Star Trek: Section 31 | Official Trailer | Paramount+
Star Trek: Section 31 | Official Trailer | Paramount+
Star Trek: Section 31 premieres on January 24, exclusively on Paramount+. In this new original movie, Academy Award® winner Michelle Yeoh reprises her Star Trek: Discovery role as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, who joins a secret division of Starfleet. Tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, she also must face the sins of her past.
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"31 is a Black Ops division."
Jeez, I really can't stand how the modern writers have made Section 31 an official arm of Starfleet. The entire point of the original idea was that it was a parasitic conspiracy hiding within the ranks, but not actually part of the ranks. Starfleet already has an intelligence agency for running covert operations, which is seemingly totally forgotten by modern writers.
The only time Section 31 has worked on screen after DS9 is when it appeared in Enterprise, because those writers understood how to handle an organization that existed as an under the table, in-the-know-only network.
Beyond that, I really, really, really can't stand how Section 31 looks like it is getting the glorifying treatment. It is not supposed to be a cool, awesome entity. Section 31 was a dark, broken, and ultimately misguided element. It was something to be overcome and dismantled, not celebrated.
I really can't stand how the modern writers have made Section 31 an official arm of Starfleet. The entire point of the original idea was that it was a parasitic conspiracy hiding within the ranks, but not actually part of the ranks.
They had the unconditional support of a Starfleet Admiral for the operation to discredit that Romulan politician and get their mole into power, though. And they have moles in foreign governments, indicating they have official backing and resources at some level. If they didn't, they wouldn't have moles; they'd have corpses who believed they were operatives. It's hard to believe they're not "officially unofficial", given the things they've managed to pull off.
I do think that bringing it out into the open with a whole show absolutely kills the effectiveness of Section 31 as a story device though. I feel the same way about the latest season of Stranger Things, giving a face and voice to The Mindflayer. It's like everyone's forgetting the power of real mystery.
Backing by high individuals is a still a conspiratorial entity.
What I don't like about the trailer is the implication Section 31 has official Starfleet oversight to reel it in from being too crazy. The whole idea is that it is a rogue entity with no oversight.
Hard agree! I just mistook you to mean that it was just a couple of rogue actors without any real support, is all - my b.
I see your meaning, and this kind of confusion is exactly why Section 31 is so tricky to put in a story. It's a secret handshake club, which may well go to the highest levels, but it doesn't have official paperwork. There are likely varying levels of being in the know. Certainly many high ranking members of Starfleet know of S31, but opinions may vary in a sliding scale from "actively partaking in it" to "knowing it exists but choosing to look the other way" to "hearing it exists but assuming it's mostly overblown rumors".
Nobody is going to FOIA request the Section 31 files from Starfleet some day. That's the difference between it and "CIA but in Space" that modern writing treats it as.