Summary
- Lt. Hemmer's importance and impact on Star Trek is illustrated in "Lost in Translation," showing the lasting influence of the character despite his tragic death in season 1.
- "Lost in Translation" explores grief through the struggles of Lt. Nyota Uhura and Number One, who both have difficulty interacting with Engineer Pelia due to Hemmer's absence.
- Lt. Hemmer's comeback in the episode is cleverly handled, utilizing videos and hallucinations to offer insight into his relationship with Uhura and contrasting the grotesque hallucination with the living version seen in the videos.
Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2, Episode 6 - "Lost in Translation."Though Lt. Hemmer (Bruce Horak) was tragically killed in season 1 of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, the show continues to illustrate Hemmer's importance and his impact on Star Trek. Introduced in the pilot episode of Strange New Worlds, Lt. Hemmer served as the Chief Engineer on the USS Enterprise under the command of Captain Christopher Pike (Anson Mount). A member of a rare subspecies of Andorians known as the Aenar, Hemmer was a fascinating character who made quite an impression, despite only appearing in six episodes.
Strange New Worlds season 2, episode 6, "Lost in Translation" saw the return of Lt. Hemmer, albeit as part of a video recording and a hallucination. In the episode, Lt. Nyota Uhura (Celia Rose Gooding) begins hearing and seeing things that no one else can, including a disturbing vision of a zombified Lt. Hemmer. Hemmer acted as a mentor to Uhura and she continues to struggle with his loss. Number One (Rebecca Romijn), too, continues to grapple with her grief over Hemmer's death, as she treats the new Enterprise Engineer, Pelia (Carol Kane), with cold detachment.
Strange New Worlds Proves How Important Hemmer Was
"Lost in Translation" is also an emotional exploration of grief, as Uhura and Una both have difficulty interacting with Engineer Pelia because her presence is a constant reminder that Hemmer is gone. Uhura spends much of the episode working to uncover the cause of her hallucinations, and she is forced to confront her grief and her fears of death. As the Enterprise attempts to refuel with deuterium in a nebula on the edge of explored space, Uhura eventually realizes that there are aliens within the deuterium who have been trying to communicate with her.
Though "Lost in Translation" proves what an important character Hemmer was, the episode truly belongs to Nyota Uhura. She's the one the aliens choose to communicate with and she's the one who figures out what the aliens have been trying to tell her. But throughout all of her struggles, she's never alone. Not only does the visiting Lt. James Kirk (Paul Wesley) stay by her side, but Hemmer's presence is felt throughout the episode. After Uhura has figured out the source of her hallucinations, she sees Hemmer again, no longer as a zombie, but healthy. Though Uhura now knows it's not really Hemmer, it almost feels like he is the one there on the bridge, looking at her with pride.
Hemmer’s Comeback Was Cleverly Handled By Strange New Worlds
Lt. Hemmer was a welcome sight on Strange New Worlds' "Lost in Translation," even if he only appeared in videos and hallucinations. Having Uhura watch videos of Hemmer teaching her was a clever way for Strange New Worlds to offer more insight into their relationship and bring back a character who left too soon. Including these video clips in an episode where Uhura must confront her grief works well. The grotesque hallucination of a desiccated Hemmer contrasts sharply with the living version from Uhura's videos and is all the more jarring as a result.
The creators behind Strange New Worlds have hinted that Bruce Horak will return as another character at some point in the future. Star Trek has a history of casting the same actor in various roles - just ask veteran Trek actor Jeffrey Combs, who has been a Ferengi, a Vorta, and an Andorian. Bruce Horak is nearly unrecognizable under all of the makeup and prosthetics used to turn him into an Aenar, leaving the possibility open for him to return as a human character with no prosthetics or as another alien species. In whatever capacity he returns, Bruce Horak will be a welcome presence on any future episodes of Star Trek: Strange New Worlds, and Hemmer will always have a place in the Star Trek universe.
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds season 2 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.