Star Trek: Strange New Worlds holds a very important place in franchise canon, but despite bearing the immense responsibility of being a direct prequel to The Original Series, the saga's current flagship project has never been afraid to take some major swings. One of those moments felt like it would never come, and although it was difficult to watch, it made perfect sense and set up Strange New Worlds to be surprisingly unpredictable going forward.
While the upcoming Starfleet Academy is gearing up to address Star Trek's 32nd century, Strange New Worlds unfolds in the much more familiar 23rd century. Although not the first actor to play Captain Christopher Pike, the role now very much belongs to Anson Mount after bringing the character to life for three full seasons of Strange New Worlds. The actor's performances have helped flesh out an underutilized Starfleet legend, making his arc both fascinating and depressingly predictable.
However, the eventual life-changing accident that Pike will one day experience isn't what I'm talking about here. Instead, I'm referring to the fate of another brilliant Star Trek: Strange New Worlds character. Their departure from the show was a major turning point for the series while also being an emotional occurrence for in-universe reasons. Since their death, Trekkies have been especially on edge when watching Strange New Worlds.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' plot armor 'problem' explained
The core cast of Strange New Worlds is generally made up of two categories. The first group consists of actors who are inheriting roles from franchise icons as they play younger versions of beloved characters. Anson Mount as Captain Pike is one example, and so is Ethan Peck as Spock. So, because we've already seen them show up in projects set later in the Star Trek timeline, it's obvious that they'll survive the events of Strange New Worlds. This gives them what is known as plot armor.
The second category is home to the various characters who were created specifically for Strange New Worlds. Melissa Navia's Erica Ortegas and Christina Chong's La'an Noonien-Singh are both great examples of figures within this group. This category of characters made waves in the Star Trek fandom when they were introduced, as they immediately became far more enigmatic than their more familiar counterparts. It was compellingly unknown why they were never featured — or even mentioned — in The Original Series or beyond.
In scenarios such as these, it's usually true that these original characters, who never show up later in the franchise timeline, are either dead or notably elsewhere during the era(s) that follow. There are other possibilities, especially in sci-fi, but these are the most common occurrences. Of course, Strange New Worlds isn't the first Star Trek project to face this narrative quirk, but it is the show that addresses it most prominently.
Lt. Hemmer's death meant no other original Strange New Worlds characters were safe
Bruce Horak's Lt. Hemmer gained a lot of attention when Star Trek: Strange New Worlds began. While aliens serving on Starfleet vessels wasn't unheard of by the 23rd century, it tended to be Vulcan officers only who were present among the mostly-human crews. Furthermore, Hemmer was another character who had never appeared elsewhere in the franchise. So, speculation started to swirl — was he going to die, or was he going to make his exit another way?
As it turns out, Strange New Worlds was far more eager to answer this question than I'd realized. In season 1, episode 9, "All Those Who Wander," Hemmer sacrifices himself to save his crewmates from a Gorn infection. That moment made it very clear that none of the original characters were safe, and that their riding off into the sunset for a happy ending away from Starfleet before The Original Series was far from a guarantee.
That said, it should be noted that Hemmer has appeared in one episode since his death, with Horak reprising the role in a recording viewed by Uhura (Cecila Rose Gooding) in season 2's "Lost in Translation." The actor also played an undead version of Hemmer who only Uhura could see. In addition, Horak also came back in season 2's divisive musical episode, "Subspace Rhapsody," but this time as Klingon general Garkog.
Not knowing what happens to Strange New Worlds' original characters is one of the best parts of the show
It's been really impressive to watch the Strange New Worlds writers handle pre-existing Star Trek characters with both reverence and creativity. It would have been very easy to play things too cautiously and leave all the big storylines to the newbies so that changes to the canon could be kept to a minimum. However, witnessing previously unseen moments from iconic characters like Spock is really cool and adds so much to installments like The Original Series.
That said, knowing that these characters will definitely survive everything in the show sucks a lot of the adrenaline out of the proceedings — as can often be the case in prequels. So, it's great that Strange New Worlds has not only introduced characters without that plot armor, but has also made them brilliant in their own respective rights.
Because the show introduced new characters, I don't just wonder why they're not in The Original Series; I CARE about the reason why. I'm even starting to worry that they won't make it. There are also times when I would rather an episode focus more on someone like La'an than Spock, because I know her time on the show could end at any moment. Without Hemmer's death in Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' first season, I'd still be convincing myself that everyone would get out alive, and it'd all feel too safe.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 4 is expected to air in 2026. No confirmed release date has been announced, but a first look at the upcoming run has been revealed.