In Star Trek: Discovery, the eponymous starship has remarkably had five individuals serve as her Captain, not including one Captain who Trekkers never got to meet or even learn the identity of. The flagship CBS All-Access Star Trek series is also the first of the franchise to not be centered on a Starfleet Captain; instead, the show's main character is Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green), who lost and regained her rank as Commander throughout Star Trek: Discovery's three seasons.
The U.S.S. Discovery (NCC-1031) is a 23rd-century Crossfield-class starship that was originally designed as a state-of-the-art science and research vessel and equipped with Starfleet's most advanced technology, which included the revolutionary spore displacement hub drive co-invented by Lt. Paul Stamets (Anthony Rapp). However, it was weaponized to fight in the Klingon War of 2256-2257 and the starship has twice saved the galaxy as well as ventured to the alternate Mirror Universe. In Star Trek: Discovery season 2, the starship gained 100,000 years of data from an ancient sphere, which it then had to prevent the rogue A.I. called Control from gaining access to in order to keep it from achieving full sentience so it could kill all organic life in the galaxy. The Discovery followed Michael Burnham to the 32nd century to keep the sphere data from Control and the vessel is now permanently in the year 3189, in a dark future where the United Federation of Planets has collapsed thanks to a cataclysm called the Burn.
Star Trek: Discovery has been infamous for the game of musical chairs the series has played with the starship's Captaincy, which reached absurd heights in season 1. The various bizarre circumstances surrounding the Disco's Captain's chair includes when Cadet Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) posed as her Mirror counterpart, Captain Sylvia Tilly (aka Captain Killy) when the U.S.S. Discovery pretended to be the I.S.S. Discovery while in the Mirror Universe.
While Star Trek: The Next Generation also had occasional temporary replacements for Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) aboard the U.S.S. Enterprise-D, it was, at least, over the course of seven seasons. Happily, Star Trek: Discovery season 3 finally settled on what will hopefully be the starship's permanent Captain, but it was a long, strange, twisted road to get there. Here is every fraud, also-ran, never-were, and the genuine Starfleet heroes to serve as Captain of the U.S.S. Discovery.
Captain Gabriel Lorca (Jason Issacs) was the first Captain of the Discovery fans met and he was a fraud. Lorca was actually from the Mirror Universe and he replaced his Prime Universe counterpart. Lorca was made Captain of the Discovery and he sought to weaponize it and its spore drive with the stated goal of winning the Klingon War. But Lorca's true goal was to find a way back to the Mirror Universe so he could complete his master plan of overthrowing Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh). But Lorca was also obsessed with Michael Burnham and he needed her to gain access to Georgiou's flagship, the ISS Charon. Burnham ultimately led to his undoing; Georgiou killed Lorca before she was brought to the Discovery — and the Prime Universe — by Michael as the Charon exploded.
It's unknown what the Prime Universe Gabriel Lorca was really like or what his ultimate fate was, but the Mirror Lorca was, in his way, an effective Captain of the Discovery. Lorca was certainly adept at hiding his secrets and he was a stern taskmaster who ruffled the feathers of the scientists aboard Discovery, like Lt. Paul Stamets. However, to his credit, Lorca was also an experienced battle commander who led the Discovery to some major victories over the Klingons. Still, the Mirror Lorca was revealed to be a manipulative liar and his legacy is a stain on the history of the U.S.S. Discovery that the crew has moved on from.
Vice Admiral Katrina Cornwell (Jayne Brook) was the Starfleet flag officer who oversaw the U.S.S. Discovery. Cornwell was also an intimate old friend of the Prime Universe Gabriel Lorca; yet, despite her prior training as a therapist, she was fooled by the Mirror Lorca. Admiral Cornwell temporarily took command of the U.S.S. Discovery from Acting Captain Saru after the starship returned from the Mirror Universe.
Cornwell brought Discovery to Starbase 1, only to learn it was conquered by the Klingons, who massacred its personnel. Admiral Cornwell's time in Discovery's captain's chair was short as she stepped aside for the starship's next and even more unlikely temporary Captain who was more dangerous than Gabriel Lorca. Admiral Cornwell later perished as she heroically saved the U.S.S. Enterprise from a missile sent by Control during the final battle of Star Trek: Discovery season 2.
