Warning! The following contains SPOILERS for the Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 finale, "Hegemony." Read at your own risk!
Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 is finished, but unfortunately, the latest conflict with the Gorn is not. The Enterprise crew went head to head with the species once again, and we'll be left to see where it all ends up in Season 3. Fortunately, the season finale gave a big reveal and some other big moments to chew on while we wait for the new season to arrive.
Below, we'll dive into the biggest reveals of "Hegemony" and speculate how they'll be resolved in Season 3. Frankly, with the WGA writers' strike and SAG-AFTRA strike, it could be a while before we see the next season premiere, but that doesn't mean we can't talk about some of the wild happenings of this exciting episode and where they might lead in the future.
Scotty Is On The Enterprise, But For How Long?
Fans of Star Trek: The Original Series probably loved the Strange New Worlds Season 2 finale, which introduced Pike and the crew to the future long-term chief engineer of the Enterprise. Montgomery Scott, commonly known as Scotty, trapped Pike, M'Benga, Sam Kirk and La'an behind an energy field, mistaking them for Gorn younglings. Once that was cleared up, he took Pike to Batel and the remaining survivors of the Gorn attack and explained his theory on how this all happened.
The lieutenant explained that he was part of a science mission on the Stardiver, which was observing coronal mass ejections on a nearby red supergiant star. As he explained, these rare phenomena are like violent solar flares that burst throughout the system. Scotty said that the Gorn gathered like a swarm shortly after observing the burst. Sam Kirk equated the response to an instinctual swarming habit found in locusts, and Batel theorized that it could be used against the Gorn if true.
Scotty vowed to help try and stop the Gorn and accompanied the team back to the Enterprise. There he ran into Carol Cane's Chief Engineer Pelia, who was apparently his professor at Starfleet Academy. Scott was allegedly one of her best students, yet she gave him the worst grades. Will he remain with the ship once the Gorn threat is over?
It's hard to say, though it is worth noting that Pelia wasn't meant to be the permanent replacement as chief engineer. She more or less took the job on her own accord, and I'd imagine Starfleet will eventually ask her to resume her duties back at the base. If this is the case, maybe she'll pass the job onto Scotty after a brief mentorship? He is currently without a ship and assignment thanks to the Gorn, so I certainly feel like it's a possibility.
The Gorn Have La'an, Ortegas And More On Their Ship
When the Gorn transmission jammer was destroyed, Enterprise was able to get Pike, Batel and Scotty back on board. Pike quickly gave the order to pull in the group of survivors, including M'Benga, La'an, Ortegas and Sam, but Spock was unable to find signs of life in the location he was given. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds showed them all being transported, however, and it was soon discovered they were aboard the Gorn ship.
This is, objectively, the most danger that a chunk of the crew has ever been in. The Gorn feast on humans to help feed their children and are a highly intelligent species that aren't easily outwitted. If we didn't know for a fact some of these characters will for sure be around in the original Star Trek, I'd be worried about all of them.
We know that M'Benga will be around when Kirk takes control of the Enterprise, and that Sam will die in TOS as well. We don't know the fates of Erica Ortegas and La'an Noonien-Singh, which is concerning. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds is not afraid to kill off notable characters, as we saw with Hemmer. Could Season 3 be the final adventure we see with La'an or Erica?
CinemaBlend spoke to actress Melissa Navia about the uncertainty of Erica Ortegas' fate long ago, and the actress noted she's at peace with whatever direction her character's story heads. She's choosing instead to be present and enjoying the ride for what it is. Even so, there are a lot of fans of Ortegas out there that would be sad to see her gone, which will make the wait to find out her fate all the more excruciating.
Starfleet Ordered Pike To Retreat, But Will He?
Pike was warned by Admiral April to proceed with caution when observing the mission, considering Batel was located on a planet just outside of Federation space. They were outside of Federation jurisdiction, and while Pike had a vested interest in Batel's safety, April worried interference with the Gorn could result in another war Starfleet wasn't fully equipped to handle given it's still recovering from the war with the Klingons.
Fast-forward to the end of the episode, and Pike's mission that went against April's orders resulted in a full-on conflict with the Gorn. Starfleet ordered an immediate evacuation of the Enterprise from the area, but Star Trek: Strange New Worlds' Season 2 finale ended before Pike made a decision on what to do.
If he retreats, Pike is potentially dooming the rescued survivors and a chunk of his high-ranking officers to the Gorn. As we mentioned, we know a couple of those captives are around in the original Star Trek series, so it will be interesting to see how they survived if Pike does end up leaving.
I don't think Pike is going to abandon his crew on a Gorn ship, the potential consequences with Starfleet be damned. Unbeknownst to high command, he has some key information from Scotty on how to potentially distract the Gorn using light exposure. Assuming Scotty and Pelia could make it work, there's a chance of him being able to save the day and prevent an all-out war with the Gorn.
Unfortunately, we'll have to wait and see where this story, and some of the more minor developments like Spock and Nurse Chapel's reconciling, head. Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 3 is confirmed, but as previously mentioned, it's unknown when we'll see it.
With such an agonizing wait ahead, it's great that fans will be able to stream Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and most other Trek shows with a Paramount+ subscription. Season 2 is worth a re-watch as a whole, and we’ll have plenty of time to keep viewing it until new episodes are available.
