Spoilers Lorca Theory

[The Memetic Susurrus]

I'm not so sure about that. Again, it's all in the execution and how it plays out but ATM it looks like Lorca still actively tries to be the 'better version of himself' he 'hoped to find' in the MU. We know, that MU Lorca was a captain of a starship of the Empire, meaning he probably has done morally questionable things by our standards, but something must have happened that challenged his point of view. He tried to assassinate the Emperor, somehow got into the PU afterwards and adapted pretty quickly to the rules and morals there. Not flawlessly, but he tried his best. There certainly is growth in there, if the writers want it that way, developing a new moral compass, getting 'better' and even though his attitude is still basically 'the end justifies the means' he softened relatively much compared to other MU versions we have seen so far.
Again, it depends on the writers intention and the execution, but there are, if they go that route, a lot of possibilities for growth and development into the UFP ideal somewhere in his future. And that's a very optimistic thing, that even someone like a MU captain can better himself, change and grow closer to the Picards and Janeways we are used to.

Yeah, but you're missing a crucial point: if Lorca is MU Lorca, then he has probably two or three episodes left. That's it. Done. We won't likely see the character again. There will be no further growth to show. Prime Universe Starfleet is not going to let MU Lorca serve as captain of anything, much less the Discovery. He would be too valuable an intelligence asset for Starfleet Intelligence to comb through (if not Section 31). What you are suggesting would presume that, assuming his identity becomes known, the bridge crew all collectively agree to "forget" his origins and how tenable is that?

Also, there's Adm Cornwell's threat so, even if the bridge crew did agree to "lie by omission," she might very well attempt to pull him from the centre seat.

Oh sure, the writers could hand wave all of that away, but it would stretch credulity to the breaking point A better explanation, particularly if you like Lorca, is that he's from Prime; he's simply less naïve than Picard.

To be honest, I don't think he's making it out of this story arc. If he is MU Lorca, he might be maneuvering for a second chance at the throne of the Terran Empire. In which case, he either succeeds or fails. Either way, he'll be written out.

Which really, really puts me in an uncomfortable position of having almost no reason to tune in week after week. Lorca and Tyler were/are my favourite characters. Stamets is fun but he cannot sustain the show. Everyone else...blech, meh, or you've-gotta-be-effin'-kidding-me.

 

[Refuge]

So our choices are Lorca's a prick because he's a natural prime universe one OR he's a prick because he's from the mirror universe?

 

[JirinPanthosa]

It's not impossible, but I find it unlikely. First they seem to be able to detect 'Quantum signatures' quite easily so Lorca's should stand out as being wrong if he was from there, second Lorca didn't seem to know the MU existed. He would have to be just straight up pretending, which is possible, and pulling the 'Destiny' musing totally out of his butt. Third, timeline doesn't track. Lorca disappeared in this universe rather recently, he's been Cerberusing it up in the prime universe for years.

Also, let's consider what we know about this universe's Lorca. He's a rebel AGAINST the Empire. By MU logic, if our Lorca believes in the ends justifying the means against the Federation's policies, MU Lorca will be an ideological rebel against the Empire's policies.

I admit I'm always biased for the theory I consider more interesting, and I don't think "Lorca is from the MU" is interesting, so I'm rooting for it not being true just as I was rooting for a certain character not being a certain other character.

Why did Lorca need Michael Burnham? Because he knows she will violate Starfleet policy to do what she thinks is right.

 

[David cgc]

Something just occurred to me. Remember when there was that behind-the-scenes article, where Isaacs was corrected on saying "Fire, for God's sake!" at one point. The article said it was because they were in the godless 23rd century, and we all freaked out because we remember Bones, not to mention all the other casual religiosity that slipped into TOS? And then David Mack, IIRC, said the article wasn't entirely correct, and there was a reason Lorca, specifically, wouldn't use that turn of phrase? Maybe it's because, say, he's not who he says he is, and is hyper-aware of anything he might let slip that would make people wonder. So, he reads the Federation is secular, and he's going to be the most secular guy around.

Another interesting thing I noticed rewatching "Context is for Kings" was that twice in the episode, Lorca puts a lot of emphasis on wanting to win the war "so everyone can go home," and using the mycelial network to travel would take you anywhere, and then "home, like it never happened." That's pretty different from his more recent goal of wanting to win the war so he could Sliders around the multiverse having seven seasons of awesome space adventures.

It's not impossible, but I find it unlikely. First they seem to be able to detect 'Quantum signatures' quite easily so Lorca's should stand out as being wrong if he was from there...

The quantum scan was pretty far down the list of things they looked at when nothing else they were getting made sense. It's probably not something they do as a matter of course (and we know from Tyler that Starfleet doesn't do the most invasive, detailed scans and analysis unless they have a reason to think they might find something the regular scans would miss).

...second Lorca didn't seem to know the MU existed. He would have to be just straight up pretending, which is possible, and pulling the 'Destiny' musing totally out of his butt.

Not quite. If he's from the MU, it'd be pretty lucky that the counterpart of the one person who could get him close to the Emperor was disgraced and unloved enough he could get her on his ship and make sure she had no where else to go. If Burnham hadn't mutinied, the war still would've happened, but she'd still be with Georgiou or captaining another ship thanks to Starfleet's sudden shortage of experienced command officers, where Lorca couldn't get to her.

 

[The Wormhole]

Something just occurred to me. Remember when there was that behind-the-scenes article, where Isaacs was corrected on saying "Fire, for God's sake!" at one point. The article said it was because they were in the godless 23rd century, and we all freaked out because we remember Bones, not to mention all the other casual religiosity that slipped into TOS? And then David Mack, IIRC, said the article wasn't entirely correct, and there was a reason Lorca, specifically, wouldn't use that turn of phrase? Maybe it's because, say, he's not who he says he is, and is hyper-aware of anything he might let slip that would make people wonder. So, he reads the Federation is secular, and he's going to be the most secular guy around.

