Star Trek: Discovery's Jason Isaacs doesn't mind that fans guessed Lorca’s real identity
The former Starfleet Captain from the Mirror Universe also revealed he's always on the lookout for the best Star Trek fan theories
After beaming down to screens in 2017, Star Trek: Discovery’s debut season boldly took the franchise where it had never been before with several intriguing twists.
However, there was just one problem with all these surprises: fans saw them coming.
Well, switched on fans at any rate. Not only did viewers work out at warp speed that Klingon Voq was Lt Ash Tyler, but it didn’t take long for Trekkies to correctly guess Captain Lorca’s secret identity.
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From his aversion to bright light to his malfunctioning moral compass, the theory that Gabriel Lorca was actually from the evil Mirror Universe was quickly kindled.
But just because some fans guessed the big reveal doesn't mean the show was any less satisfying argues star Jason Isaacs.
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“In Star Trek, a couple of people did guess correctly. In amongst the thousands of people, a few people were correct," Isaacs told RadioTimes.com. "Infinite number of monkeys, infinite number of keyboards – somebody's going to come up with a right theory at some point."
He added: “Some of those people had a different experience, like [Black Mirror's] Bandersnatch. They had an experience where they anticipated and then they were proved right, which is just as satisfying – in a different way.”
Isaacs says he understands the fan's desire to try predict where shows will go next, and often searches for Star Trek fan theories himself: “I’m up all night and I'm often on the internet and I read... I go in very many dark corners and see what's going on.
“I love Star Trek. I loved being on it. I thought the second season was fantastic. And I'm interested in what the fans are thinking and what they're suggesting. I read it all.”
So, has Isaacs heard the rumours that Captain Lorca – Prime universe version or otherwise – is secretly the mysterious Red Angel? “I have heard them,” he said, before declining to comment further (we’re guessing under Starfleet orders).
However, while being tight-lipped about a possible return to Discovery, Isaacs did open up about reprising his role in The OA, the Netflix supernatural drama returning on Friday 22nd March. Just like in Star Trek, though, Lorca isn’t exactly the hero of the story.
His character, Dr ‘Hap’ Hunter, spends most of the show’s first season experimenting on human captives trapped in his basement to gain a greater insight into near-death experiences (NDEs).
However, according to Isaacs, while his character imprisons people in a tiny cage, he doesn’t consider Dr Hunter psychopathic. “What he's doing is of enormous benefit to mankind forever,” he says.
“There are some things he has to do along the way that are considered to be unethical by current medical codes. He knows that and bares the cost of that emotionally. He knows he's responsible for it and is prepared to take the stain and weight of that because of the value at the end of it.”
But no matter how he dresses it up, there's no denying it: Isaacs is playing of a man of science willing to employ some truly evil ethics in order to travel between realities. In other words, a baddie we're sure Captain Lorca would fully approve of.
The OA Part II is released on Netflix on 22nd March
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