery .

When we first met Burnham way back in 2017, she was the first officer on the USS Shenzhou, a Starfleet ship operating about a decade before the events of The Original Series , and under the command of Captain Philippa Georgiou ( Michelle Yeoh ). By the end of the two-part premiere, Georgiou was dead and Burnham was in prison for mutiny.

Things have certainly changed since then. We begin Discovery ‘s fifth and final season with Captain Michael Burnham of the USS Discovery, but adventuring over 900 years after the events of the premiere. Yeah, it’s been a wild journey, one that incurred more than a little criticism early on for its break from traditional Star Trek storytelling. But it’s also a journey that’s resulted in one of the most unique characters in Star Trek history.

The Early Voyages of Michael Burnham

Rewatching season one of Discovery , it’s clear that Burnham was always designed to be a different type of Trek protagonist. Unlike the previous shows, early Discovery focused less on the ensemble and more on Burnham herself. Moreover, Burnham wasn’t the captain of a ship, but rather an officer with a checkered past, serving under Georgiou, then the Mirror Universe escapee Gabriel Lorca (hello to Jason Isaacs ), and then Enterprise Captain Christopher Pike ( Anson Mount ), not taking official command until the series’ third season.

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That unusual journey meant Burnham had to regularly adapt to wildly different settings and a few status-quo shattering plot twists, including the show’s jump to the 32nd century between seasons two and three, while still remaining a consistent character.

When asked how she managed to pull off that tricky acting challenge, Martin-Green gives the most Star Trek answer possible. “It’s the company. It’s the crew and the cast,” she tells Den of Geek at SXSW 2024 . “All of those things help keep Burnham consistent. I don’t maintain that consistency in a vacuum. I have a lot of people to be grateful for it.”

Those people include executive producers Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise, the latter of whom joined the series toward the end of the second season, after the series lost three previous showrunners, and helped shepherd Discovery ‘s new status quo in the 32nd century. While sitting next to Kurtzman, Paradise, and David Ajala (Book) during the interview at SXSW, Martin-Green says, “The truth of the matter, I praise God for everyone I’m sitting at this couch with.”

Michael Burnham of the 32nd Century

One of the biggest developments with Burnham involved her connection with Cleveland Booker (Ajala), a roguish smuggler whom she befriended during her first year in the 32nd century, before the Discovery made it through the time warp to join her in season three.

It’s apparent during our chat with them at SXSW, as they laugh and reminisce about their three seasons working together, that Martin-Green and Ajala have become great friends in real-life. Together, they excitedly tease a specific episode in the upcoming season “where Michael Burnham has to do some soul-searching and character unpacking.” Those are Ajala’s words as he describes how “glorious” it was to play that episode opposite Martin-Green. “It was a joy working with you too with that one,” she replies in a heartwarming moment with her co-star.

But as much as we’ve learned about Burnham and Book over the last few years, there’s actually still a piece of their story missing: what adventures did they get up to in the year between Burnham’s arrival in the 32nd century and her reunion with the crew of the Discovery? When Den of Geek magazine asks Martin-Green about that backstory, the actor reveals she actually knows the details.

“I will tell you: I created an entire timeline for myself for that year of everything that Burnham and Book did. What was this big thing that happened month three? What’s this big thing that happened seven months in?”

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With the help of not only Burnham and Book’s partnership, but also Saru (Doug Jones), Tilly (Mary Wiseman), Stamets (Anthony Rapp), Culber (Wilson Cruz), and the rest of the crew, Discovery has gone through a clear evolution over its five seasons. What began as an odd-ball solo adventure (original Discovery creator Bryan Fuller imagined the show as an anthology , with each season exploring another part of Star Trek lore) has transformed into a true ensemble.

No, it may not look like other Trek ensembles. Although Paradise assures Den of Geek that she and her co-creators “love our bridge crew,” it remains to be seen how much attention characters such as Owosekun (Oyin Oladejo) and Rhys (Patrick Kwok-Choon) will get in the final season. But Burnham is very much part of a community now.

“Season 1, you found me and everyone else kind of grappling under the pressure of the franchise and wanting to do it justice and wanting to make everybody proud,” Martin-Green recalls when Den of Geek magazine asks her what she feels is the biggest difference between her first year and her last on the show. “And then, we came to season 5 not knowing it would be our last season. And yet, we came to this knowing and understanding who we are. I think that journey comes with freedom, and actualization, and leads to better creativity. In season 5, we’re a fully formed found family.”

Bringing Michael Burnham Home

That sense of comfort and family that Martin-Green describes leads to an openness that has served Discovery well in its last three seasons. By going to the 32nd century, Discovery has pushed Star Trek further in the timeline than any other entry in the franchise. That undiscovered country has given them plenty of room to play around, introducing concepts such as Ni’Var, the renamed planet Vulcan now inhabited by reunified Vulcans and Romulans, and the Orion and Andorian crime syndicate the Emerald Chain, which enters into a treaty with the flagging Federation of the future.

The final season of Discovery will take full advantage of that playfulness, with Paradise promising a “treasure hunt” full of adventure and a lighter tone.

But what does this mean for Burnham herself? We know that Trek won’t leave the 32nd century yet, with a Starfleet Academy series now in production. And the Mirror Universe equivalent of Burnham’s old CO Philippa Georgiou will return in the upcoming Section 31 TV movie. Are there plans for a new Burnham adventure after Discovery ?

