[krapp]

I'd disagree. Modern day Trek is optimistic, just not in the naive way the original series and TNG were, where it was simply taken for granted that humans had evolved beyond their base vices and utopia was simply a natural expression of their enlightened nature. That isn't something one can aspire to. In modern Trek, humans are humans and human nature is realistic, and those utopian ideals have to be struggled for.

[sho_hn]

I'm not sure that being sentimental about and talking up genocidal mass-murderers like the Georgiou character etc. easily fits your characterization of the franchise.

[krapp]

The Section 31 series flopped pretty hard though. Georgiou isn't portrayed as sympathetically outside of a series that's supposed to be a vehicle for Michelle Yeoh.