#section31

[perseidlion]

Hoo boy. Let's talk about the Section 31 movie (mostly) spoiler-free.

I want to start off by saying I am NOT a Discovery hater. The show was imperfect but the characters and visuals were great. I also appreciate how it swung big and did not get mired in nostalgia. It also deserves its due for launching a new Star Trek renaissance and making the popular and excellent Strange New Worlds possible.

I enjoyed Georgiou as a character, though honestly I would have been happy if her sendoff in DISCO was the last time we saw her.

Because unfortunately, the alternative was the mess of the Section 31 movie.

It is immediately obvious that this hour and a half movie is just the metaplot of a planned season 1 or limited series with all the episodes in between ripped out.

S31 was clearly meant to be a ragtag crew of misfits doing black ops. We'll never know if that would have worked, but there is absolutely no disguising that's what it was supposed to be.

A little background: S31 was supposed to be a spinoff series from Discovery, but then Michelle Yeoh went and won herself an Oscar and was suddenly booked and busy (well deserved!) I am fairly certain the only reason the project wasn't cancelled outright is that Michelle adores the character and didn't want to let her go without a sendoff. The only reason Paramount went ahead was probably because an Oscar winner wanted to do it.

Unfortunately, that is not a good reason to make a TV series into an extended pilot masquerading as a movie.

One of the primary critiques of the movie is its very existence. Section 31 (the organization) is a controversial one in Trek circles.

For those who don't know your deep Trek lore, the organization was first introduced in Deep Space Nine. They are a shadowy black ops organization that engages in activities against the very fabric of the Federation in order to ostensibly keep it safe. They are the Federation's version of CIA black ops, and are a sister organization to canon intelligence organizations such as the Romulan Tal Shiar and the Cardassian Obsidian Order.

Section 31 was scary when they were introduced. Doctor Bashir was visited by Sloane, a mysterious agent. When Bashir tries to find proof of his existence, he is met with plausible deniability and blackballing. Section 31 is not supposed to exist. They are a rumour.

But in DS9 they are very real. And they play a shadowy, disturbing role in the war against the Dominion.

Their existence ties in very well to DS9's overall themes about how the price of freedom is high. The show interrogates and acknowledges that in order to preserve peace and the principals of democracy, someone has to take on the psychic damage of doing horrible things.

This is an idea that some Trek fans find antithetical to the entire franchise and Gene Roddenberry's ideals. To that I say, those ideals were...well...idealistic. DS9 explored occupation, slavery, war, trauma and morality in a way that Trek never had before. That is, incidentally, exactly why it saw resistance from Trek fans when it was first released.

While I respect that opinion, I also disagree. In order for a franchise to keep resonating with modern audiences, it needs to move beyond idealism. It has to interrogate the very framework under which idealism is allowed to exist at all.

Section 31 is there to stab a dictator in the eye from the shadows so that the Federation itself can pretend to be above board. DS9 explores the hypocrisy in this, and also the danger in giving a shadow organization like that too much power and to act unchecked. The show does not justify their actions, but it does admit that sometimes you do need to get your hands dirty for the greater good.

It's a theme explored even more directly in one of the best Trek episodes of all time, In the Pale Moonlight. In that episode, Sisko wrestles with taking on the psychic weight of immoral actions in order to save millions of lives.

In the context of modern audiences and the state of our world, a TV show about that organization makes a lot of sense. It had the potential to work, if handled deftly. It would have also been interesting to follow a crew of primarily non-officers as we haven't seen much of civilian Star Trek life since DS9 ended.

The problem is, the Section 31 in the movie is not even really Section 31.

Apparently the show was going to bridge the more open and not-secret S31 that appeared in Discovery with its version in DS9. I'm not entirely sure that would have worked if the setup of the movie was any indication.

The story we saw was just Starfleet Intelligence with civilians. The only thing they do that is below the radar was acting outside of Federation space. That doesn't really even hold water because Starfleet Intelligence also canonically operates outside of bounds in deep cover and black ops missions. Worf was shown working for them along with Raffi in the third season of Star Trek Picard, for instance.

The movie throws together a whole group of misfits who were supposedly willing to do bad things. But instead of acting in the moral grey area from the shadows, they gave them a mission the heroes of the other shows would have handled in a very similar way. Aside from torture, of course (minor point.)

Besides the fact that the black ops org is not doing black ops so much as MacGuffin chasing a ghost of Georgiou's past, there are several other problems with Section 31.