Martin-Green doesn’t let any news slip, but it’s clear that she has thoughts on her character’s future. When we ask her whether she’d be interested in continuing Burnham’s adventures on the page, the actor jumps on the idea.

“Well, I’ll just say I wouldn’t be opposed! Anything is possible,” she says. To be sure, past Trek characters have lived long and eventful lives in non-canonical novels, comics, and video games. In fact, sometimes the actors who played those Trek characters come back to write some of those adventures, such as the acclaimed Garak novel A Stitch in Time by Andrew Robinson and the… uh, interesting post- Star Trek: Generations Kirk novels written by William Shatner .

“We’ve seen that anything is possible in this franchise,” Martin-Green continues. “Of course, anything [more about Burnham and Discovery ] would need to be earned, but it is possible.”

Exciting as the idea is, Martin-Green isn’t getting ahead of herself. “But, for now, I have to applaud our showrunner, Michelle Paradise, and the writers. Because they created that addendum shoot that we did after we found out that this was going to be the end. That piece that is added at the end — I don’t know how it’s so conclusive — but it’s conclusive in the richest way. Maybe the better way to say it is that it’s honorable. It’s an honorable end.”

An honorable end is a fitting end for Michael Burnham, a character who started out getting in trouble because of her knowledge of Klingons and ended up rebuilding the Federation in the 32nd century. That is an entire life, and a good one at that.

Star Trek: Discovery season 5 premieres on April 4 on Paramount+.

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Star Trek: Discovery ’s Sonequa Martin-Green on Why Michael Burnham Is Ready for the Captain’s Chair

Editor’s Note: This interview contains spoilers for the season finale of Star Trek: Discovery . 

By the time Michael Burnham sat in the U.S.S. Discovery ’s captain’s chair at the end of this week’s season finale and said, “Let’s fly,” she had traveled one hell of a long way to get there. The xenoanthropologist at the center of Star Trek: Discovery arrived in the 32nd century all alone back in October , with no hint as to when — or if — her ship and crewmates would ever join her. She was freelancing as a courier in the hope of finding clues about the Burn, a mysterious galactic disaster that scattered the United Federation of Planets to the winds and left countless worlds vulnerable to exploitation by a massive crime syndicate. When the Discovery finally does arrive, Burnham has been on her own for a full year, free of the crushing responsibilities she has struggled with for the past two seasons and completely unsure of how she fits into the organization she’s been working so tirelessly to reunite. It takes the whole season — and a lot of bad calls — for her to come back around.

While that journey didn’t take Sonequa Martin-Green 930 years, her character’s moment was definitely a long time coming, capping off a season that aired in one of the most politically urgent eras of Star Trek ’s 50-plus-year history — a season that arrived several months later than anticipated thanks to a global pandemic, in the midst of a critical turning point for the Black Lives Matter movement and racial justice, and mere weeks before a presidential election that would ultimately deliver the United States its first woman of color in the vice-presidency. On top of all that, Martin-Green herself welcomed a second child in July. The star hopped on the phone with Vulture to help us decode her character’s journey to the top.

When Discovery premiered in 2017, it was the first Star Trek show in which the main character wasn’t a captain, and now Michael’s in the captain’s chair at last. When and how did you learn you would end up there? From the very beginning — even with our original showrunners, Aaron Harberts and Gretchen Berg, up to our current showrunners, Alex Kurtzman and Michelle Paradise — that has always been in the ether, that this was something we were headed toward, that Burnham would be on this journey of self-actualization that would also be the journey to the chair. It’s something we’ve believed in very firmly. It was important to me that Burnham overcome all of the necessary challenges to be the person that would be ready to accept that call. I think it makes [being a captain] that much more impactful. And it meant so much to me as a Black woman to have that moment right now at this point in time.

I have to admit, I was surprised by how Michael ended up there. She spends a year alone, living by totally different rules, then she has a hard time reintegrating into Starfleet and taking orders from anyone. Can you give us a little insight into her journey this season? Why is she ready to accept the call now? Well, one of the things I love and appreciate the most about being able to play this character is how I’ve been written, and there always seem to be these dualities with Michael Burnham. In season one, you see a very Vulcan Burnham; you see someone who has been dealing with the duality of Vulcanism versus humanity, logic versus emotion, and leaning way more toward Vulcanism. Then in season two, you see this outpouring of emotion because the pendulum has swung all the way over to the emotional side, the side of humanity.

Now, the new duality of season three could be categorized as “duty versus joy,” which is how Burnham’s mother puts it. [Before this season,] she’s acting purely out of guilt and shame and a deep yearning to rewrite history. She suffered a lot of loss and felt responsible for it, even the loss of her parents, which she had nothing to do with. But [this season, she finally] understands the destructive nature of doing that, of looking at authority in that way. This woman has a distorted [way of] thinking that is needed for the moment, that is the mark of a leader, but many people are resistant to it because there is a rebellious tone to it, because it goes against the grain.

This season essentially kicks off with an entire year of Burnham’s life that we don’t get to see: She touches down in 3188 and then we skip straight to the Discovery and its crew arriving in 3189. Did you do any character-building work to fill in that big blank?  Oh, absolutely. I wouldn’t be able to tell this story if I didn’t do that work for every single conversation I have as Burnham. I charted out that year nearly to the day: 365 days of the experiences that I had as Burnham, with Book, as a courier, searching for answers to the mystery of the Burn, deciding who I want to be and what I want.

