The emotions on “Discovery” always ran hot. Because the title ship was almost always in high-crisis mode, most of the characters were frequently in a panic, facing some new cataclysm, battle, or emotional roller coaster that they were ill-equipped to process. Eventually, the characters began weeping openly, happy to have familiar faces to work with and facing their day-to-day problems with the trauma of a soldiers’ battalion. Burnham began the series as insecure, intellectual, and unable to handle emotions (she was raised by Vulcans). She was unable to modulate her feelings for years. It wouldn’t be until the show’s more recent seasons that she would find a way to balance her feelings and keep them in check.
About that arc and filming the episode with the character’s younger self, Martin-Green said:
“It was hard, because I had forgotten how far Burnham had come! I lived it, I created it, but I was so consumed with what was going on in the present day for Burnham that when I was able to see where I had come from — when I had to step into that Season 1 version again — I was apprehensive about it. It was thrilling to do, but man, what a painful place Burnham used to be in: striving for approval, not having any real sense of self-worth or security, feeling like I needed someone to tell me that I was worthy and that it was okay, and forgive me for my moral mistakes.”
As soon as she was back in the old Discovery uniform (the deep blue one seen above), a lot of her old character traits emerged. Martin-Green felt deeply for the struggles her past-character was going through.