10 No-Win Scenarios In Star Trek (And How They Were Resolved)

Scenario: Starfleet's message of peace is doomed to failure against the Klingons led by T'Kuvma, but the Captain has ordered Burnham to stand down.

Resolution: Michael Burnham faced an impossible choice in this situation, with time vindicating her decision. Though mutiny was a certain road to the brig, she knew from experience with Sarek that the Klingon Empire would only respond to force and not to peace. However, Philipa Georgiou couldn't imagine Starfleet firing first.

This is a situation where initially, everybody lost. T'Kuvma was the man responsible for every death during the Battle of the Binary Stars, yet Georgiou's hesitation to attack left Starfleet trying to play catch up.

Had Burnham succeeded, there is a very real chance that war could have been averted. However, her failure to overpower Georgiou, and the subsequent murder of Georgiou by T'Kuvma, was another contributing factor to the war. Whichever way the day went, Burnham was stuck at the end of a very short path.

The long term resolution came about with the installation of L'Rell as Chancellor. This had not been an option on the first day, though it was an inspired choice by the last day.