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Poll Pike vs Lorca

Who was better (you define what "better" means to you)?

  • Pike

    Votes: 100 84.0%
  • Lorca

    Votes: 19 16.0%

  • Total voters
    119
I think Anson Mount is a heck of an actor. Started watching Hell on Wheels solely based on his performance in Discovery. But I think Lorca is the more interesting character, even with the Mirror universe twist. Pike has just felt like a fan service vehicle more than a fleshed out character. Good performance, but I don't feel there's much more there than what was there to begin with.
 
As for Lorca... well.... Jason Isaac's acting was awesome. The problem is his biggest appeal was apparently being the typical "hardboiled white man making tough choices" Jack Reacher/Death Wish type guy, coming hard down on the "the ends justify ALL means"-angle.

Exactly why I voted Pike.

I didn't find Lorca some model of originality, deep and angsty. He was as much a stock type as Pike, and I found him unappealing even before the Mirror twist.
 
Pike.

Yes, he has a bit of a "cool-dad"-vibe. But that's IMO exactly what "Star Trek" needs. Star Trek isn't Battlestar Galactica or '24' It just doesn't really lend itself for angsty drama. It should be exciting, adventurous, and turn on your imagination. Captain Pike is the perfect "Captain America", the team leader by example, always coming down hard on the right side - because what are principles if we don't stand by them when it actually counts?. Everybody wants to be Iron Man, because he is cooler. But you need a Captain Pike to actually have a working team that does good.
Yep. And in this cynical world of ours I find such unapologetic wholesomeness really refreshing.

As for Lorca... well.... Jason Isaac's acting was awesome. The problem is his biggest appeal was apparently being the typical "hardboiled white man making tough choices" Jack Reacher/Death Wish type guy, coming hard down on the "the ends justify ALL means"-angle. Ironically, considering how often the writers claimed to be "liberal", they created the perfect alt-right poster-child Captain. And then - instead of deconstructing that worldview - showing how your bad deeds bite you in the ass, a là "You're defined by what you are doing, not your intentions" - they completely side-stepped the issue and turned him into a saturday-afternoon cartoon villain, face-heel turn, bad puns and an "ironic" Disney death all included.
Indeed. I never agreed with the people who though that Lorca could have been a cool hero, however, he could have been an awesome antagonist. I would have really loved 'the hard man making hard choices' trope being deconstructed. Alas, it was not to be.
 
Pike.

But....

Prime.jpg
 
If I was one of these captains, I would rather be Lorca (sans MU stuff). But if I wasn't the captain, I would rather serve under Pike than Lorca.

Kor
 
Pike.

Yes, he has a bit of a "cool-dad"-vibe. But that's IMO exactly what "Star Trek" needs. Star Trek isn't Battlestar Galactica or '24' It just doesn't really lend itself for angsty drama. It should be exciting, adventurous, and turn on your imagination. Captain Pike is the perfect "Captain America", the team leader by example, always coming down hard on the right side - because what are principles if we don't stand by them when it actually counts?. Everybody wants to be Iron Man, because he is cooler. But you need a Captain Pike to actually have a working team that does good.
Not everybody wants to be Iron Man! Actually he was most annoying MCU character to me before Infinity War, while Captain America was (and is) the best ever.
(The first Pike's briefing in Brother is very similar to Rogers' briefing in Avengers, especially "Detmer, fly good" / "Hulk, smash them". A working team that does good, as you say. It's... fascinating :luvlove:)
 
Not everybody wants to be Iron Man! Actually he was most annoying MCU character to me before Infinity War, while Captain America was (and is) the best ever.
(The first Pike's briefing in Brother is very similar to Rogers' briefing in Avengers, especially "Detmer, fly good" / "Hulk, smash them". A working team that does good, as you say. It's... fascinating :luvlove:)
Uh, yeah. I haven't watched any MCU movies, so I have no idea what you're talking about. :shrug:
 
Lorca is a very interesting character, charismatic, poetic, non-standard ST captain. He saved season 1 to me. I like him despite of final twist, because it made him interesting by another way: he's a mirror character who lives and serves in Prime Universe, and fights violently to protect Federation and its valuables. Nobody unmasked him. I wonder what kind of man is Prime Lorca?
But I don't want to rewatch season 1. Maybe later.

Pike is standard... but sky high standard. He's not just another series character to me, he is a friend, he is a mentor, he is a role model, he is a living person. Don't understand how it works, but I give up one old bad habit thanks to him :lol:. And thanks to him I am here and try to improve my non-native English to speak with a community. Definitely I vote for Pike.
 
Lorca is a very interesting character, charismatic, poetic, non-standard ST captain. He saved season 1 to me. I like him despite of final twist, because it made him interesting by another way: he's a mirror character who lives and serves in Prime Universe, and fights violently to protect Federation and its valuables. Nobody unmasked him. I wonder what kind of man is Prime Lorca?
But I don't want to rewatch season 1. Maybe later.

Pike is standard... but sky high standard. He's not just another series character to me, he is a friend, he is a mentor, he is a role model, he is a living person. Don't understand how it works, but I give up one old bad habit thanks to him :lol:. And thanks to him I am here and try to improve my non-native English to speak with a community. Definitely I vote for Pike.
You're doing great! One minor thing: you probably mean "values" instead of "valuables." But people fight for both all the time! :techman:
 
Voted Lorca. I think he had a lot of potential, and as much as some people decry the “hard man making hard choices” arc, there’s something interesting about the concept of seeing that in Star Trek - the question on my mind before the reveal was, “how does a man like Lorca go back to being a Starfleet Captain?” But the reveal massively soured the whole thing for me. Still, I loved the character, and find him more interesting than Pike. Which isn’t to say that Pike isn’t interesting, and I’d follow a series of Pike on the Enterprise with absolute glee, but Lorca was far more interesting.
 
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