Star Trek Discovery - Is Captain Lorca a pure villain?

Villains with certain redeeming qualities always make the most interesting characters. In the Star Trek universe this assertion probably applies to Captain Gabriel Lorca from Star Trek Discovery, who was brought to life brilliantly by Jason Isaacs. 

It is already doubtful is Captain Lorca is a pure villain, considering he is from the mirror universe, were very different moral standards apply. By Terran standards he might just be a man with ambitions gunning for a promotion. In season two and three it became obvious that the prime universe had a positive influence on Emperor Georgiou. Is it possible that this had also happened to Captain Lorca? Is he truly the absolute villain or is he in the end just someone who couldn't escape the culture he was brought up in? 

Here are seven reasons, that might indicate that Captain Lorca has some redeeming qualities: 

1. He wants to save the miners on Corvan 2

Of course you can argue that the only reason he wants to save them is to ensure that the dilithium supply doesn't dry up. Regardless of this he seems eager to safe the miners and is emotionally invested. Also he obviously doesn't do it for any sort of praise, as Discovery immediately leaves, without taking the time to receive the thanks from the miners. 

2. He is visibly distraught after being unable to save the USS Gagarin

When Discovery received the distress call of the USS Gagarin Captain Lorca does everything in his power to save the heavily damaged ship. He even puts the Discovery between the Gagarin and two photon torpedos. He is extremely upset when he realizes that they missed one torpedo, which subsequently destroys the Gagarin. Again this is an event that could be viewed from two sides, because his anger might simply be an expression about how much he hates loosing. 

3. He has trouble watching Lt. Tyler being beaten up 

When Lorca is on a Klingon prison ship he strikes up an allegiance with Lt. Tyler (At this point it is unknown to him, that Tyler in fact Voc a Klingon). When Lt. Tyler is beaten up in front of him Lorca is unable to watch, even flinching and making a face, whenever Tyler is hit. A Klingon even has to threaten him to make him watch. Since nobody from Starfleet is actually paying attention to him, this is clearly not part of his act to impersonate Prime Lorca but his own reaction. 

4. He doesn't set off Saru's threat ganglia

Admittedly this one is a bit shadowy, but over the course of the show, we often see it set off, even before Saru consciously notices the danger. Although he does in many ways disapprove of Captain Lorca he doesn't perceive him as threat, unlike Michael. The question here would be: Is Saru's threat ganglia set off by actual threats or only those who Saru perceives as threats even subconciously? 

5. His reaction after sleeping with the Admiral 

At first is seems like he is just trying to distract her, as she suspects and his desperation over loosing his ship might be just a very convincing act, but what is genuinely interesting is the moment that comes after she leaves the room. His look is not one of man who has experienced an annoying set back in his grand plan, but of a man who is hurt and frustrated. Despite trying to do the right thing, he feels betrayed. In my opinion up until that moment he is not trying to get back to the mirror universe but trying to make a life for himself in the prime universe. He tries to fit in and be the Lorca they expect him to be. He just doesn't exactly know how or how to shake behavior he learnt is normal in his world. This is proven by the fact that he sleeps with a phaser in his bed. Wouldn't we all if we had grown up in the mirror universe?  

6. He chooses to protect Pahvo

The planet is peaceful, with inhabitants that literally are the planet. When the Pahvians signal the Federation as well as the Klingons, the Federation decides to withdraw the Discovery and to leave the planet unprotected and to fend for themselves, which would surely lead to their destruction. He decides to protect them. Of course this might be due to the possibility to make the 133 jumps, that not only give them the chance to see through the Klingon cloaking device but also to jump back to the mirror universe. The question is: Did Lorca know this? Was this part of a huge masterplan or just a lucky coincidence? Of course we learn that it was his plan all along to get to his home universe, but why not doing this during any other encounter with the Klingons (We know Discovery engaged them several times)? 

If he hadn't succeeded in this moment he might have lost command due to insubordination and most likely any chance of getting home. If he has a truly brilliant plan to get back home, why risk everything because he is becoming inpatient? 

7. He honestly cares about Michael Burnham 

Perhaps the most redeeming quality about Captain Lorca is that he truly has feelings for Michael. Their are countless instances where is becomes evident, that doesn't just lust after but truly cares for her. 

First of all he worries about her, more than a Captain should about a random member of his crew and he is not levelheaded enough to hide this. This is most evident, when it is discussed who should beam onboard of the Klingon ship. Tyler suggests to take Michael, because she knows the ship, which Lorca flatly declines stating it is too dangerous. This is even evident to the other character, as proven, when Tilly tells Michael: "He's practically adopted you.". 

This is further emphasized that he often touches her, but very gently. He takes her hand or puts his hand on her arm. If you have been watching Star Trek for a long time you might have noticed that this is something characters do very rarely, especially while on duty, unless they have a deep emotional connection.  

Lorca is also jealous of Lieutenant Tyler on various occasions, when he realizes that Michael has fallen in love with him but also attempts to comfort her after Tyler tries to kill her. 

Further proof is his reaction when during the final fight she makes it clear, that she will stay but only offer him her mind nothing more. His reaction is not one of anger or arrogance but very subtly one of a man being hurt over this rejection.  

Do you agree with my assessment? Are these redeeming qualities Captain Lorca possesses or is he simply as good an actor as Jason Isaacs? 😉

The question in the end remains: What makes a villain a villain? Does a villain lack per se all redeeming qualities? Captain Lorca is for sure a very interesting character who is evil and a dangerous person, but he is most likely not a psychopath but rather a product of the world he grew up in. Imagine growing up in a world where promotion is usually achieved by murdering your superior, wouldn't it have an effect on everybody? Maybe prime universe presented a temptation to him, he didn't expect, where you could really let your guard down, without fearing a knife to the back. In the course of season 2 and 3 we can see how the prime universe affects the emperor, who even comes to consider Saru her friend, despite her racist attitude, when we first meet her. 

It would have been interesting to see, what would have happened if it were Lorca who travelled back to the prime universe with Michael instead of the emperor (With all due respect to Michelle Yeoh and her wonderful character). I would also love to see Prime-Lorca, as we can extrapolate some of his characteristics from his counterpart. In my opinion we would see a Starfleet officer, who is ambitious and somewhat rebellious, similar to a young Will Riker. We can only hope the writers will find some way to bring him back, even if it is just in flashbacks.