Star Trek Discovery has a hero problem

Question: who’s the hero of Star Trek Discovery?

Not the “protagonist.” Not the “main character.” The hero. The person to whom the crew turns when everything is failing around them. The person who digs deep into themselves to overcome their fears. The person who will somehow save the day when all hope is lost…

Guess again.

…because it’s definitely not Michael Burnham.

Michael Burnham is the main character of the series. But what are her heroic qualities? She’s not a cocky brawler like Kirk. She’s not a cerebral diplomat like Picard. She’s not a broken widower who has to go to the frontier to find himself, like Sisko. She’s not an unbreakable matriarch willing to stick to principles over comfort, like Janeway. She’s not the consummate explorer like Archer.

Noticing a pattern yet?

Five heroes.

What the audience knows about Burnham, to-date:

• Burnham was XO on the Shenzhou not out of merit, but cronyism.
• Everyone around her thought she was the smartest person in the room, but…
• Nobody on the Shenzhou respected her, except Capt. Georgiou.