Star Trek: Discovery’s Burnham and Saru Friendship Is Great, But I Miss Their Old Dynamic

Despite their beautiful friendship, I can't help but miss Saru (Doug Jones) and Michael Burnham's (Sonequa Martin-Green) old dynamic from Star Trek: Discovery season 1. The show wrapped up its fifth and final season with some touching tributes to Discovery's cast of characters, including a lovely epilogue scene featuring the entire main cast that certainly pulled at my heartstrings. Above anything else, however, Discovery's finale and season 5 in general made me realize just how far Michael and Saru's relationship has come.

Despite a rocky start, Michael and Saru are one of the sweetest and most genuine friendships Discovery has produced. For the last four seasons, the two have not hesitated to be there for each other in every way, both professionally and personally. Although both were Captain of the USS Discovery at one time, they've maintained a good balance of acting as each other's right hand throughout the series. Despite this, rewatching early episodes of Discovery after the finale, I was struck by how much Michael and Saru's relationship has changed since season 1.

Burnham And Saru’s Rivalry In Star Trek: Discovery Season 1 Was Just As Great As Their Friendship

Michael and Saru's season 1 antagonism was hilarious and understandable

I could never have guessed when watching Discovery season 1 that Michael and Saru would end up being such good friends, and to be honest, part of me misses their old rivalry. When the show began, pretty much the first thing it established about Saru and Michael was that the two didn't like each other. As First Officer and Science Officer under Captain Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), Michael and Saru sniped at and undercut each other almost constantly, and things didn't improve after Michael's mutiny ended up getting Georgiou killed and ignited the Klingon War.

I hadn't remembered how rocky Michael and Saru's relationship was until rewatching Discovery's pilot, "The Vulcan Hello." Despite loving their friendship, I found myself enjoying the antagonism between them. Some of their interactions in the pilot are quite funny, especially when trying to one-up each other in front of Georgiou. Additionally, Michael and Saru's completely opposing personalities made for excellent conflict in season 1, highlighting the strengths and flaws of both characters in a way that quickly and expertly brought them to life. Even knowing what was to come, I almost wanted Michael and Saru to stay enemies for longer.

Why Discovery Could Never Have Kept Michael And Saru Enemies After Season 1

Saru and Michael had to transition to friendship for the good of the show

Despite how fun their rivalry was, however, there was no way Discovery could have kept Michael and Saru as enemies for its entire run. Their animosity in season 1 was understandable, but the two things driving it were Saru's timidness as an officer and his distrust of Michael after she betrayed Georgiou. Characters inevitably grow and change with a show, and Michael and Saru were no exception. Once Michael proved herself worthy of trust again, and Saru's whole personality changed after he passed through Vaharai in season 2, there was no good reason to keep their antagonism going.

If anything, for me, the fact that Michael and Saru used to be enemies makes their later friendship even sweeter. Watching the two of them evolve as characters and their relationship with them was a joy I didn't realize the full scope of until I saw how far they had come. One of Star Trek: Discovery's greatest strengths as a show was the power of its characters and their relationship dynamics, and Michael and Saru ultimately exemplify this strength more than any other character or relationship on the show.