You do what you must

This piece covers a lot of ground on the mirror-Lorca theory quite well -- and I really hope it's wrong. Because if we've been watching mirror Lorca, and the other Lorca is dead, then I can’t see how any Lorca will be on Discovery in season 2. Even if mirror Lorca were to survive, the series is going to move on from the Klingon war and this particular story line, and there won’t be a place in it for him. And I really want to keep him. More than just keep him -- I want to be right about him. I’ve gotten really invested in the idea that he is not a bad guy; that all the bad-guy signals are misdirection; that there’s some greater good in play; that he's complicated, not evil. And I hate being wrong.

But obviously, Lorca has known about the mirror universe all along and has some reason for bringing Burnham and Discovery there. So I concocted a theory about a mission to rescue the Buran crew (more on that here). I'm trying not to think about the fact that I have a history of overthinking; of seeing misdirection when there's just plain old direction; of looking for a redemption arc where there isn't going to be one (hello, Tenth Doctor).

But I take heart from these lines: “From now on, we're Terrans. Decency is weakness, will get us killed. And the lives of everyone on this ship and in the Federation are at stake. So you do what you must. Whatever you must. To anyone. Understand?” He says it like he means it -- like a guy who’s had a lot of experience repressing his natural decency for the sake of the greater good. And sure enough, the next thing we know, Burnham has knifed her former friend’s doppleganger, then two seconds later stepped out of the lift, put on her game face, and hailed the Empire. If she can do it and still be the hero underneath, so can he. Right?