I love that I was given this opportunity to expand in this way as a character, because these were questions that Burnham never had the opportunity to ask. There was never time — it went mission, mission, mission, survival, survival, survival, mission, mission, mission. So she got to stop and really look at herself in the mirror and ask who she really wanted to be. Book’s perspective into this new future had a lot of influence on Burnham, seeing someone be self-driven in that way with all that passion and heart. And then with the reunion with the crew and all the challenges that came from that, what was ultimately decided was that there’s room for all of it. There is freedom and joy in it.

You say you charted out every day — can you share specifics? Oh, it was purely me building out [what was already there]. One thing was, I say to Saru [in “People of Earth” ] that I sent out a transmission to Terralysium, where we were supposed to land, but they had never heard of my mom. So I decided that had happened three months into this new future, at which point I realized, Okay, I’ve got to move forward somehow.

And then [in the premiere ], the character Aditya [Sahil, the uncommissioned Starfleet liaison,] says that because of the laws of temporal mechanics, [my crew] could arrive tomorrow or 1,000 years from now. So I decided that I waited up all [that first] night for them to come out and then they never did. And so after that night, and especially after hearing that Terralysium had never heard of my mom, I thought, Okay, then maybe it’ll be 1,000 years from now. At this point, I’m completely on my own, and I need to figure out how I’m going to move forward.

Let’s fast-forward a little bit to last week’s penultimate episode . We hear some harsh truths about the Federation coming from Osyraa at the negotiating table. But this week, in the finale, Michael kills her. Does Osyraa’s death really mean the Emerald Chain and its influence will no longer be a problem for the Federation? Well, I love that [the consequences] you see playing out from us jumping to this future are multilayered. It’s not just that we all decided we would just jump 930 years into the future, away from everything we’ve ever known or loved, and everything’s gonna be great. We were ready to sacrifice. That’s who we are; these are honorable people. You see how difficult of a transition it is for everyone and how hard it is for them to grapple with the fact that they’ve left everything behind, the pain and the stress and the burden of being out of time in a place they were never meant to be in. So with that in mind, nothing is easy. You see the fight that it takes. It was very hard for me and this crew to introduce those original ideals of the Federation, hope and connection, to this future. So it’s not going to be just, you know, boom, boom, pow. It’s going to be a difficult journey ahead, but it is a worthy fight.

So you’re saying that Michael killing Osyraa is basically the beginning of that reunification? I think the death of Osyraa, everything that happened, including Burnham sitting in that chair, is the beginning, yes. The finale is very much the beginning. We are not done at all.

On top of rolling out a brand-new season, on top of everything else going on in the world in the past year, you’ve had this side gig working on and promoting Star Trek: Fleet Command , the mobile RPG game that has been around for a minute but just added Discovery and its characters to its universe. I’m curious about your involvement. Star Trek is relatively unique in the sense that engaging the Trek community beyond the shows themselves is kind of part of the deal. How did you end up working on this? Well, it’s very much what you just said. It’s about connection. It’s very much the spirit of this franchise, why it’s lasted the test of time: that people get to see themselves. So anything that can connect [people] in this way, that feeds into that connection, is a win. It was very easy and exciting to be a part of it, because it’s just another way for [fans] to come on this journey right with us. It excites me to think they can fit into the story, to experience it in a new way.

For lots of Star Trek actors, these shows are career-defining projects. Has this role changed your outlook on how you’d like your career to move forward? You know, I really feel that I’ve been very blessed in my career, [but] I certainly have not been a part of anything bigger than Trek . I’ve talked about this before, but you want to do things that have impact. Yeah, I want to do things that touch people, that make people feel better, that are positive, that do good, and that is not something you can predict. You can’t predict impact. But something like Star Trek , it already has impact. It was such a blessing to be able to come into something that already had an influence, with [prescient themes], especially right now in this politicized time on the heels of the resurgence of the Black Lives Matter movement. I’m thinking about all of these things, about hope, and diversity and inclusion, and connection in my own life, and how as a Black woman I can champion [these causes]. And that’s why sitting in the captain’s chair at the end is just so powerful and brings tears to my eyes when I think about what it represents.

I will always be driven by what inspires me. I have no idea what’s to come; I trust God that what is coming is what’s meant to be. But I do certainly always want to look for, you know, what carbonates my heart.

I really like that turn of phrase, “What carbonates my heart.” Thank you. But yeah, I have to do what inspires me because I personally believe that, as much as I bring to the role, the role brings to me. Burnham, I would hope, impacts me as much as I impact Burnham.

Let’s get a little speculative. A genie grants you, Sonequa, one wish for Michael’s future, plotwise. Maybe it’s a one-off episode, a plot arc — the sky’s the limit. If you could pick one thing for her to experience, what would it be? Oh my. The first thing that comes to mind is more of Burnham’s life on Earth before Vulcan. And then I forget what episode it is, but Patrick Kwok-Choon, who plays Rhys, says he wants a vacation in Hawaii , so that would be dope if we could go to the tropics on the show.

And there’s so much precedent for that — so many episodes of past series where they’re on vacation and something goes down in paradise. Exactly. It would also be really cool to see [more] worlds colliding. I don’t know the logic or the science, but it’d be really cool to have characters from our universe interacting with characters from others — maybe pull in our beloved Karl Urban [who plays Bones in J.J. Abrams’s Kelvin timeline], who I got to do this game with. He would be a riot.

