This group turned from being a mysterious Men in Black type of organization to an order whose operatives are agents from Mission Impossible. The story that’s presented missed a tremendous opportunity to bring back certain characters from the past. Although early reports revealed Michelle Yeoh is the focus, I was hoping for a cameo or two, or some time travel romp where she’s the mysterious leader who went back and forth in time to recruit!
When Luther Sloan is a renegade traveling around causing problems circa stardate 2369, those Deep Space 9 episodes are still a delight to watch. Although he’s not born yet to chase after Philippa Georgiou (Yeoh), that would have made for a better story! The idea can be done when considering time travel is possible. Around 2257, this former empress entered the Prime Universe, immediately became an operative, and then went AWOL. Finding her again was not too tough. When she’s running a casino/bar located outside of Federation territory, someone is bound to recognize her.
Her willingness to change her stripes shows she can be redeemed, but in Star Trek: Discovery, sending her to the past to quietly live out her life was not in the cards. She quickly formed other ideas. And when she realizes her nightclub is being used for some “illegal” arms trading, she takes an interest, and that is when the story gets mildly interesting. As for the team sent to “retrieve” her, I simply do not see them as cagy operatives. They’re more like buddies of Tom Cruise than Christoph Waltz. Had this film been more like a Quenton Tarintino film, that’d be something to rave about!
As for a huge plot hole concerning how a Section 31 operates from the past knows about the future Georgiou, a leap of faith is required to assume they are time police too!
Personally, I was more interested in the flashbacks that show off this empress at her worst. She can give Azula from Avatar: The Last Airbender a run for the money. As for whom she once loved and lost (only to return for revenge), it’s a very overused trope.
Even for those bits that’s supposed to reveal how Section 31 operates, it is nothing like what I hoped. This story’s past setting doesn’t connect to the years when the Federation truly considered them dangerous, nor to their future state in Discovery. It’s all a confusing mess! As for how much involvement Rod Roddenberry (son of Gene) had to course correct, that’s anybody’s guess. Honestly, Ira Behr should have been involved because he shaped Section 31 to what it is. It seems many new series show runners and writers had no good ideas. The stories don’t live up to what the novels got right.They reveal how their reach affects Starfleet’s chain of command.
Although these books are out of print, they are on Kindle. And for collectors, a used bookstore might have them hidden in some corner. They are worth seeking just to cleanse the palate after seeing this work. They are:
Star Trek Section 31 Novel – Series One
- Section 31: Rogue (TNG) ISBN 978-0671774776
- Section 31: Shadow (VOY) ISBN 978-0671774783
- Section 31: Cloak (TOS) ISBN 978-0671774714
- Section 31: Abyss (DS9) ISBN 978-0671774837
Star Trek Section 31 Novel – Series Two
- Section 31: Disavowed ISBN 978-1476753089
- Section 31: Control ISBN 978-1501151705