For one, Yeoh's amazing martial arts talents are totally wasted. Her first big fight took place with shimmering out of phase shields that made it unpleasant and sometimes impossible to watch.

Most of the world isn't so much gritty as it is tacky, stripped as it is of most Trek aesthetics in favour of a generic sci-fi look. There is nothing in its visual presentation that justifies it being labelled a movie. It looks and feels like the television shows, except with less visual cohesion.

Overall, Section 31 is a thing I wish never existed, both because it doesn't really explore black ops and because it was nothing more than the scraps of a cancelled TV show. It was also an ignoble send-off for Georgiou as a character, which is not what Michelle Yeoh probably wanted.

There were some interesting ideas in the show, namely the abilities of the ragtag crew and their potential to grow into a unit that cared about each other. Unfortunately, in the speed run of what could have been, we will never know if that would have worked.

My verdict? Unless you're a Trek completist like I am, give this a pass.

---

As an aside, I have to rant about a couple of things. As much as I enjoyed the concept of tiny Fuzz piloting around a humanoid mech like in the original Men in Black, WHY would your black ops org make the robot look like a Vulcan?

A Vulcan showing emotion, especially in the chaotic way that Fuzz does, is deeply conspicuous and bound to draw attention. They even lampshade that point in the character's introduction. Even a Romulan would've made way more sense if you wanted to include an iconic species.

There were also too many accents in the show. Though I applaud including non-American accents, when Fuzz's Irish brogue is in rapid-fire with Zeph's Aussie accent, even an ear attuned to accents has a hard time keeping up.

Shout out the Rachel Garrett inclusion, though. That was a fun way to include a legacy character without just being nostalgia bait.

[trekacademy]

People are downloading and listening to our Section 31 podcast at a faster rate than usual. Have you listened yet? Spoiler: We see problems with this movie, but also some strengths. We're not totally trashing it, like some folks are.

[trekzonenetwork]

"Star Trek"-Newsflash: Starfleet Academy Serie & Section 31 Streaming Film angekündigt und mehr

"Star Trek"-Newsflash: Starfleet Academy Serie & Section 31 Streaming Film angekündigt und mehr Auf der San Diego Comic Con gab es wieder frische Star Trek Neuigkeiten. Zu den Highlights zählten Ankündigungen zu neuen Staffeln bestehender Serien wie "Star Trek: Lower Decks" und "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds", sowie ein neuer Film "Star Trek: ... ... weiterlesen

[trekboi89]

Section 31 Production Starts January 29

[nebulouscoffee]

You ever just have a conversation with someone who treats you like absolute garbage (and doesn't and will never understand this) and watch them walk away having "won" the argument (because you let them) (because fighting back would really just make everything worse so you pretend to agree for self preservation purposes) while thinking "ooohoohoo well little do you know I'll be processing alllllll of this through my silly little space fanfictions"

[skukis]

finally got around to watching the last season of lower decks which just reminded me why i put it off for so long. the direction the show went in is so fucking boring

[catboyelimgarak]

You’ll fucken hate the novel universe (the one that just got fucken nuked), all my homies hate the “Julian joins section 31 to defeat it from the inside out, gets with Sarina so they’re a power duo doing this” WHERE SHE GETS KILLED BY AN EVIL AI THAT SENDS JULIAN INTO A COMA…but then is taken in by Garak and his husband to watch over in the coma 😊….ONLY FOR THIS NOVEL UNIVERSE OF OVER 20 YEARS TO GET FUCKEN ERASED BEFORE THE BEST GARAK/CARDASSIAN LOVING AUTHOR COULD FINISH THAT TRILOGY AS PLANNED AND JULIAN WOKEN UP AND POSSIBLY GET WITH GARAK (who admits Julian is the love of his life) AND HIS HUSBAND (Parmak, who could use someone like Julian to help support Parmak himself and Garak)

Made myself mad thinking about how DS9's own writers pitched making Julian Fucking Bashir join Section 31

After all the shit he went through

After tormenting him, using him to unwittingly aid in murdering a senator, stealing his medical records of one of his friends to engineer a genocidal bio weapon, nearly killing himself trying to find a cure.... The idea that THIS MAN would LEAD Section 31

Shocking how out of touch creators can become with their own creations

[doodlespaulas]

In defense of Basira Hussain

I'm a Basira girlie and defendor and I can't help but feel like she's kinda treated unfairly in the fandom so here are my takes. I apoligize in advance for the length of this

Basira's not a bad person. Sure, she's not the best one either, but she's caring and protective of the ones she loves. She managed to survive mag200, which does tells us something important about her, but I'll leave that for a little later.