We’ve seen captains go rogue before, obviously, but Michael has sort of redefined what it means to be insubordinate, to do what she wants regardless of orders. How do you think that’s going to influence what kind of captain she becomes? Well, that’s a big question of season four and beyond: How is Burnham going to take everything she has learned and apply it to her captaincy? In the beginning, the insubordination comes from Burnham believing that she is serving the needs of the many. She’s willing to give it all up — her career, her freedom — because she thinks she’s saving everyone. She learns that’s not the way to do it; you’re not supposed to operate as an island. But there is still this sense of leadership, this forward thinking that Burnham has, that does compel her to go against the grain and suffer this sort of necessary resistance to that, to learn the lessons that have to come with that thinking.

I really appreciated that look she gets from Stamets at the end of this finale when he’s reuniting with Culber and Adira. She realizes that the choice to betray him will have consequences. Yeah, we don’t leave stones unturned. If it’s introduced, it’s going to be dealt with. Who knows how long it’ll take, but one of the things I’m grateful for with this show and this character is that you see this well-rounded woman make these deep moral mistakes and miss the mark. She is strong and honorable and beautiful and all of those things, but she is also human and makes mistakes and has to grapple with them. And all of these things are being dealt with right before your very eyes. It means a lot to me that this woman’s vulnerabilities are so exposed, because as a viewer, I need to see those things. Because like everyone, I’m going through those struggles in my own life.

This interview has been edited for length and clarity.

• star trek: discovery
• sonequa martin-green
• michael burnham

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Star Trek: Discovery

Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien. Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien. Ten years before Kirk, Spock, and the Enterprise, the USS Discovery discovers new worlds and lifeforms as one Starfleet officer learns to understand all things alien.

• Bryan Fuller
• Alex Kurtzman
• Sonequa Martin-Green
• Anthony Rapp
• 4.5K User reviews
• 104 Critic reviews
• 22 wins & 87 nominations total

Episodes 65

Photos 1475

Top cast 99+

• Michael Burnham …

• Lt. Cmdr. Paul Stamets …

• Sylvia Tilly …

• Lt. Keyla Detmer …

• Dr. Hugh Culber

• Lt. Gen Rhys …

• Lt. Joann Owosekun …

• Lt. R.A. Bryce …

• Lt. Nilsson …

• Cleveland Booker

• Lt. J.G. Linus …

• Discovery Computer …

• Ash Tyler …

• All cast & crew
• Production, box office & more at IMDbPro

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• Trivia The Starfleet vessels seen in the first season, including the Discovery, the Shenzou and the redesigned Enterprise, were all designed by production artist John Eaves. Eaves' work with Star Trek spans three decades. Probably his most notable contribution was the design of the Enterprise-E for Star Trek: First Contact (1996) .
• Goofs With Michael being the adoptive sister of Spock, the series has many flashbacks to their childhood and upbringing on Vulcan. Spock's Vulcan half-brother, Sybok, does not appear nor is mention during these scenes. In Star Trek V: The Final Frontier (1989) , Spock says that he and Sybok grew up together. However, since it's never stated when Sybok joined Sarek's home - only that he did so following his mother's death - or when he was exiled from the family, it's not impossible Sybok moved in after Burnham, and left before she graduated (the two extremes of the flashbacks). Also, since Sybok was never mentioned before Star Trek V, it seems reasonable the family never spoke of him again after his estrangement.
• Alternate versions The serif-font legends and subtitles in the "broadcast" episodes are absent from the DVD versions, where they are replaced with the standard DVD subtitles.
• Connections Featured in MsMojo: Top 10 Female Lead TV Shows You Should Be Watching in 2017 (2017)

User reviews 4.5K

• craigwd-506-28812
• Dec 12, 2022

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• Why do the Klingons in this series look completely different to how they look in all of the previous Star Trek shows and films?
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• September 24, 2017 (United States)
• United States
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• Star Trek: Hành Trình Khám Phá
• Pinewood Toronto Studios, Port Lands, Toronto, Ontario, Canada
• CBS Television Studios
• Living Dead Guy Productions
• Master Key Production
• See more company credits at IMDbPro

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• Runtime 1 hour
• Dolby Digital

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Here's Why Star Trek: Discovery's Female Lead Is Named Michael

There's a very good reason

Star Trek: Discovery 's Sonequa Martin-Green is the first woman of color, not to mention first non-captain character, to lead a Star Trek series and -- no, your ears are not deceiving you -- she's got a typically male name: Michael Burnham.

That was no accident. It was former showrunner Bryan Fuller 's idea, following in his long tradition of giving his female protagonists masculine names. See: Dead Like Me 's George ( Ellen Muth ); Pushing Daisies ' Chuck ( Anna Friel ); and Wonderfalls ' unisex Jaye ( Caroline Dhavernas ).

"We've worked on many shows with Bryan and it's a motif. It's his signature move to name his lead women with names that would typically be associated as male," executive producer Aaron Harberts said at the Television Critics Association summer press tour last month. Sonequa Martin-Green Reveals the Emotional Moment Nichelle Nichols Passed the Star Trek Torch

After tossing around a couple of options, the writers eventually landed on Michael for the first officer of the USS Shenzhou . "I have known of, I think, two [female] Michaels: Michael Sneed, [who] was a gossip columnist for the Chicago Sun‑Times and Michael Steele who played the bass for The Bangles. That's a deep dive on female Michaels," Harberts said. "And we talked about it in the entire room. It was just like, 'This is a really, really interesting name.' And, of course, an archangel is named Michael as well, and it just had a lot of potency for us." And lest we forget, there are some female Michaels associated with TV: four-time Emmy winner Michael Learned of The Waltons and Michael Michele from ER .

