After a big finale to the first Star Trek film in nearly a decade, there are a lot of questions left for the franchise to explore. While Star Trek: Section 31 returns Michelle Yeoh to the popular franchise, it also opens an important door for Alex Kurtzman’s expanding universe. The various shows have never had trouble recruiting top-tier talent. You can see it most clearly in the deep cast around Star Trek: Discovery and Star Trek: Strange New Worlds. However, this might be one of the more significant finales of Kurtzman’s tenure.
What happened at the end of Star Trek: Section 31?
Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) is forced to address her past in the most literal way possible. After putting herself face-to-face with San (James Hiroyuki Liao), the two engage in a battle to the death. Georgiou emerges victorious but once again sees the man she loved die at her hands. Additionally, she closes a path between her alternate universe, most importantly the Terran Empire, keeping her current universe and friends safe in the process. It’s no wonder that she returns to the club she’s run since arriving in this timeline, away from the action in the short term.
However, that isolation does not last long. In the following weeks, Georgiou is approached by the survivors of the Section 31 team. After she exposes Quasi (Sam Richardson) for posing as Alok (Omari Hardwick), they’re joined by Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl). A new team member, though a seemingly familiar one, joins them as well. Despite Fuzz’s physical body vessel was “killed” by Alok, Fuzz’s wife — Wisp — arrives in a duplicate vessel (Sven Ruygrok). Despite the explosion, she believes he might still be alive.
After the new introduction, Alok receives a call on his transponder. A hologram displays the leader of “Control,” the Section 31 boss, played by none other than Jaime Lee Curtis. She assigns the group a new mission on Turkana IV, and they knowingly nod to each other.
Where does Section 31 go from here?
There are three big aspects teased out of this final scene. The first implies that Yeoh’s return to Star Trek was not short-lived and that Section 31 will kick off more stories in this universe. The group’s not only been teased with a new mission, but they’ve got out of their way to bring back an actor whose part seemingly died. Whether Fuzz becomes a big bad or just a hindrance is up in the air, but there’s clearly more story in various directions.
Second, the casting of Jaime Lee Curtis could go two ways. This might be a favor to Michelle Yeoh, as the two grew extremely close while filming Everything Everywhere All at Once. They were very complimentary of each other during the awards campaign, and Curtis could be making good on her promise to work with Yeoh again. Curtis has also found significant success on TV in recent years, with The Bear earning her an Emmy and Scream Queens enduring as a cult classic. Even if Curtis only signs on for a bit part, joining a Section 31 sequel (show or movie) would be worth her time.
The final aspect of the reunion stems from the continued work with Rachel Garrett. The character has a long history in Star Trek: The Next Generation (played then by Tricia O’Neil). She was the first woman Captain introduced in a Star Trek series, and Section 31 details her time before Garrett rose to prominence. This puts the events of Section 31 between fifty and thirty-five years before Next Generation, as her appearance in that series was based on a time jump of twenty years. Rohl could easily play the role for years and potentially interact with other characters from The Next Generation.
Together, the three aspects point to the rumored Section 31 spin-off many had clamored for. In essence, Section 31 might exist as a true pilot to get layperson TV watchers and Star Trek fans back on board with Kurtzman’s universe. If it pulls in high ratings, Yeoh has already expressed interest in jumping back in for ten more episodes. Whether it becomes a multi-season series, a sequel movie, or even a limited series, all will help the Star Trek brand. Yeoh is at the peak of her popularity, and putting her front and center will help the franchise continue in the streaming era.
Star Trek: Section 31 debuts on January 24, 2025 on Paramount+.
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