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3rd episode Question

posted 7 years ago by FFNogoodnik (770)
9 replies | jump to latest

I am racking my brains here and am really wondering why everyone blames Burnham for the war.

What exactly did she do to start the war. The following is from the Wikipedia synopsis of the 2nd episode "Battle at the Binary Stars":

The leaders of the 24 great houses question T'Kuvma's use of the beacon, which was prophesied to be used to unite the Klingon Empire once again. T'Kuvma is of a disgraced house, and the House of Kor leader Kol refuses to listen to T'Kuvma, especially given his acceptance of outcasts like Voq. T'Kuvma pleads with the other leaders to join him in fighting the United Federation of Planets, who he says intends to destroy their species' individuality. He predicts that reinforcements for the Shenzhou will soon arrive, and that they will announce that they "come in peace", and when these come to pass, the other leaders agree to fight.

The Starfleet ships take heavy fire, and the Shenzhou is almost destroyed, but is saved by the arrival of Admiral Brett Anderson and the USS Europa.

The was was going to start as soon as the Federation said "we come in peace"

The prisoner who said her cousin died on the Europa blamed Burnham but how did Burnham cause it?

[–] JepGambardella (463) 7 years ago

I would like to know the answer to that question too. It doesn't make sense. She WANTED to fire first but she was not able to. Nothing that happened later was her responsibility. I've seen someone claim on another board that her killing T'Kuvma was what started the war, but I think that is a huge stretch - the Klingons had already destroyed several Federation vessels at that point, if I remember correctly.

[–] Glenn1963 (4) 7 years ago

The mutiny is true.

IMO, "started the war" is part scapegoat and part legend. At some point I'm guessing the public story became "Burnham shot first", not "Burnham wanted to shoot first".

Had she been better at mutiny, or a better first officer, that part would at least be true.

[–] JepGambardella (463) 7 years ago

Yeah, OK, I will buy that explanation - and it wouldn't be out of character for her to refrain from setting the record straight.

Saru knows the truth though - hopefully in some future episode he will make a remark about how she is actually not responsible for starting the war.

[–] FFNogoodnik (770) 7 years ago

I can see Saru not telling because telling the truth might put him in harms way, politically, and he would not want that at all.

Keyla, however, does know and she should say something.

[–] FFNogoodnik (770) 7 years ago

[deleted]

[–] plainstyle (172) 7 years ago

The prisoner who said her cousin died on the Europa blamed Burnham but how did Burnham cause it?

I agree it's not really Michael's fault and that she's being scapegoated and made out to be someone she isn't (i.e. cold and ruthless). I can see how the prisoner might have blamed her though. I mean she's probably wrong, but from her perspective it might seem like the Europa crew had the Shenzhou crew's back but the same wasn't true the other way around. She doesn't necessarily have all the facts, after all.

[–] LaurieGonzalez (130) 7 years ago

People need to blame someone when things go badly, what better person to blame than the first mutineer in Starfleet?

No one but the audience know the Klingons used "we come in peace" as the catalyst.

It was also surmised that capturing the Klingon leader, rather than making him a martyr, would stop the war before it began. Michael did two things after the mutiny:
1. Let her captain die
2. Killed the Klingons and made him a martyr.

What better person to blame for everything? After all, no one ones that firing first would have prevented the war!

[–] FFNogoodnik (770) 7 years ago

While only the audience (and the Klingons :) ) know "we come in peace" was the catalyst.

There were plenty of people of people who knew the Klingons attacked first and after agreeing to a ceasefire rammed the Europa with the cloaked ship. Ships logs would show all of this.

There is no need to find a scapegoat

[–] GameOfSlaves (613) 7 years ago

It is because... the story is forced.

It is weak. It doesn't make sense.