Sonequa Martin-Green, Star Trek: Discovery

Martin-Green was on board with the moniker twist from the beginning, which she calls a "lovely symbol," as it not only helped her understand her character's backstory -- a human raised by a Vulcan ( James Frain ) -- but is in line with the franchise's message of open-mindedness and diversity, and a future with more gender fluidity.

"I appreciated the statement it makes all on its own to have this woman with this male name, just speaking of the amelioration of how we see men and women in the future," she said at TCA. "But I also just decided for my creation and for my background and whatnot that I was named after my father. And so, we get a little bit of exploration of the father‑daughter dynamic."

Michael certainly wouldn't be the first female TV character named after a father, if that in fact becomes canon: How I Met Your Mother 's Robin ( Cobie Smulders ) was born Robin Charles Scherbatsky Jr. because her father had wanted a son.

"I think it's a really cool name," Harberts told StarTrek.com , "and maybe we'll see some more women Michaels. Who knows?" Star Trek: Discovery premieres Sunday at 8:30/7:30c on CBS. Episode 2 will be available on CBS All Access immediately after the CBS broadcast premiere. Future episodes will be released every Sunday on CBS All Access. (Full disclosure: TV Guide is owned by CBS.)

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Published Mar 21, 2023

Top 10 Mighty Michael Moments

One fan shares their favorite Michael Burnham moments

StarTrek.com

Today is Star Trek: Discovery star Sonequa Martin-Green ’s birthday. She’s my hero and did an amazing job bringing the complex and compelling character of Michael Burnham to life. Martin-Green, late of The Walking Dead , is an uber-talented actress. A tough yet fragile, loyal yet independent human orphan raised by a Vulcan and human (Spock’s father and mother, no less), Michael is one of the most intriguing new characters introduced to the franchise. So, what better way to say “Happy Birthday” than to list my season-one Top Ten Mighty Michael Moments.

Number 10 Michael may’ve ended up court-martialed, but that’s not the most memorable Michael Moment in “Battle of the Binary Stars.” Her introduction to Captain Philippa Georgiou on board the U.S.S. Shenzhou by Sarek in a flashback gives us a glimpse of pre-Klingon War Michael. The affection she and Sarek have for one another and the fascination with Georgiou that later blossoms into full-on hero worship is fun to watch. It is a credit to Martin-Green’s acting chops that clearly Michael communicates fear, disappointment, excitement, and a desire to please Sarek with just her eyes. We don’t actually get much of this Michael after this point, but I hope there’ll be more of that to come, at least in flashbacks.

Number 9 Michael’s final goodbye to Tyler in “ Will You Take My Hand? ” was bittersweet, but nicely done and a humorous homage to the multitude of similar scenes we’ve seen from male regulars on Trek series. I mean, they always choose the service over the girl, so of course, Michael should do the same. For those of us with a romantic nature, sure, we’d love to see Michael with a great guy someday, but at the same time, I love the fact that she’s now free to play the field, unencumbered by Vulcan restrictions or a steady boyfriend.

Number 8 I couldn’t help grinning when Michael rockets towards the Klingon sarcophagus ship in her spacesuit in “The Vulcan Hello.” What a rush. We saw something like that in Star Trek (2009) when Kirk, Sulu, and Red Shirt Olsen space jumped to disable the Romulan drill. You’ve got to know that for young Black girls with geeky sci-fi tastes, it was everything to get to Michael doing that. It reminded me of Mirror Universe Uhura in Star Trek: The Original Series being all badass with her knife in her boot.

Number 7 Any time Michael kicked someone’s butt, it was awesome, but it was hella satisfying to see her take the Klingon Kol down in “ Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum .” He was just so annoying and not a good Klingon leader anyway. And can we just all give a standing O for Michael’s hand-to-hand combat skills? In “ Context Is for Kings ,” she has no problem taking on lunchroom bullies, and in “ Despite Yourself ,” she took down Mirror Connor permanently. Yeah, she’s tough as nails.

Number 6 Michael learns to dance, gets her first kiss, and saves the good ship and crew in the process, so “ Magic to Make the Sanest Man Go Mad ” is one big Mighty Michael Moment. It was a break for those of us who were tired of seeing Michael in a constant angst-driven funk. Set at a rare downtime party for the crew, Michael is recruited by Stamets, the only person able to see that Discovery is caught in a time loop created by the nefarious Harry Mudd. The pseudo-father/daughter dance lesson between Michael and Stamets which gives her the “birds and bees talk” is touching. Her subsequent dance with Tyler and her first kiss give me girly goosebumps even now.

Number 5 Michael and Sarek’s relationship is one of the best things about Discovery , but there are two cool moments between them that stand out for me. The first was in “ Lethe ”, when Michael discovers through a mind-meld that Sarek chose Spock over her for the Vulcan Science Academy, something he’s kept secret. She’s blamed herself all these years for failing him by not getting in. He refuses to talk about it when she confronts him, but Michael says, “We’ll have this conversation one day… Father.” It’s the first time she calls him that and it was a fitting way to show her, for the first time, calling the shots in their relationship. It was a rite of passage -- a child maturing to adulthood -- and it opened another door for the viewers to the inner “Life of Mike.”

