Star Trek Discovery: Section 31 plot brewing?

WonderCon took place this past weekend in Anaheim, CA. Here’s what we learned about Star Trek at the Wondercon convention.

Section 31?

Wondercon goers and Star Trek Discovery fans received a bonus scene starring Michelle Yeoh and Alan Van Sprang. Will the mention of Section 31 lead to a Season 2 plot line? This scene was intended for the season finale.

Section 31 is Star Trek’s “deep state,” the black ops organization operating under the radar, setting its own policy in the name of “security.” The first mention of this organization can be traced back to the Deep Space 9 episode “Inquisition.” Doctor Bashir is framed as a Dominion spy, but after a number of trials and despairs, he confronts his adversary, Deputy Director Sloan from the Department of Internal Affairs:

BASHIR: “And what does Section 31 do – apart from kidnapping Starfleet officers?”
SLOAN: “We search out and identify potential dangers to the Federation.”
BASHIR: “And once identified?”
SLOAN: “We deal with them.”
BASHIR: “How?”
SLOAN: “Quietly.”

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VAN SPRANG A CLUE?

Van Sprang made an appearance on the panel after the scene was released at the conference. He muttered a line close to: “I can tell, but I’d have to kill you” and also said he was honored to be part of the Trek family.

We have to assume this storyline will play out STD’s (yes, STD) second season.

THERE’S A PLAN, ACTUALLY

The showrunners and producers discussed how each season can be treated like a chapter in a book. Ultimately, the chapters should add up to a novel.

Marvel has done a fantastic job of treating its movie platforms and TV shows in the same way the company produced comic books back in the day. And over-arching plot such as Infinity War would be viewed through the lens of each character’s comic.

DARK MATTER

One of the major complaints about Discovery — aside from it being the ugliest version of Star Trek — involved a violent, dark turn. Many fans, who lean toward the IDIC, exploratory, kum ba yah-ness of the brand — did not cotton to this version of the series.

Showrunners Gretchen J. Berg and Aaron Harberts addressed this issue in regards to changes in Season 2, according to Trekmovie.com.

“I don’t think we were gunning for shock value. Everything always comes out of character and story,” Berg said.

Harbert supported that notion: “It was set against the backdrop of war. One of the things we are looking forward to in Season Two is a tone that we can now be in a more exploratory phase and more diplomatic phase — maybe a bit more of a Trekian chapter.”