When she's first presented in the series, she's shown to be powerless in the context of the police department because of her being sectioned. She's isolated from her peers, who refuse to work with her, and is working the institute's case practically alone except from ocasional help from Daisy. Her relationship with Daisy is important for me in this case because of Daisy's position in the police hirearchy compared to Basira. If I'm not mistaken, Daisy's been there for longer, or at least has been sectioned for longer than Basira has. Basira doesn't want to get involved with the supernatural because of her own trauma, while Daisy has a role as the vampire killer for several precincts. I think this stablishes Daisy above Basira in the hirearchy of the police, gives her more power. Furthermore, in S5, we find out more about Basira's thoughts regarding the police. She joined with the desire to help people, but quickly realized the truth that acab and she was cosidering quitting the police before she got sectioned. Once she signed section31, she felt even more trapped in this corrupt system and scared for her life in new ways, thinking that the police force would keep her protected from the supernatural. It's important to note, then, that Basira was aware of acab and she conciously tried to avoid that behaviour from herself while Daisy engaged in it regularly. Not only that, but Daisy wanted to keep her actions hidden from Basira, as she asks John not to tell her about the vampire killings in s2. This is significant because Basira is often painted as an active compliant and enabler to Daisy's violence even though Daisy tried to hide her corrupt actions from Basira

In s2 as well, Basira suspects John to be the murderer. However, she takes her time and acknowledges that he's inocent unless proven otherwise. During the investigation, she forms a good bond with him, as they share a very similar sense of humor and personality. John is her friend, and that's another important thing to note. In s3, the moment she suspects Daisy may be hunting down John, she runs to save him because she knows he's inocent and she wants to protect him. Basira likes John, she thinks he's funny and interesting, she cares for him.

This is very important when looking at the context of the Unknowing. In the first two seasons, Basira is much more chill and relaxed. She goes with the flow, she's friends with Melanie and John, even sort of gets along with Martin a bit. She loves reading, spends all of s3 reading. She's relaxed, she's nice. Theres a shift upon reaching s4, and that has all to do with the Unknowing. By itself, the Unknowing is an inherently traumatizing experience. However, if we look at the technicalities of it, Basira's the only one who made it out alive, the How being incredibly important. Tim dies, John dies, Daisy gets coffined but Basira survives. How? Pure, unfiltered logic. She LOGICS and REASONS her way out of the Unknowing, which by its nature is as directly opositional to any posible logic as there may be. However, she manages this and its Crucial for understanding her character. The Entities work by using "Dream Logic". Georgie has been touched in such a way she's unable to feel the emotion of fear, which saves her in s5. Basira is able to survive the Unknowing using cold logic. If we conect these 3 thoughts together we reach what was probably Basira's conclusion, that be concious or not: building emotional walls can protect you from the Fears. Dream logic and Rational logic dont mix, so if you drown yourself in the latter you have some protection. If you don't let yourself feel you have some protection. If you build emotional walls you have some protection. That's what Basira does and it WORKS.

In s4 she's colder and "meaner" to John. However, she's still the one who visits him at the hospital and brings him a statement, knowing he'll need it. She still looks after him, even when Georgie gives up on him and Melanie is consumed by the Slaughter. She buys him new clothes, knowing John lost his own. She engages with John, follows him, helps him with Melanie's bullet, goes with him to the cruise, everything. She's objectively There for him. Sure, she is now colder, more distant, but she's been shaped by trauma in her own way and she's trying to protect herself as best as she can without falling into any power. She's the nicest person to John until Daisy gets there. Another important thing about S4 is that, after they remove the bullet from Melanie, Basira is the only protector of the archives. When the flesh atacked during the 6 month comma, Melanie was the primary protector, she's the reason they're alive. Now all of that power is gone and delegated to Basira, who has to care for a wounded Melanie and the twig that John is. When Daisy returns, Basira has been hoping to get some of that weight off her shoulders. Reliable Daisy, strong Daisy, brutal Daisy who will help her carry this burden. But Daisy returns weak and scared and changed by the horrors and becomes yet another responsability for Basira, yet another person to take under her wing. And even then, Basira's still caring. She looks after Daisy, spends as much time with Daisy as she can, she goes out wit Daisy and John for drinks, she does all that's in her power to care and be there

