Michael Burnham and the Vulcan Connection. Spock/Uhura’s Daughter?

There’s a lot of speculation of a Vulcan connection surrounding Star Trek Discovery’s lead character Michael Burnham. In the trailer, it appears as if a young Burnham is raised on Vulcan. But it goes beyond those ‘on point’ eyebrows and pixie haircut.
Michael Burnham - Vulcan Connection
In the trailer Burnham seems to talk with a Vulcan inflection at times. But she also shows emotion backing up speculation that she could be human, raised by Vulcans.
But as I lay awake last night considering all the possibilities, a theory of my own popped into my head. To use our new favourite meme:
rain robinson you can't stop a girl speculating
Yes I know we’ve only seen a few minutes of footage but it’s fun to guess. This is pretty far out…..
What if Michael Burnham is Spock and Uhura’s child from the future??…. Stay with me!….
Theory

Star Trek writers love having characters with internal conflict/mixed heritage such as Spock, B’Elanna Torres, Troi etc. So I suspect they might do the same with Burnham.
Then I was thinking about Uhura from the movies, how well written and utilised her character was but there is scope for more.
When Burnham recommends firing at the Klingons, she was feisty but in control and it reminded me of Uhura. Discovery has taken lots of inspiration from the Kelvin Timeline. It would be conceivable that they may wish to recapture some of those Uhura traits in another character.
That got me thinking. What if she was the future child of Spock and Uhura?
Spock and Uhura
I couldn’t post a picture of Spock and Uhura kissing. I just couldn’t.
Now we have a ‘sort of’ confirmation that Discovery is set in the Prime Universe. Wouldn’t it be amazing if this series had some connection to the Kelvin Universe. Some of the best episodes of Star Trek centre around a connection to another series/timeline. Think of  episodes like DS9 Trials and Tribulations, VOY Flashback, ENT Regeneration and TNG Relics.
Here’s how I would pitch it.
Discovery runs for a couple of seasons doing it’s thing, establishing itself.
Burnham has no idea who her parents are, she’ll come across as an orphan child with a Worf complex. Sarek is her father figure and mentor.

Then the forth Kelvin movie drops. It’s about Spock trying to finish Ambassador Spock’s work. That includes finding a way to save Romulus.

Lets have a quick look at the timeline:

2233 – Narada/Nero incident
2255 – Start of Star Trek Discovery
2258 – Star Trek 2009 movie
2265 – Start of TOS (Where no man has gone before)

So Spock (Kelvin) is trying to save Romulus (Prime) using time travel, slingshots or funky transporter tricks. He is trying to get to the 24th Century but in a moment of certain peril, he and Uhura (who is pregnant) find themselves thrownback to 2233 (goddammit Captain Braxton).
They realise that they have an opportunity to save Vulcan instead.
In a heartbreaking scene reminiscent of James Kirk’s birth scene in Star Trek ’09, Spock and Uhura sacrifice themselves to save the world leaving their child with Sarek and Amanda Grayson.

Their daughter would be mostly human but I suspect with the state of Vulcans in the Kelvin universe it would be important for Spock to have his child raised as a Vulcan. So he sends her back to be raised by his own family….remember in the Kelvin universe Spock gets on with his daddy so thats ok!

All of this would unravel later in the series in conjunction with the movie.

Either way, speculating makes me feel excited about the series. It also helps me allay any fears I have about this being a TOS Prequel.
I’ll admit I wanted a 24th/25th Century prime timeline series but there’s still a lot to play with in this time frame and as Picard says “things are only impossible until they are not.”

  What do you think?

 

Also See:


Star Trek Discovery Cast


Discovery FAQs

2 thoughts on “Michael Burnham and the Vulcan Connection. Spock/Uhura’s Daughter?”

  1. Interesting theory. I am so eager to learn about her back story and who she came to be with Sarek as a child.

    For what it’s worth, Ive pegged Burnham’s birth around 2224, assuming she is about the same age as Sonequa Martin-Green, which means she would be born several years before Spock.

    I hope that DSC doesn’t merge with the Kelvin timeline. Partly because I don’t think it would add any story value to DSC, and I want DSC to stand on its own as much as possible.

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