Number 4 The other Michael/Sarek moment is the resolution of that conflict. In the season finale, “Will You Take My Hand?,” Sarek tells Michael that she has been recommissioned, then goes on to say how proud he is of his daughter, which is the first time he refers to her that way. This is a touching counterpoint to her “father’ scene. I hope we see many more scenes between these two, as they have such realistic daddy/daughter chemistry.

Number 3 Three words:  Michael eats Kelpien. OK, more words. In “ Vaulting Ambition ,” Emperor Georgiou has a lovely family dinner with her adopted daughter Michael. Michael chows down on the meal until Georgiou offers her some yummy threat ganglia from her plate. It’s apparently, a delicacy. This moment simply rocks. Not the fact that a poor Kelpien was being consumed, but Michael’s obvious struggle to overcome her gag reflex was priceless. I felt for her. I had the same reaction when my parents made me eat liver.

Number 2 “Killing Georgiou” was another Mighty Michael Moment. OK, Michael didn’t actually kill her, but the thing is, when she brought Emperor Georgiou over to the Prime Universe in a fit of emotion at the end of “What's Past Is Prologue,” clearly the hero-worship thing was out of control. But in the season finale, “Will You Take My Hand?,” Michael course-corrected by accepting that Emperor Georgiou was “her Philippa,” in essence, letting her Philippa die. When Michael lets Emperor Georgiou go and tells her to be good, the emperor asks, “Or you’ll come after me?” This is a perfect end (?) to their short-lived relationship.

Number 1 No surprise, the best Mighty Michael Moment of the season was Michael’s speech to Starfleet. It was everything, especially when you realize that her voiceover for the entire episode is part of that speech. The words, “We Are Starfleet” repeated throughout acted almost as an assurance that all would be well not only for the Discovery , but for the series Star Trek: Discovery . Her voice: calm, confident, strong, and youthful, was a great way to end a long, dark run that was, for all intents and purposes, a season-long origin story. Seeing her flanked by the crew with their medals was invigorating and made me anxious to start a new mission with this new crew.

I can’t wait for next season and many more Mighty Michael Moments.

This article was originally published on March 21, 2018.

Originally from the Midwest, DaVette See lives in Inglewood, CA. She’s a sci-fi fan, a movie geek, an OG Trekkie, and a Browncoat. She has a BA in English and Theater, and a Law degree. An actress, director, and writer, she owns Running Lady Studios and is the producer/star of the web-based talk show, Afro Bites! She is wife to Rob, daughter to Martha, and mom to seven (yes seven) cats. When not covered in fur, she’s a West Coast correspondent and occasional movie reviewer for Black Girl Nerds . Follow DaVette on Twitter and IG @mariavah .

Star Trek: Discovery Seasons 1-4 are currently streaming exclusively on Paramount+ in the U.S., the U.K., Switzerland, South Korea, Latin America, Germany, France, Italy, Australia, and Austria. Seasons 2 and 3 are also available on the Pluto TV Star Trek channel in Switzerland, Germany, and Austria. In Canada, it airs on Bell Media's CTV Sci-Fi Channel and streams on Crave. Star Trek: Discovery is distributed by Paramount Global Content Distribution.

Stay tuned to StarTrek.com for more details! And be sure to follow @StarTrek on Facebook , Twitter , and Instagram .

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'I Feel Very Satisfied': Star Trek: Discovery's Doug Jones Bids Farewell to Fan-Favorite Saru

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WARNING: The following contains spoilers for Star Trek: Discovery 's Season 3 finale, "That Hope Is You, Part 2," now streaming on CBS All Access .

Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 has been one of heavy transition, with the titular ship's crew adjusting to life in the 32nd century. This has meant a number of major adjustments for the U.S.S. Discovery, including in regards to who sits in the captain's chair, which is one of the most highly-visible positions in the franchise. Now, after a season of changing hands, the Discovery has yet another new captain: Michael Burnham.

This, of course, has been a promotion long time coming for both the character and the show proper.  Discovery marked the first time that the main character of a  Star  Trek show wasn't the captain, but Burnham served as second-in-command a number of times, working under Philippa Georgiou on the Shenzhou and Saru on Discovery proper. Regardless of rank, though, there were quite a few times during the  Discovery 's three seasons when she stepped up and took charge in a heated moment.

RELATED:  How Star Trek: Discovery Sets Up Season 4

The most recent example comes in  Discovery's Season 3 finale . After the Emerald Chain and its leader, Osyraa, commandeer the Discovery, Burnham goes full John McClane and spends two episodes working from within to take it back. She single-handedly disposes of many highly-trained regulators and constantly escapes the grasp of the Chain. She's even able to kill Osyraa herself, taking back the ship and saving the crew from dying of asphyxiation.

Even after the crew re-unites, Burnham remains in charge. Acting captain Tilly cedes control to her, looking to her leadership. And she makes good on the opportunity, coming up with a risky but ultimately successful plan to eject their warp core and use Book as a new conduit to re-engage the spore drive. Her initiative not only destroys the flagship of the Emerald Chain, but also allows the Discovery to jump back to the dilithium planet and rescue the crew members marooned there, including Captain Saru.