Perhaps the most absurd Captain of the Discovery was Emperor Philippa Georgiou, who pretended to be her dead Prime Universe counterpart, Captain Georgiou. The Emperor proposed that Starfleet end the war by attacking Qo'noS, the Klingon homeworld, and detonating a hydrogen bomb inside the planet's mantle to render it uninhabitable. Desperate to put an end the costly war, Starfleet Command shockingly backed this plot and Admiral Cornwell even agreed to allow the Emperor to pose as Captain Georgiou, who was "back from a classified assignment," and assume command of the Discovery.
Emperor Georgiou's time pretending to be Captain Georgiou was mercifully brief and she escaped to Qo'noS after Michael Burnham stopped her plan and instead, gave the hydrogen bomb detonator to L'Rell (Mary Chieffo), who used it to unite the Great Houses, end the war, and install herself as Klingon High Chancellor. The crew of the Discovery learned the truth that "Captain Georgiou" was really the late Starfleet hero's Mirror doppelganger and the Emperor later resurfaced as part of Section 31 before she joined the Discovery's crew to stop Control and jump to the 32nd century.
After the Federation's triumph in the Klingon War and the reinstatement of Michael Burnham to her rank of Commander, the Discovery set a course to Vulcan in order to pick up its new Captain. However, the starship was intercepted by the U.S.S. Enterprise and Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) came aboard to temporarily take over command.
As such, the Discovery never did make it to Vulcan and Trekkers never learned who the mystery Captain was supposed to be. Regardless, whoever it was never got to command the Discovery, which vanished to the 32nd century while its existence was redacted from Starfleet records by Lieutenant Spock (Ethan Peck) to protect his adopted sister, Michael Burnham.
Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) was the Captain of the U.S.S. Enterprise who was transferred to the Discovery at the start of Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Pike took command with the mission to investigate and solve the mystery of the red burst signals that appeared across space. Pike's mission intersected with the disappearance of the Enterprise's Science Officer, Lt. Spock, who later joined his Captain and Michael Burnham aboard the Discovery. In addition, Pike learned of his ultimate fate that he would be critically injured by delta rays in a tragic accident in the future — but the Captain courageously chose to continue his Starfleet career and meet his destiny.
Pike was a throwback to the mold of the classic Star Trek Captain, and Mount's version redeemed the Enterprise's original master, played by Jeffrey Hunter, who starred in the rejected first Star Trek pilot and was replaced with William Shatner's Captain James T. Kirk when NBC ordered Star Trek to go to series in 1966. Indeed, Mount's Captain Pike was so popular with Trekkers that he, Spock, and Number One (Rebecca Romijn) received their own spinoff set aboard the pre-Kirk Enterprise, Star Trek: Strange New Worlds.
After stepping up and filling the big chair as Acting Captain multiple times during the chaos of Star Trek: Discovery seasons 1 and 2, Commander Saru (Doug Jones) finally became the official Captain of the Discovery in season 3, episode 3, "People of Earth." Saru had a long road to his well-deserved recognition as the Discovery's Captain. The first Kelpien in Starfleet, Saru was mentored by the late Captain Georgiou and he was Science Officer aboard the ill-fated U.S.S. Shenzhou before he transferred to the U.S.S. Discovery and became Captain Lorca's First Officer.
Saru's distinguished tenure as Discovery's Number One led to his repeatedly assuming the role of Acting Captain and he provided calm, steady leadership throughout the starship's constant leadership turmoil. The Kelpien also underwent his people's Vahar'ai ritual, which evolved him and stripped him of his fears, and this only made Saru a more effective leader. Not only did Saru earn the respect and loyalty of Discovery's crew, but he also mentored Ensign Sylvia Tilly (Mary Wiseman) in Starfleet's Command Training Program. Even though Michael Burnham was also qualified to be Captain, she wisely rescinded her candidacy, recognizing that Saru had been Star Trek: Discovery's true Captain all along — and now the noble Kelpien has the official rank to prove it as he leads the titular starship in the 32nd century.
Star Trek: Discovery streams Thursdays on CBS All-Access and Fridays internationally on Netflix.
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