One of the biggest failures ofStar Trek: Section 31is that the streamingStar Trekmovie didn’t actually answer its biggest questions. Section 31 agent andTerran Emperor Philippa Georgiou(Michelle Yeoh) returns inStar Trek: Section 31, written by Craig Sweeny and directed by Olatundi Osunsanmi. Georgiou’s version of Section 31 inStar Trek: Discoveryis a 23rd century open secret, with its recognizable black badges. Skilled Starfleet misfits like Georgiou and Klingon defector Ash Tyler (Shazad Latif) are shuffled off to Section 31, where their gray morality makes them perfect for off-the-books, unethical missions.
That’s a big change from how Section 31 is introduced inStar Trek: Deep Space Nine,as a shadowy, secret arm of Starfleet that no one knows about. After Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig) is quietly recruited as aSection 31 agent,Captain Benjamin Sisko (Avery Brooks) discovers that Starfleet Command maintains no official position on the existence of Section 31. Being one of Starfleet’s deepest, darkest secrets means there’s no one to hold the 24th century version of Section 31 accountable. Without oversight, Section 31 has free rein to do the dirty work that supposedly maintainsStar Trek’s utopia.
One Of Star Trek: Section 31’s Biggest Failures Is Not Answering Its Biggest Question
Why Did Section 31 Change So Much Between Star Trek: Discovery And Star Trek: Deep Space Nine?
One of the biggest failures inStar Trek: Section 31is that itnever answers the question of how Section 31 went from an open secret inDiscoveryto an organization that doesn’t officially exist inDS9. InStar Trek: Section 31, Starfleet’sLieutenant Rachel Garrett(Kacey Rohl) is on the team, and Georgiou confirms Section 31 still accepts Starfleet’s more problematic castoffs.Star Trek: Section 31’s Lost Era is still operating onDiscovery-era rules, because it knows about, and possibly condones, Section 31. The breakdown in the protocol that’s destined to drive Section 31 underground has never been explained.
Star Trek: Section 31 Movie Ending & All Twists Explained
Star Trek: Section 31 introduces a new threat to the Federation Emperor Georgiou must defeat. Here’s what Section 31’s ending means.
Instead,Star Trek: Section 31is a disjointed romp that wastes the opportunity to show what made Section 31 fake its own death inStar Trek’s Lost Era, and paradoxically fails to show any actual spycraft. It doesn’t answer if 24th-century mission went too far or if there was a deep conflict between Starfleet and Section 31 as an independent organization. It’s also curious to know where Section 31’sDS9-era autonomy even came from.Star Trek: Section 31never explains the inner workings of Section 31 as an espionage division, so how it became Starfleet’s darkest secret is anyone’s guess.
Waiting For A Section 31 Sequel To Answer Its Biggest Star Trek Question Was A Mistake
Taking Out All The Star Trek Means A Section 31 Sequel Probably Won’t Happen
It’s possibleStar Trek: Section 31wanted to wait until its sequel to answer questions about how Section 31 works or why it went underground, but that’s another big mistake. Instead of being a surprise smash, or even a divisive entry inStar Trekcanon like its parent showStar Trek: Discovery,fans and critics alike have deemedStar Trek: Section 31a failure. Even if Paramount+ makes moreStar Trekstreaming movies, aSection 31sequelprobably isn’t happening. Without a sequel on the horizon,Star Trek: Section 31leaves a lot of unanswered questions on the table.
Cutting moral philosophy or canon deep-dives fromSection 31’s original plan—if there were any—is like trimming away all theStar Trek.
Like manynewStar Trekprojects,Star Trek: Section 31had its share of skeptics, so there’s a certain logic in wanting to wow audiences with spectacle right off the bat and save big questions for later. But the bestStar Trekstories thrive on big questions with complex answers, so cutting moral philosophy or canon deep-dives fromSection 31’s original plan, if there were any, is like trimming away all theStar Trek. Maybe a series would have been able to answer what happened to Section 31, but as a movie,Star Trek: Section 31doesn’t even bother asking.
