Modern Star Trek writers sure love Section 31.
But they really shouldn’t focus so much on Starfleet’s cynical shadow.
That doesnt mean the optimism cant be challenged or re-contextualized.
But Section 31 operates differently as an independent division thats almost totally unknown to the rest of Starfleet.
), it worked on a thematic level for the show.
In other words, Section 31 played a specific role within the specific circumstances ofDeep Space Nine.
The show put Starfleet in a totally new situation, pitting humanity against an enemy unlike any other.
Showrunner Ira Steven Behr and the writers put Starfleet and Federation principles to the test.
That function is most pronounced in the resolution to the Dominion War.
In the final episodes ofDS9, Bashir discovers that the virus killing the Founders came from Section 31.
When Odo joined the remaining Changelings in the Great Link, he spread the virus to them.
When they fell, all their ideals would die with them.
Sloan saw himself as an ironic hero, one who protects Starfleet and the Federation by violating its principles.
Rather than accepting defeat, Bashir maintained that most important of Federation ideals.
In short,DS9showed Starfleet rejecting Section 31 and all it stood for.
If only the rest ofTrekdid the same.
We can even accept Section 31 Harris showing up in later episodes to sabotage the proto-Federation.
The true problems with Section 31 became clear in theJ.
But the wrongheaded 2013 sequelStar Trek Into Darknesspositioned Section 31 as the movies big bad.
Disastrous asStar Trek Into Darknesswas, Kurtzman carried those ideals into his tenure as franchise head.
But the division has popped in other newTrekshows since, albeit as a joke onLower Decks.
As most time-travel episodes demonstrate, the optimism ofTrekstands contrary to our current skeptical age.
To be clear, Im not saying that Section 31 should never come up again.
Only then can Section 31 fit within the hopeful, unlikely, but oh-so-needed world ofStar Trek.