It's not a bad theory. Especially since it is apparently okay for Stamets and Admiral Cornwell to say "oh my god" or "for god's sake."

 

[Cyrus]

I've seen this before and it makes no damn sense to me. How would this even work?

I barely remember the TOS episode which had Garth in it. I am sure it doesn't make much sense but doesn't stop internet geeks. Here is a video which I haven't watched all the way through as I find the narrator annoying:

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[Beyerstein]

In the episode where Lorca was in the shooting exercise with Tyler when they finished and he asked how many targets he hit Tyler lied so he didn't have to say he hit more than the captain but then when he read it Tyler said he was sorry and Lorca told him "don't apologize for excellence"

I thought of this when they got in the mirror universe and Lorca told them all not to apologize for anything here.

but anyway, I think they've given more than enough hints and clues at this point. I'd be more surprised if he is the real Lorca and not the mirror lorca.

 

[lursa]

Agony booth doesn't leave scars

Agonizers could leave pretty distinct triangular scars though.
Direct quote from the latest After Trek preview, Burnham speaking: "I synthesized a custom analgesic to numb your nerve receptors, as you requested. It should help with the agonizers."

 

[Hythlodeus]

Yeah, but you're missing a crucial point: if Lorca is MU Lorca, then he has probably two or three episodes left. That's it. Done. [...]

He only has a couple of episodes left anyway. No way they get Jason Isaacs to do more than Harry Mudd like guest appearances from S2 on. If one is honest, it was a huge deal he and Yeoh signed on to do S1.

 

[Michael]

I'd be more surprised if he is the real Lorca and not the mirror lorca.

What does that even mean? I mean, who is the “real” Lorca? We only know the one.

He only has a couple of episodes left anyway. No way they get Jason Isaacs to do more than Harry Mudd like guest appearances from S2 on. If one is honest, it was a huge deal he and Yeoh signed on to do S1.

I think people are overstating the stardom of Yeoh and Isaacs. Don't get me wrong, I love both actors, but I'm not so sure they're in demand to the degree some here seem to think.

 

[Hythlodeus]

Well Yeoh very likely* has a big role in a blockbuster movie 2020 and if I were a betting person, I bet Isaacs is not to far away from getting a role in one of the big movie franchises again
*depending on the script

 

[.:: TSN ::.]

I dont think that Isaacs is that big of an star that they could not afford him if they wanted to. He has done tv series before, just couple of years ago. And CBS:AA/Netflix is now a days a step up from regular tv.

 

[cbl1]

Speculation - He wasn't able to get close enough to the emperor to kill her ... but he did get close enough to steal her Fortune Cookies!

Mirror Burnham sent on mission to capture Lorca and recover said fortune cookies. Lorca must be brought back alive in order to reveal the location of the cookies. Agony booth questions were all "Tell us where you hid the cookies".

 

[cbl1]

I ate them... I ate them all right in front of my crew ... and said "NOT MY EMPEROR"

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Not quite. If he's from the MU, it'd be pretty lucky that the counterpart of the one person who could get him close to the Emperor was disgraced and unloved enough he could get her on his ship and make sure she had no where else to go. If Burnham hadn't mutinied, the war still would've happened, but she'd still be with Georgiou or captaining another ship thanks to Starfleet's sudden shortage of experienced command officers, where Lorca couldn't get to her.

If coincidences are a problem the entire MU concept breaks.

Furthermore, do you really *want* Lorca to be from the MU? It'd be like if Baltar had turned out to be a cylon. If you explain away Lorca's different morals by saying he's from a universe where everyone feels that way, you trivialize the fact that he doesn't go along with Starfleet morality in the first place.

The dumbest thing a writer can do is establish a character who makes different moral choices than everyone else, then later retroactively take away his choice.

 

[Aaron McGuire]

I dont think that Isaacs is that big of an star that they could not afford him if they wanted to. He has done tv series before, just couple of years ago. And CBS:AA/Netflix is now a days a step up from regular tv.

Issacs has quite a few TV credits on his IMDB page. In addition to DISCO, he's also currently in The OA on Netflix, which has been renewed for a second season. The other thing that people are overestimating is the reluctance of film actors to do TV.

 

[RuthlessNate]

Frankly, I think it would be a disservice to Lorca's character to make him be secretly from the Mirror Universe. As others have said, he's far more interesting as someone who's gone through life in the Federation but is willing to violate its ideals to protect them.

But, if he IS an MU native, my thought is that he is a rebel against the Empire. It'd be really interesting if he was a somewhat disenchanted Imperial officer, got a hold of the Defiant's historical records, was inspired by the Federation, and saw the destruction of the Buran as his best chance to escape into the Prime universe and find a way to defeat the Empire.

 

[Mr. Laser Beam]

But, if he IS an MU native, my thought it he is a rebel against the Empire. It'd be really interesting if he was a somewhat disenchanted Imperial officer, got a hold of the Defiant's historical records, was inspired by the Federation, and saw the destruction of the Buran as his best chance to escape into the Prime universe and find a way to defeat the Empire.

You don't think Lorca just wants the throne for himself? He did attempt a coup, after all.

 

[Feron]

You don't think Lorca just wants the throne for himself? He did attempt a coup, after all.

If you are rebelling against a dictatorship, the best way to eliminate it is to get rid of the dictator.

 

[Cyrus]

Since Discovery is the first post Game of Thrones trek series, I have been worried that Lorca will become Dicovery's Ned Stark. I hope that is not the case and he stays for the long haul.