The Star Trek: Strange New Worlds Season 2 Finale Understands The Art Of The Surprise

This post contains spoilers for the season 2 finale of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds."

When Scotty (Martin Quinn) showed up in the season 2 finale of "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" this week, chiding Captain Pike (Anson Mount) and La'an Noonien-Singh (Christina Chong) for mucking up his Gorn trap, I didn't see it coming. In fact, even as Scotty began explaining the mechanism of the tech he built in an enthusiastic Scottish brogue, it took me a few seconds to process who he was, to connect this man to one of the most beloved characters from "Star Trek: The Original Series." That's because with the Scotty introduction, "SNW" did something it hardly ever does anymore: let a surprise be a surprise.

In the current leak-heavy pop culture landscape, the process of keeping key cameos and twists in franchise films and shows under wraps has all but become a cottage industry in its own right. A high-profile actor's appearance in "Spider-Man: Across the Spider-Verse" was shot last-minute and wasn't shown in test screenings, for example, while a starry cameo in "The Flash" was shot as quickly as possible and even withheld from early industry screenings of the film. Duplicate scripts, NDAs, fake-out alternate takes and more have all made headlines in recent years, as fans grow ever hungrier for pre-release spoilers.

"Star Trek" doesn't really roll like that, though. The franchise has pulled off several key surprises over the years, but the Paramount+ era of "Star Trek" has been punctuated mostly by major moments that were teased months or even years beforehand. Paul Wesley's casting as Captain Kirk in "Strange New Worlds," for instance, was announced in March 2022, before the show ever aired its first season. The announcement proved more than a little confusing when it turned out Kirk wouldn't actually show up until the finale, and even then, it was an alternate-timeline version of the character. Audiences finally met the real, main timeline, modern-day Kirk in episode 6 of season 2, a full 16 months after fans first started speculating about whether Wesley would be any good in the role.

Other modern Trek "surprises" have taken a similarly press-heavy route to fruition. By the time "Star Trek: Picard" finally aired its third season, months of teases and previews had already revealed the return not just of a whole host of original "The Next Generation" castmates including LeVar Burton and Gates McFadden, but also of villains Lore (Brent Spiner) and Moriarty (Daniel Davis). Similarly, the "Star Trek: Lower Decks" live-action crossover episode of "Strange New Worlds" was hyped months in advance.

None of these marketing choices are overtly bad, and in some cases, they're probably necessary to maintain viewership and the health of the franchise. There's also a level of fan participation encouraged by these early reveals: more time knowing about the reappearance of lore means more time to speculate, a collaborative act that's half the fun for some people. But the lack of surprise can also make it tough for major moments to meet and exceed our expectations, which often inflate to untouchable levels in the months leading up to heavily teased arcs and episodes.

Personally, I've always loved going into my favorite shows as cold as possible, which is why I thought Scotty's appearance in "Hegemony" was an absolutely delightful surprise. It didn't feel like an empty Easter egg or a moment of fan service, but a proper character introduction, and a tremendously winning one at that. Scotty (or Mr. Scott, as everyone calls him before Carol Kane's Pelia reveals her nickname for her former student) is immediately endearing, scurrying around the Enterprise with a heap of spare parts as he chatters about the technical processes he needs to undertake to hold the Gorn at bay. Every character in "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" is some flavor of unapologetic geek, so he fits right in — but he's also an immediate cast standout for his can-do attitude, a mix of bluntness and helpfulness that ultimately saves the day.

We talk a lot about the deep feelings our favorite shows and movies evoke in us, and I think one of the most underrated (and in the case of poorly plotted twists, misused) feelings we can experience as a TV fan is surprise. The medium's relationship with surprises has evolved over the years, and it's a feeling that's felt cheapened by circumstances in many instances. Underdeveloped, shock-value cliffhangers of the '80s, '90s, and aughts have given way to finales that stuff in Easter eggs and teases for what's to come or forgo cliffhangers entirely in favor of tying up loose ends. Often, surprises exist only to keep viewers hooked and are offensively obvious about this end goal.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" doesn't typically do that, and when it does drop in a hook, it does it well. In a streaming landscape plagued by unquantifiable cancellations, it's a bold move to end a season of TV with a "To be continued" promise the way "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (which, thankfully, has already been renewed) just did. That cliffhanger itself is a fun surprise, but no moment in the finale feels quite as pure and joyous as Scotty's appearance. We knew the rest of the original Enterprise crew — other as-yet-unseen characters include Bones and Sulu — would have to appear in this prequel series eventually, but "Hegemony" is so laser-focused on its high-stakes, horror movie-like premise that it's easy for viewers to forget the larger world of "Star Trek" exists outside of this moment. The show waits until we're totally distracted, then hits us with a super-fun twist.

In an era that's rife with shows and films that seem to be made only as connective tissue between the last big thing and the next big thing, "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" stands apart as a franchise entry that's engrossing on its own terms. It's episodic television at its most compelling, to the point that an unadvertised major character introduction doesn't feel one bit like it's pandering or tapping into nostalgia bait. 

Instead, Scotty's pitch-perfect first appearance is a welcome, happy surprise — yet another thing to smile about in a season full of them. The fact that viewers were likely just as caught off guard by the moment he stepped from the shadows as Captain Pike himself, making for a moment of genuinely unpredictable TV within a franchise that's not always known for them, is just the icing on the cake. Welcome to the team, Mr. Scott. Boy, are we glad to see you.

"Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" seasons 1 and 2 are now on Paramount+.