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Section 31 Movie Concerns from a Veteran Trekkie

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I have mixed feelings: I love Michelle Yeoh's work. I love Emperor Philippa Georgiou's character arc in Star Trek: Discovery. I love the design of the mirror universe costumes. Also, I typically enjoy undercover, high stakes sci-fi action. However, this Section 31 side quest (outside of Federation space) misses the mark for me. My continuity concerns have left me puzzled and disappointed. 


Quick Recap

Emperor Philippa Georgiou joins a secret division of Starfleet. Tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, she must also face the sins of her past.


Timeline

The prologue takes place in the 23rd century. However, the main story takes place on stardate 1292.4 (aka 2324). Thus, this movie takes place before The Next Generation in the Star Trek timeline; Tasha Yar was living through the lawlessness of Turkana IV around that time.

No explanation is given for how San traversed the apparent six decades between the flashback faking his death in the mirror universe and his 24th century prime universe return, nor his seeming lack of aging across that time.



Crossover Characters

Prime Universe Captain Philippa Georgiou died at the spark of the Klingon War. However, during USS Discovery's trip to the Mirror Universe Emperor Philippa Georgiou was kidnapped and taken to the Prime Universe. 

Rachel Garrett's character originated in The Next Generation season 2 episode 15 (Yesterday’s Enterprise).





The MacGuffin

A MacGuffin is a plot device in a story where an object, event, or character drives the plot and motivates characters. In this case, the Godsend, a powerful weapon stolen from the Terran Empire, was the MacGuffin. The Godsend was designed to destroy everything in its path. 




Costume Design

Fabio Fiori recently interviewed costume designer Gersha Phillips to learn more about the creative process to develop the fierce looks in the Section 31 movie. I highly recommend reading Fabio’s article: Gersha Phillips: The Costumes of Star Trek: Section 31.






Music Score

The soundtrack by Star Trek: Discovery composer Jeff Russo (of Lake Shore Records) was underwhelming and disconnected from the background music used in the teaser trailer. 
What happened to the Formation song (by Beyoncé, 2016) advertised in the teaser trailer? I was looking forward to singing along to the edgy lyrics. The actual music score was disappointing at best. 


The Final Transmission

Star Trek: Next Generation season 4, episode 10 has a purple USS Enterprise from a cosmic string fragment (graviton field). Is this connected? 


No explanation is given for how Control was restored after the second season of Star Trek: Discovery (in the 23rd century).



Our Critique and Other Related Podcasts

Follow me and my podcast guests as we discuss the ethical dilemmas presented by the character of Philippa Georgiou as she attempts to stop a galaxy ending weapon that she once created. Our deep dive into the complex themes of loyalty, sacrifice, and moral ambiguity.



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