RELATED:  Star Trek: Discovery Season 3 Finale, 'That Hope Is You, Part 2' Recap & Spoilers

Only, Saru doesn't remain the captain for long. After connecting with Su'Kal over the last few episodes, Saru opts to take his fellow Kelpien to their home planet of Kaminar, and the finale shows him silently watching the stars. Burnham narrates that Saru has taken a leave of absence from Starfleet to "figure out next steps," assumingly reconnecting back with a people he left long ago.

In Saru's absence, a captain is needed. And both he and Admiral Vance recommend Burnham. She takes the news with surprise, given how much the admiral disapproved of her unorthodox techniques over the course of  Discovery  Season 3. But Vance can't deny that Burnham gets results and so asks her to do exactly what Philippa Georgiou wanted in their final conversation: Step up and be the leader.

RELATED:  Star Trek: Discovery Reveals the Disgusting Source of Replicated Food

In the final scene of the Discovery  Season 3 finale, a newly-uniformed Burnham heads to the bridge and greets her crew with smiles. She takes the big chair for the first time as the Discovery's true captain. And with that, she sends the ship off on the first of seemingly many delivery missions, issuing a cool, "Let's fly." It's unknown how long she will remain captain, given how much the seat seems to change hands on  Discovery . But considering how critical she is to the show at large, it's safe to say we should get use to saying Captain Michael Burnham.

Streaming on CBS All Access, Star Trek: Discovery stars Sonequa Martin-Green as Commander Michael Burnham, Doug Jones as Commander Saru, Anthony Rapp as Lt. Commander Paul Stamets, Mary Wiseman as Ensign Sylvia Tilly, Wilson Cruz as Dr. Hugh Culber, David Ajala as Cleveland "Book" Booker, Blu del Barrio as Adira , Ian Alexander as Gray, Tig Notaro as Chief Engineer Reno and Michelle Yeoh as Philippa Georgiou. New episodes of Season 3 air on Thursdays.

KEEP READING:  How Star Trek: Discovery Accommodates a Star's Disability, Rather Than Pushing Him Out

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Best 45 Michael Burnham Quotes – Star Trek: Discovery

March 30, 2021, 9:59 am

We listed best Michael Burnham Quotes from Star Trek Discovery Tv Series. Michael was adopted by Mr. Spak’s parents, Amanda and Sarek Grayson. Grew up at Vulcan and became the first person to attend the Vulcan Training Center

1- “All life is born from chaos and destruction.” – Michael Burnham

2- “We’ll set up pattern enhancers and beam back.” – Michael Burnham

3- “Your Chief Science Officer is worried. Something took a bite out of our relay. Saru thinks it was malicious.” – Michael Burnham

4- “Stamets must be having a field day.” – Michael Burnham

5- “Is this level of sarcasm always necessary?” – Michael Burnham

6- “There was an armistice. We’re at peace.” – Michael Burnham

7- “Their entire ship is covered with coffins.” – Michael Burnham

8- “This asteroid is on a collision course with a pulsar. The gravitational field is going to tear this place apart.” – Michael Burnham

9- “The ideal outcome for any Klingon interaction is battle. They’re relentlessly hostile, sir. It’s in their nature.” – Michael Burnham

10 “Fortunately for you, I was raised on Vulcan. We don’t do funny.” – Michael Burnham

11- “I owe a debt for my crime and it would be best… I prefer to serve my time without getting involved.” – Michael Burnham

12- “How can she not know what tears are? That’s impossible. Show me a teenage girl that’s never cried. You can’t. I know. I’m a xenoanthropologist.” – Michael Burnham

13- “I barely have a job here. I’ve never been less busy.” – Michael Burnham

14- “The purpose of logic is to problem-solve in an uncertain environment.” – Michael Burnham

15- “I am swallowing the urge to set the record straight.” – Michael Burnham

16- “This creature has traveled to far ends of the universe. My hope is that what makes it most happy is to be free.” – Michael Burnham

17- “Power and life support systems are disabled everywhere except for the data center where Control is located so we’ll have to beam over in EV suits.” – Michael Burnham

18- “See your path. Stay on it. Reach your destination. Cadet to Captain. Just like that.” – Michael Burnham

19- “I’m guessing your cargo used to be someone else’s cargo.” – Michael Burnham

20- “My failure is his last thought. He doesn’t believe in me but I’m supposed to be the one who saves him.” – Michael Burnham

21- “They don’t get a lot of walk-ins here. Follow my lead. Try not to get us shot.” – Michael Burnham

22- “As Science Specialist, I’m the most qualified to handle the needs of this creature.” – Michael Burnham

23- “The Federation isn’t just about ships and warp-drive. It’s about a vision and all those that believe in that vision.” – Michael Burnham

24- “Our futures look different. You go back to your lake house and I go back to prison. My sentence was life. This is just temporary.” – Michael Burnham

25- “It’s a super-cool story. It’s just that it’s in a completely devastating way.” – Michael Burnham

26- “I would give anything for a second, a millisecond, of peace but until the war is over, none of us can have it.” – Michael Burnham

27- “It’s you, Saru. And chain of command dictates it. I don’t know if it’s ever been me.” – Michael Burnham

28- “I’m going to see this mission through. I meant what I said. Everybody comes home.” – Michael Burnham

29- “It’s familiar but, um, far away.” – Michael Burnham

30- “You put on a facade like everything that’s happened to you just washes off. I actually envy that about you.” – Michael Burnham

31- “One aye. We’re not pirates.” – Michael Burnham

32- “You get to live your life the way you deserve to. Not at war but at peace.” – Michael Burnham

