Going to lie down because it's hot as balls in my apartment and also because I'm just exhausted from not sleeping great. Thus why this is being posted randomly in the middle of the day. I was going to post this tonight but god knows if I'll even be awake.
I've always had really awful birthdays. Either it was outright ignored or I was punished for even having one. My parents were... unpleasant. Star Trek became my escape. Could see amazing people make amazing choices and be the best they wanted to be instead of lying and saying they were good people. Actions speak louder than words, after all, and the actions of the crew of the Enterprise-D (specifically) were what helped me sort of override a lot of the disgusting hateful stuff I was taught as a child. Also made me feel like a person instead of a burden.
I've not really been able to delve in deep to a lot of Trek communities sometimes because, well, it's the internet. People can get a bit toxic behind a computer screen. This place has been anything but. Pure kindness and love from everyone here. Top to the bottom. Honestly it seems pretty worth it to me to forego birthday gifts throughout my life to be able to find y'all.
You are all awesome. I don't want birthday wishes and stuff, I get enough of those from Starbucks and other companies trying to get me to buy their shit that I cannot afford, but I want y'all to appreciate yourself for a couple minutes. You're a great person, you've helped make an amazing community, and I am eternally grateful.
You are AWESOME. Love y'all.
Live so very motherfucking long and prosper more than you could ever dream.
I really don't agree with your characterization there.
Her name might be weird to us but this is an alternate future with aliens so a girl being called Michael is not that strange. Nor would I say it's a calling card of a Mary Sue. She doesn't have any unique powers at all either. She's just flat human woman. Being related to a previous character also isn't really the hallmark of a Mary Sue. As for no flaws, she has an enormous amount. I would also say that she doesn't even have a dislike of authority. She has a problem with managing her own authority and overstepping others. When given an order she'll comply, mostly. There are a handful of instances in which she doesn't and there are massive repercussions for that. Her flaws run pretty deep. Emotional insecurity and emotional instability due to her upbringing. A problem with not knowing when to stop to the point that she has endangered herself or the crew on a few occasions. She makes rash decisions. She doesn't ask for help when she needs it and she often rejects help when it's given. She will take on responsibility for herself that is unnecessary. Spock even makes fun of that in Season 2.
Also the bit about flaws that are supposed to make her more endearing. I honestly cannot think of a single example of any of them throughout the show, especially when everyone reacts to her with utter hatred. I didn't like her either at the start of the show but that's sort of the point. She's built as a character that's meant to be redeemed, to start off at a low point and an embarassment and to see their character development. Shows don't work like they do 30 years ago. Characters can't really come fully formed in an episodic TV show. You need to leave room to grow. Starting off with a character that was fucking up catastrophically is honestly not that much different than what they did with Barclay. It was just done on a larger scale.
I also disagree with the characterization of 'Mary Sue' because she's not the sole person to fix everything. She has never been the sole person to fix everything. She is a person who fixes things but she's a part in the machine. Throughout Season 3 and 4 you get to see a lot more of the other crew and spend time with them instead of Michael, but they were still there making the massive decisions that made an impact in Season 1 and 2. We just didn't know them as well. If anything, Michael is the antithesis of a Mary Sue simply because she's the person who causes so many problems in Season 1.
Honestly I don't think you'd like Season 3 or 4 if you already seem to hate every fiber of the character.
I appreciate the detailed analysis. For me, it seemed like we were supposed to empathize with all the horrible decisions she made at the beginning of season 1, which is what I considered her flaws that were meant to be endearing. I'm glad to hear that's not the case. I never made it that far; I was at the point where they had to take a bunch of snapshots of the Klingon ship, maybe a bit further, but it's been a while..
She did have special powers though. In that regard, I was talking about her telepathic connection with her and Spock's dad, which kind of felt like it came out of nowhere.
As long as I'm not actually supposed to like her in the beginning, I think it'll be worth giving Discovery another shot. With how good SNW and Lower Decks have been, plus what I've heard about Picard s3 (though I haven't seen it yet, because I'm doing a TNG rewatch first), I'm hopeful
You are supposed to empathize with her to an extent, but not fully. She fucked up and she owns it and you're supposed to at least connect with the idea of making mistakes. Season 1 is extremely rough but then again so was every other Trek that came before. Season 2 got better but it wasn't until Season 3 that things started to find its footing. A lot of people hate the answer as to the season long mystery of 3 but again I genuinely don't get why.
I will say though, she did not have those special powers, it was Sarek. She can't do that with anyone else or even initiate it with Sarek. Sarek has to be the one to do it.
I mean, it doesn't seem like you're supposed to like her to me. She's unbearable at the start. Smug and arrogant and frankly a shitty person. But she has a lot of growth of season 1 and that only continues on.