Captain Gabriel Lorca: is he a Starfleet hero? Or might he be Star Trek: Discovery's real villain?Spoilers ahead for the first three episodes of Star Trek: Discovery.Never before has Star Trek had a captain so full of secrets. Captain Lorca has nothing in common with Kirk, Picard, Sisko, Janeway, or Archer, except his rank. Even his position on the show is a departure; actor Jason Isaacs is a supporting character, not the star. That honor goes to Sonequa Martin-Green's Michael Burnham, a lower-ranked character who gives Star Trek: Discovery a different perspective than any Trek iteration before it.But c'mon. This is Jason Isaacs we're talking about. He's known for playing villains and complex characters. Lorca is certainly complex... but is he a baddie?After his first full episode, "Context Is for Kings," viewers still know precious little about Lorca. We know plenty about Burnham, but her new boss is an unknown quantity. Here's what we've got so far:¢ He has "broad discretionary powers" to do whatever it takes to win the war against the Klingons.¢ He's manipulative. He intentionally arranged for Burnham to wind up on his ship, but acted like it was serendipity.¢ A "recent battle injury" has damaged his eyes. As a result, he requires light to change slowly from dark to light. Rather on-the-nose, he remarked to Burnham that he "likes to think it makes [him] mysterious."¢ He likes fortune cookies, which he says were once a Lorca family business.¢ He's "not a man who fears the things that normal people fear," according to Doug Jones' Commander Saru. This is proven true later in "Context Is for Kings" when the alien monster creature slams up against the forcefield that's holding it. Lorca is standing on the other side, just inches away from the forcefield, and he never flinches. At all.¢ He doesn't get along with Anthony Rapp's Lt. Stamets, who openly called him a "warmonger." By the same token, Lorca didn't hesitate to shame Stamets in front of other members of the crew, in order to get what he wanted.¢ He's a collector of, well... alien creatures, from the looks of it. Both dead and living. (The producers call the room housing this unusual collection Lorca's "menagerie.")Okay, there's a lot to unpack here. It's obvious that Discovery's producers want viewers to see Lorca as an enigma, because they've stacked the deck to give that impression. His darkened eyes, the fortune cookies, his collection of strange creatures ” it's all a big flashing, neon sign telling viewers "this guy is keeping a bunch of secrets!"The way the crew sees him is telling. Most of them seem to respect him, but only one or two seem to genuinely like him. They all recognize him as someone who always gets what he wants. Starfleet must have a great deal of confidence in him to put him in charge of a state-of-the-art new starship and grant him discretionary powers. But does that mean they believe in his integrity, or his ability to get things done?Then there's the menagerie, that bizarre collection of creatures. The obvious conclusion is that he's looking for ways to adapt the unique qualities these aliens possess and somehow use them against the Klingons. But he's undoubtedly engaged in some activities that violate the rights of those creatures. His mention of "spending some time" with the monster from the U.S.S. Glenn hints at the possibility of torture. Other animals in the menagerie appear to be the product of scientific study, even dissection.As for the Klingons, the show has been very intentional about showing their point of view on the war. If Starfleet is the hero of the war, then it would follow that the Klingons must be the villain, right? Yet Discovery is going out of its way to not paint the Klingons as "bad guy." Instead, the warrior race is being depicted more as "the other." (It helps that we already know the Klingon Empire will one day become allies with the Federation.) T'Kuvma definitely had some dangerous ideas, but he believed he was doing what was best for his people. Kind of like a certain first officer from the Shenzhou...So if the Klingons aren't the bad guys, then someone else has to be. Some fans have even speculated that Discovery may end the war by eventually having Starfleet and the Klingons team up against a greater foe.What if that foe was Captain Lorca?

What Jason Isaacs Has Said

In an interview at StarTrek.com, Jason Isaacs has described Lorca as "a very interesting, messed up guy with a bunch of things going on inside... He's got all kinds of agendas that are involved."

In a separate interview, Isaacs noted that "no one can be defined in [one] particular way," suggesting that Lorca is a layered character with traits both good and bad. Just like people in real life, his actions and reactions change based on who he's with and what the circumstances are.

That said, what is Lorca's agenda? This is probably the biggest mystery on the show at the moment. Isaacs says Lorca "has other agendas with people... [involving things] that they didn't know about themselves." He also pointed out that Lorca is "in denial about certain things."

We've already seen how he's willing to manipulate others to foster his agenda, as he's clearly done by adding Michael Burnham to Discovery's crew. Who else is he manipulating? Undoubtedly Rekha Sharma's Chief of Security, Commander Landry, who stated that for him, she'll do "anything, anytime." If taken to its extreme, this relationship could even find her harboring romantic feelings for him ” which a master manipulator would know exactly how to use to his advantage.

Flattery and recognition seem to matter to Saru, so if Lorca was the one who promoted him, that probably won the Captain some brownie points with his resident Kelpien. On the flip side of that coin is Lt. Stamets; there's no love lost between the ship's astromycologist and its Captain.

What "certain things" could Lorca be in denial about? Things about himself, perhaps. His below-board tactics and ideas about winning the war, almost certainly. Until we know more about his past, this question is impossible to fully answer. Future episodes are certain to peel back his layers, but don't expect a huge infodump all at once. Burnham is the main character, after all.

Maybe he's in denial about the true nature of the "spore drive" system. It really does seem to have interesting potential for space travel, but what if it also has potential for chemical warfare, as Burnham feared?

So if Lorca does turn out to be a villain... There would be some serious poetry to Burnham's journey if she were to find herself in the middle of another situation where she has to work against her captain. It wouldn't necessarily be a mutiny this time, per se, but she'd have some seriously conflicted feelings about it nonetheless. It might even give her the chance to find some redemption in the eyes of Starfleet.

Plus, if Lorca is ousted at some point, that removes one obstacle in the way of Burnham eventually ascending to the captain's chair. There are no guarantees that that's going to be her fate, of course, but going from disgraced mutineer to celebrated captain of her own ship would be quite a satisfying journey for viewers to follow. If Star Trek is always about hope and equality for mankind, then Burnham's story could end up playing out those ideals more tangibly than any main Trek character before her.

Discovery's producers have made it known that they're treating the show like any other "prestige format" series, in that anything can happen and most of the show's characters could die at any time. Something to keep in mind when it comes to everyone on the show but Burnham ” but certainly worth remembering about Lorca.

Keep in mind, Jason Isaacs is the biggest "star" on the show, aka the most well-known name among the cast, yet he accepted a supporting role. Why? Might the producers have tempted him with the offer of a fascinating character who's only on the show for a limited time? That was certainly the case with Michelle Yeoh.

On Star Trek, the captain is always the standard-bearer, the stalwart hero who rarely, if ever, falters. He or she is the one that everyone else looks to, and the one that holds everyone else in line with the philosophies and morals of the Federation.

Imagine what a subversion of Star Trek's usual tropes it would be if the captain of the ship turned out to be the biggest threat of all.