Warning: SPOILERS for Star Trek: Section 31Star Trek: Section 31has been lamented as not being ‘Star Trek’ enough by fans, and the inclusion of a classic starship would have helped the firstStar Trekstreaming movie’s optics. Taking place on Stardate 1292.4 i.e. 2324,Star Trek: Section 31sees Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) and a team of Section 31 operatives stopping a possible invasion by theMirror Universe’s Terran Empire.Section 31’s main villain, San (James Hiroyuki Liao), ties back to Georgiou’s past when she became Emperor in the Mirror Universe.
San’s villain ship inStar Trek: Section 31is an unnamed crimson starship that vaguely resembles La Sirena fromStar Trek: Picard.To counter it, Section 31 originally had their own starship that also wasn’t recognizable as a Starfleet vessel. After sabotage by Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), Section 31’s mole working with San, destroyed their ship, Alok Sahar (Omari Hardwick) and hisSection 31 Alpha Teamresort to piloting a garbage scow to stop San.Section 31’s climactic starship battle is visually generic as a result, butthis could have been remedied by bringing back a ship last seen in the Mirror Universe.
San’s Starship In Section 31 Should Have Been The USS Defiant
Imagine Section 31’s Garbage Scow Taking On The Terran Empire’s Defiant
Star Trek: Section 31should have brought back the USS Defiant as San’s starship from the Mirror Universe. Theoriginal Constitution Class USS DefiantNCC-1764 crossed over fromStar Trek’s Prime Universe into the Mirror Universe. It also time traveled to the 22nd century, where the Terran Empire’s Commander Jonathan Archer (Scott Bakula) liberated it from the Tholians inStar Trek: Enterpriseseason 4.The Defiant was last sighted inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 1in service of Emperor Georgiou’s Terran Empire.
Star Trek: Section 31 Movie Ending & All Twists Explained
Star Trek: Section 31 introduces a new threat to the Federation Emperor Georgiou must defeat. Here’s what Section 31’s ending means.
The visual of the original USS Defiant, perhaps more heavily armed as a Terran Empire battlecruiser, would have been something tangibly ‘Star Trek’ inSection 31’s final battle. Further, the Defiant was once a weapon Emperor Georgiou used to expand the Terran Empire, and she learned about the Federation andStar Trek’s Prime timelinefrom its databanks.The Defiant coming back inStar Trek: Section 31would have been one more ghost from Emperor Georgiou’s pastcome back to haunt her.
A Lack Of Visible Star Trek Iconography Hurt Section 31
Section 31 Needed To Be ‘More Star Trek’
In order to be"a new flavor of Star Trek," Section 31purposely eschewed most ofStar Trek’s iconography since it took place in the unexplored 24th century"lost era"and outside Federation space. However, the lack of traditional and popularStar Trekmovie elements hurtSection 31, which came across as more of a generic sci-fi action yarn lackingStar Trek’s cerebral moral quandaries.Section 31is the firstStar Trekmovie not about the Starship Enterprise, butthe climactic appearance of the USS Defiant would have delivered a familiar and welcomeStar Trekvisualthat could have enhanced the movie’s violent final battle.
Star Trek: Section 31needed as much Star Trek as it could have mustered.
None of this is to say the USS Defiant would have ‘fixed’Star Trek: Section 31’s issues, but a Constitution Class starship with a history that ties into the Mirror Universe wouldn’t have hurt, either. Given Lieutenant Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl) is the future Captain of the USS Enterprise-C, seeing Starfleet diehard Rachel battle the Defiant would also have been an interesting twist. The USS Defiant is virtually identical to Captain James T. Kirk’s (William Shatner) Starship Enterprise, andStar Trek: Section 31needed as muchStar Trekas it could have mustered.
