Michael Burnham’s relationship with her adopted brother, Spock, became one of Star Trek: Discovery’s most controversial – and creatively fruitful — endeavors in its early season run. The connection was something of a high-wire act, not only because Spock was arguably the most beloved character in the entire franchise, but because the notion of a heretofore unheard of sibling for him had been tried before in the disastrous Star Trek V. Discovery's care and effort paid off handsomely, however, not only in a nuanced and interesting background for its often-alienated protagonist, but in the ways it allowed Spock to elegantly return to the franchise.
The link between the two siblings – the terrible rift between them and their eventual reconciliation – formed a huge part of Discovery’s second season. It will undoubtedly reverberate across both Discovery and Strange New Worlds, where Ethan Peck will continue as Spock. Their division stems both from Michael’s actions and from Spock's troubled relationship with his own human side.
The details of Burnham’s schism were revealed in Discovery, Season 2, Episode 8, “If Memory Serves.” The Talosians extract the memory from her in return for healing Spock from his madness. As a child, she attempted to run away from their shared home. Spock tried to stop her, claiming later that she helped him better accept his human side, and told her he loves her. She responded by saying that Vulcans cannot love and calls him a “half-breed” before warning him to stay away.
The results, he claims, drove him away from his human side to embrace logic, a decision which formed the core of his identity as an adult. He bitterly thanks her for it, and though she tries to explain that she was just a child, it’s clear that the wounds remain. They’re not healed by the revelations, but they better understand each other once the encounter is through.
Burnham was running away from home because she was afraid of anti-Vulcan extremists who felt that her presence in Sarek’s home was unacceptable. She didn’t want her foster family to suffer because of their proximity to her. She insulted Spock because she wanted to lessen the sting of her absence in the family, and he concedes the crude logic of her actions. She confesses that she should have said or done anything else, but he’s unable to readily accept her apology.
Indeed, the pain of the insult lingers throughout the remainder of Season 2, as the pair make halting attempts to reconcile. The mystery of the Red Angel forces them to work together by necessity, but the personal pain between them remains too deep. It takes an act of forgiveness and release to finally heal the damage.
The remainder of Season 2 features the pair slowly working around the exposed wound between them and gradually finding their way back to each other. The Red Angel continues to drive them over their respective emotional hurdles, since they both understand that personal dysfunction is a luxury in the face of the threat posed by Control.
The real moment of healing between them comes in Season 2, Episode 10, “The Red Angel.” Spock approaches Michael in the ship’s gym while she vents her rage at the loss of her friend, Airiam. The exchange results in Spock unexpectedly accepting Michael's apology for her treatment of him as a child. The reconciliation arrives amid a revelation from Spock; the Red Angel is connected to Michael, allowing them to find a means of trapping it.
The resolution of the larger dilemma is intended to match the resolution of the emotional drama between the two. It pays off beautifully, and allows them to say goodbye to each other with affection when Michael leaps into the future at the end of Season 2. It also provides an elegant reason as to why Spock never mentioned Michael after that -- though there are practical reasons as well. And in Season 2, Episode 14, “Such Sweet Sorrow, Part 2,” Spock notes how much their reconciliation has aided him on his journey. He retains faith that Michael is safe, signaling that the awful thing she did in the past had finally been put to bed.
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