#2 - Character development and motivation
I enjoyed the origin story of how a young Georgiou became the Emperor of the Terran Empire. Her sacrifice at the expense of the ones she loved to be victorious in a Terran bloodsport, albeit similar to “Hunger Games”, was a poignant heartbreaking moment. This backstory helped to reveal why Georgiou, from the mirror universe, was so ruthlessly deviant and singularly focused on conquest. The why someone is evil is much more enriching to the development of character than the actual evil deeds themselves. The audience needs to have empathy for a character, even the evil ones, to be invested in the story. Understanding a character's flaws and demons fosters the kind of caring that draws interests to a fandom hungry for new Starfleet canon.