All of this without taking into acount the manipulation and dehumanization Basira was subject on in s4 at the hands of Elias. Elias contacts her when John awakens and tells her that now that he's back all threats will increase. He tells her that She's the one who needs to protect them. He sends her on wild goose chases with the fake promise that this'll keep her loved ones save. That's the reason Basira is so abscent during this season; Elias is actively isolating and manipulating her. Not only that, but he's dehumanizig her in the process, calling her "Detective". He's refering to her by a fictional tittle, not by her name, the same dehumanization technique used against John by refering to him as The Archivist. Thing is; Basira's not afiliated to any Entity. She doesn't own this role. Elias is forcing it upon her, stripping away the humanity she's working so hard to preserve and trying to force her down the path of becoming an avatar. And she Resists this and she Doesnt, something that has been stated to be extremely complicated to do.

S5 adds another level to not only her character but her relationship with Daisy. In the simplest terms, Basira's a victim of a monster she refuses to see. She's Daisy's victim, the primary victim of her domain. And she can't realize this. This can very well be a metaphor for their Entire Relationship up to this point, whcih is why framing Basira as an enabler feels wrong to me. Basira's a victim of thsi relationship, from the inheret power imbalances present from day one, to Daisy hiding her brutality from Baira, to Basira being unfairly tasked with having to control Daisy. She's a victim to this monster. Appart from that, she's also being made to roam the apocalypse with no protection. John and Martin have special priviledges; John's treated like a celebrity, the Watchers fear and respect him, he can guide his boyfriend down the quickest route to london. Basira has no protection, no knowledge, no saveguards, she has nothing. And she's alone. Yet she perseveres. When she encounters John and Martin, its important to remember this along with the fact that logic and emotional coldness can keep you protected in a world of dream logic and fear. She's Surviving and its working and can you truly blame her if she has no other tactics, no other mechanisms to work with?

And heres the thing: it fucking works. She survives mag200. Her strategies worked. She not only survived the Unknowing, she survived mag200 even if she's been at the heart of it all since s3. Can you truly blame her? Can you truly be mad at her, if she earned her survival? If she did her best to protect her loved ones, even when it failed?

One final thing- i headcanon Basira as AuDHD. The autism bit is the important here. She shows to have a special interest for books, and theres parts in the podcast where she gets very excited only to be cut off. Heres the important part: Her speak patterns. Basira speaks in a more monotone and neutral voice for most of the podcast, whcih can be atributed to be an autistic trait. While this is a headcanon, her speech patterns should be taken into acount and into context, as some of the scenes where she's being "mean" can be instead interpreted as her just speaking monotonely and factually. She's not mean, she's just direct. Obviously there Are instances where she's being meaner, but its still important to contextualize a lot of her beaviour, same with John's in s2

ANyways thats all. I just wanted to infodump, sorry not sorry <3

[mklopez]

I'm watching #StarTrek #Section31 (2025)

[trekacademy]

Here's our podcast about the Star Trek Section 31 movie.

A lot of people say it's the worst Star Trek ever, but we look under the hood and find both some compelling things, and also things we're not fond of.

[doctorkinktraveller]

🚨 NEW CHARACTER POSTERS!

New character posters are here for #StarTrek #Section31 which was just revealed to premiere on Jan 24, 2025!

[trekzonenetwork]

Über aktuelle "Star Trek"-Produktionen Das Ende der Hollywoodstreiks wirkt sich verschieden auf alle "Star Trek"-Projekte aus. Es gibt viel Aufholarbeit, Terminverschiebungen und so einiges zu organisieren für "Strange New Worlds", "Sektion 31", "Prodigy", "Starfleet Academy", "Lower Dec... ... weiterlesen

[raurquiz]

#otd #startrek #deepspacenine #InterArmaEnimSilentLeges #sisko #ezridax #kiranerys #odo #worf #bashir #obrian #quark #Garak #Cretak #Koval #AdmiralRoss #Neral #Sloan #section31 #ds930 #startrek58 @TrekMovie @TrekCore @StarTrek @StarTrekOnPPlus

[l0st-strawberry]

I finally sat through Section31. And holy fucking shit. That has to be the worst bit of Star Trek Media I have ever seen…like what WAS that???

Not one second of that felt like Star Trek??? The characters felt flat? The only ones I kinda liked were Virgil and Fuzz’s fucking wife. Also what the fuck WAS Fuzz even? Or the Cyborg guy who’s name I’ve already forgotten. I’m…just. Baffled??? We didn’t even see a single Star Trek esque star ship. And that San storyline was also so fucking weird? I could rant about this for like 5 years what the hell