The late Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak) will be a challenge for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 to replace. Hemmer, the USS Enterprise's Chief Engineer, sacrificed his life to save his crewmates in Strange New Worlds' episode 9, "All Those Who Wander." The Enterprise's landing party led by Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount) was attacked by infant Gorn, and Hemmer was infected and forced to carry a gestating reptile inside him. Hemmer committed suicide, and he was memorialized on the Enterprise by the crew and his protégé, Cadet Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding).
Hemmer was a new character created for Strange New Worlds as a second alien aboard the Starship Enterprise besides Lt. Spock (Ethan Peck). Hemmer beamed aboard at the end of Strange New Worlds' premiere episode, but the Aenar didn't begin to make an impact until he met Uhura in Strange New Worlds episode 2, "Children of the Comet." Uhura's shift rotation as a Cadet placed her in Engineering, where she and Hemmer survived an attack by the Gorn in Strange New Worlds episode 4, "Memento Mori." Uhura learned a great deal from the blind Aenar about engineering and about life as Hemmer was a pacifist who cherished the order of things. Hemmer's death in Strange New Worlds episode 9 was a genuine shock that leaves a huge hole for season 2 to fill.
Why Replacing Hemmer Will Be A Challenge For Strange New Worlds Season 2
Lt. Hemmer s Star Trek's legacy of compelling alien characters like Spock, Odo (Rene Auberjonois), and Worf (Michael Dorn) who became beloved by fans for offering an outsider's perspective on the human condition. Hemmer was not only pivotal to Uhura's story in her early days in Starfleet, but his death served as the catalyst for Nyota's decision to shed her doubts and remain aboard the Enterprise. Hemmer, who possesses psychic abilities as an Aenar, was also crucial in unlocking the secret of the Jonisian Nebula and the Boltzmann brain that turned the Enterprise into a fairy tale fantasy world in Strange New Worlds episode 8, "The Elysian Kingdom." Hemmer turned into a breakout character in Strange New Worlds episode 1, which was apparently as unexpected as his abrupt demise.
Hemmer was created with the intention that he was always meant to die in Strange New Worlds season 1. The show's creators, Akiva Goldsman and Henry Alonso Myers, felt Strange New Worlds was heavy with legacy characters who fans know are "safe," and they wanted a sudden death to hammer home that Strange New Worlds has genuine stakes. However, they didn't expect Hemmer to "pop" in his scenes the way he did, and the Aenar quickly became beloved by audiences. In addition to Bruce Horak's charismatic performances behind the makeup and antennae, the actor is also legally blind, and both he and Hemmer became important standard-bearers for diversity in Star Trek as the franchise's first legally blind actor and character.
Lt. Pelia Will Be Different From Hemmer In SNW Season 2, But Will She Be As Good?
Strange New Worlds season 2 was already in production when season 1 premiered on Paramount+, receiving raves from audiences and critics. At that point, Hemmer was already gone and replaced by a new Chief Engineer, Lt. Pelia (played by Carol Kane), although Bruce Horak was recast as an unrevealed character in Strange New Worlds season 2. Nothing is known about Lt. Pelia's character, but it's possible she will be a more comedic presence than the gruff but wise Hemmer, given that Carol Kane is a legend in musical comedy and theatre.
Pelia will certainly be a pivot who will be very different from Hemmer, but the question is whether she can fill the Aenar's shoes. Pelia will undoubtedly change the dynamics among the cast, and odds are she will become a fan favorite in her own right. Yet Hemmer endures as a Star Trek: Strange New Worlds success story who will cast a shadow in Engineering that Lt. Pelia will have to break away from in season 2.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 premieres in 2023 on Paramount+.