33- “The Federation is its people. I can’t separate the two anymore.” – Michael Burnham

34- “Destiny didn’t get me out of prison, Captain. You did.” – Michael Burnham

35- “The Federation is its people. I can’t separate the two anymore.” – Michael Burnham

36- “Logic tells me she’s not the woman that I betrayed. But this feels like a reckoning.” – Michael Burnham

37- “Cat collar. To find Grudge if she ever got lost.” – Michael Burnham

38- “I’ve made foolish choices. Emotional choices.” – Michael Burnham

39- “You’re not qualified to judge these things. You’re emotional spectrum runs from cranky to homicidal.” – Michael Burnham

40- “We have to be torch-bearers, casting the light so that we may see our path to lasting peace.” – Michael Burnham

41- “I’d rather regret something I did than something I didn’t.” – Michael Burnham

42- “Like a compass at the North Pole.” – Michael Burnham

43- “I don’t have feelings for the blob-whisperer. And transworms aren’t blobs.” – Michael Burnham

44- “My cares are simple. When you prosper, I prosper. When you’re happy, I’m happy.” – Michael Burnham

45- “Georgiou was the wall I crashed into over and over and over again.” – Michael Burnham

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'Star Trek' Actor Dunks On Elon Musk For Referencing Show To Promote SpaceX

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For a longtime member of the franchise, Elon Musk ’s latest “ Star Trek ” reference didn’t fly.

The controversial billionaire shared a post Monday on his social media platform X, formerly Twitter, in which he appeared to promote his SpaceX company with an allusion to “Star Trek’s” fictional Starfleet Academy — only to get roasted.

“Let’s make Starfleet Academy real!” Musk posted on X , which he acquired for $44 billion in 2022 .

Gene Roddenberry created “Star Trek’s” fictional space force with egalitarianism and cosmic peace at the forefront.

While Musk founded the real-life SpaceX with purported dreams of interplanetary travel , he has lost much of his past goodwill in recent years.

Research has not only shown a stark increase in racist posts since he acquired X, but Musk has personally advocated against diversity, equity and inclusion efforts and maintains his daughter is “dead” to him — solely because she transitioned from male to female in 2022.

His twee “Star Trek” reference was thus quite unwelcomed by beloved franchise alum Robert Picardo, who replied Tuesday on X : “First step : Support a leader that embodies Starfleet values like diversity, inclusion and ethical behavior.”

Musk has previously called “Star Trek” his favorite show . He even wore a jacket referencing the series during his meeting with Argentinian President Javier Milei earlier this year.

Picardo has played The Doctor, a holographic character, as well its creator Lewis Zimmerman, since the 1995 premiere of “Star Trek: Voyager.” He’s also starred in the “Deep Space Nine” and “Renegades” spinoffs and feature film entries like “Star Trek: First Contact.”

“When you join the franchise and they particularly like your character, it’s a nice feeling of being welcomed into something larger than yourself, with a history, obviously, that predates my involvement, but that will go on forever after I’m gone,” he recently told the “Star Trek” website .

Picardo’s post was both praised by fans and derided by Musk’s supporters , who claim that diversity, equity and inclusion — which aims to give equal footing to historically marginalized communities — impedes any chance of a merit-based society.

Picardo ultimately found support from none other than actor Lynda Carter — “Wonder Woman” herself — who posted Wednesday on X : “Dear @RobertPicardo, you are a gem.”

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Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writers didn't get Worf but thankfully Michael Dorn did

S tar Trek: The Next Generation closed out its run in the late spring, early summer of 1994. It's feature-full length film debut was months away in November, and a new spinoff show was entering it's second season with Avery Brooks at the helm. It as a budding show that featured mostly new characters like Quark, Benjamin Sisko, Odo and Kira Nerys. It also featured one character from The Next Generation in Miles O'Brien.

He wouldn't remain the only one for too long. By season 1996, season four was underway, and joining the crew of the space station was one of O'Brien's former colleagues, Worf, once again played by Michael Dorn.

Dorn came to the station as a way of giving the show some heft that some felt was missing. The inclusion worked well. Worf fit right in with the show and the direction they were going; all-out war. Having a character like Worf would give the denizens of Deep Space Nine a true combat-tested warrior to protect them. It made perfect sense.

Yet, had Dorn not gotten involved, things could've been wildly different. In an interview with TrekMovie.com , Dorn spoke about how the writers on DS9 tried to make him just one of the crew, saying;

"That's always been his charm. On 'Next Generation' they got it, and it was very understandable, and I didn't have to say too much about that. On 'Deep Space Nine,' I really had to corral them a lot, because if he's in on the joke, he becomes just another one of the characters. He doesn't stand out at all. And it was easy, because all they had to do was just write a line, and everybody else gets the joke, and [then] they make a joke, and they're funny. And Worf is just looking around going, 'Okay, I wasn't trying to be funny. I don't know why people are laughing.'"

Dorn was right to bring the writers under control with what they wanted him to do. The character of Worf is matter-of-fact, but not stupid. He's not a Marvel Cinematic Universe character. When Worf speaks, he speaks with a purpose and usually to give relevant and timely news to his colleagues. If that news is absurd (how to woo a woman) or outlandish (the day beheadings occur), then that's on the non-Klingons to deal with.

This article was originally published on redshirtsalwaysdie.com as Star Trek: Deep Space Nine writers didn't get Worf but thankfully Michael Dorn did .