Voq??? L’Rell??? I’m Starting to Become a Believer in the Voq/Tyler Theories and Lorca… What Were You Up To?

Hypotheses on that Final Jump and L’Rell’s Connection Between Voq and Tyler in Mid-Season Finale S1E9

**Red Spoiler Alert**

If you have had your doubts on Star Trek Discovery, this mid-season finale should finally vanquish those doubts. There are two important arcs that will lead this episode into the next half of the season. First, L’Rell and Tyler’s relationship and what mysteries lie below the surface of it. Second, that last jump and what it will mean for Discovery’s position in the Universe.

The season finale hit all the main storylines. It brought back Admiral Cornwell (she wasn’t dead). Saru has bettered from his Pahvo experience (if still a little obsessed by them). The Ship of the Dead is gone. T’Kuvma’s successor, Kol, is dead (two big symbolic losses for the Klingons). And Burnham gets some closure coming back to Discovery with Georgiou’s insignia. Oh, and, supposedly this is Stamets’ last jump.

L’Rell and *the* Scene

So, sure that was a little explicit. Klingon nipples, okay. The rape scene was graphic but it puts Tyler’s relationship with his captor into focus. Or does it?

This episode has single-handedly gotten me to believe in the Tyler/Voq conspiracy theories. If I remember correctly, the last time we saw Voq was in episode 4, “The Butcher’s Knife Cares not for the Lamb.” L’Rell is obsessed with Voq, who seems to use her lust to his advantage. When L’Rell offers Voq an out he asks, “what must I sacrifice?” To which L’Rell replies, “everything.”

“What must I sacrifice?”

“Everything.”

It is odd that L’Rell, who was infatuated with Voq in previous episodes, and, clearly, a follower/believer in T’Kuvma’s ideology of Klingon racial purity be sexually interested in Tyler. She is not. She is sexually interested in Voq. If there is continuity in character development, then this Tyler/L’Rell storyline leads us straight to Voq. The show is doing the work to actually prove that Tyler is Voq within the show and not outside of it. It is doing a good job.

Further in-show proof of the Tyler/Voq theory lies in L’Rell’s line, “I will never let them hurt you.” L’Rell showed herself to be extremely loyal to Voq in earlier episodes. She manipulated those around her to protect him. In this line, L’Rell reverts to that original position. She is Voq’s protector. She will do whatever she has to do in order to protect Voq, or, in this case, Tyler.

Lorca, What Were You Trying to Do There?

So, Lorca overrides the coordinates for the last jump. For nerdy purposes he inputs: F6 E5 D3 G7. What those coordinates can mean is beyond me. According to one wiki, “the galactic coordinates for the heart of the Milky Way Galaxy is 036 point 231.” So, I haven’t the slightest idea where Lorca was trying to get to, maybe 653.7, who knows? What we can deduce is that Lorca wasn’t heading to the rendezvous his superior ordered. Also, Lorca was manipulating Stamets and maybe Stamets wasn’t having it.

First, the whole it was because of you not me and you should get the medal, was Lorca manipulation. We have already established that to reach his goals Lorca will manipulate, lie, and cheat. Remember when he slept with Cornwell? Remember when he said he was going to the space station? Remember when he ordered fake exams? It’s a thing he does. However, I think Stamets might have blown a hole in Lorca’s plan.

It would be that Stamets was tired, ill, and on the brink of a meltdown. But. But, sure—I’m not sure how this transdimensional jump thing works, but doesn’t Stamets know where they are jumping to? Isn’t that the reason they needed a biological navigator? So he can direct the ship to a specific point? I’m not sure either, but could Stamets have stopped the jump himself? After seeing the coordinates, maybe, Stamets in his crazy state might have finally broken down.

I don’t know but look at Lorca’s face:

He certainly looks distant and distraught after inputting those coordinates. He clearly had something up his sleeve.

Earlier in the episode, there had been some foreshadowing about multi-dimensional travel. Lorca shows Stamets a map of the jumps they are making and calculations that hint at different dimensions. Stamets also says, “infinite possibilities.” Can the next half of the season be in the Mirror Universe or another dimension? It is possible. Can they have jumped from the Mirror Universe into the more familiar Star Trek universe that we know and love? It is also possible. Can they have jumped in time? Possibly. The point is that the spore drive puts the unknown and, thus, the direction of the next half of the season in the air.

What we do know is that Star Trek Discovery is worth the watch and the paywall if they continue to produce such a rich show.