Star Trek: Section 31 is the first full length film since 2016’s Star Trek Beyond so fans had high hopes for this new entry into the franchise after a long 9 year wait.
I have to admit, even as an ardent Trekkie, I was somewhat confused with the timeline that leads up to the Section 31 film, after all, the last time we saw Phillipa Georgiou (played by the wonderful Michelle Yeoh) was in the Season 3 episode of Star Trek: Discovery – Terra Firma Part 2 which is set in the year 3188.
So let’s take a look at the background of Phillipa Georgiou and the Star Trek universe as that’s something Star Trek: Section 31 (2025) strangely glosses over, meaning that some viewers might find it rather confusing.
Prime vs Mirror Universe
Within the Star Trek franchise there are (at least) two universes.
The “Prime Universe” is where the events of the main Star Trek storylines take place.
The very first time we’re introduced to this concept is during the Star Trek: The Original Series episode Mirror, Mirror from Season 2 which is set around 2267, a transporter accident sees some of the crew of the USS Enterprise transported to a “Mirror” version of their current universe.
Within the Prime Universe, The Federation and Starfleet are on a mission of science, exploration and peace.
Within the Mirror Universe, the Terran Empire is on a mission of expansion and subjugation, most notably through force with violence and torture the norm.
These two universes have developed in tandem, with each universe containing a version of a person who takes on a different personality based on the universe they grew up in.
As we move further through the Star Trek timeline, these universes begin to shift out of alignment meaning that it becomes more difficult to move between them and people from one universe cannot exist in the other.
Mirror Timeline
As previously mentioned, the first time we see the Mirror Universe is in the second season of The Original Series which is set between 2266 and 2269, this isn’t its first appearance though.
Star Trek: Discovery is technically a prequel to The Original Series as it’s initially set in 2256 so this series Mirror Universe is technically the first time we encounter it.
Who Is Phillipa Georgiou?
In the first season of Star Trek: Discovery we’re introduced to the Prime Universe’s Phillipa Georgiou, Captain of the USS Shenzhou. I won’t give a full breakdown of each season as most of it isn’t relevant and I’ll just be concentrating on the important parts relating to Georgiou.
Warning: Spoilers For Season 1,2 and 3 of Discovery Ahead!
Discovery Season One
During the events of this season, the Federation is at war with the Klingons and Georgiou is killed while trying to apprehend the Klingon leader.
Later in the season, the Captain of the USS Discovery, Lorca, uses the ship’s experimental spore drive to send them into the Mirror Universe where we discover that the Terran Empire is controlled by Emperor Phillipa Georgiou. To say that she’s a nasty piece of work would be somewhat of an understatement!
Lorca, who is actually his Mirror counterpart, frees his Mirror crew and overthrows Georgiou, leading her to be brought into the Prime Universe for her own safety as she risked her own life to save crew from Discovery.
In the Prime Universe she gives advice to Starfleet on how they might be able to stop the Klingon war as she was able to defeat them in her universe and joins Starfleet officers on several missions as an advisor.
In return for her assistance (and not destroying the Klingon home world), Georgiou is granted her freedom which we see in the final episode of Season 1.
Watch a recap of season 1 here:
Discovery Season Two
In Season two’s third episode, Point of Light, it is revealed that Phillipa Georgiou has joined Starfleet as a “Security Consultant” as she puts it. What this really means is that he’s joined Section 31, a clandestine organisation that operates outside of Starfleet which does the dirty work no one else wants to be associated with.
It’s not explicitly explained at this point how she got involved with Section 31 but given their black ops nature and the former Emperor’s love of chaos they seem like a perfect fit for each other.
Georgiou returns to the Discovery during the latter half of the second season and joins the crew as they jump to the future in order to prevent the evil Control A.I from taking over the ship and the data it contains.
Watch a recap of season 2 here:
Discovery Season 3
On arriving in 3188, Georgiou begins to experience blackouts and starts to phase out of existence. It’s discovered that because the Prime and Mirror universes are no longer tethered in this time period she cannot exist in the Prime Universe any more.
A “cure” is sought and Georgiou meets with an entity called “Carl” who sends her back in time to when she was Emperor of the Mirror Universe.
Faced with making the same choices, thanks to her experiences in the Prime Universe she decides to take a different course of action, saving people she would have previously killed without a second thought. Her actions have consequences though as she is killed by her protégé, the Mirror Michael Burnham.
Waking back up with Carl, Georgiou feels that he was testing her and that she failed but he counters that she tried to do the right thing and that means she’s grown as a person. Her time in the Prime Universe has changed her from the evil despot into someone who can appreciate humanity.
Carl opens up a portal in the Guardian of Forever but Georgiou states that she’d rather die than go back to the Terran Empire, Carl points out that he never mentioned the destination or the Terran Empire and disappears, leaving Georgiou to walk through the portal to an unknown time and destination.
Watch a recap of season three here:
Section 31 Film Timeline
Warning: Mild spoilers for Section 31 ahead!
In Section 31, we’re shown that the Stardate is 1292.4 which equates to the year 2324, this is 65 years after the events of Discovery season 2 and 864 years before the events of Discovery season 3. It’s also around 40 years before the events of Star Trek: The Next Generation start.
In a series of flashbacks, we’re shown how a young Terran Phillipa is forced to go through some sort of Hunger Games style contest in order to become the next Emperor.
Why they have to choose a teenager to become Emperor I do not know, it is what it is.
The field has been whittled down to the final two, with one challenge left to complete (I won’t spoil what it is).
Georgiou is the only one of pair who can finish the task, beating her competitor San who we heard Georgiou fondly mention in the season 3 Discovery episode Terra Firma Part 2.
Meanwhile, in the Prime Universe (which Georgiou can live in as the Mirror and Prime universes are tethered at this point in time), Georgiou is operating a rather flashy space station outside of Federation territory.
It’s here that she’s approached by operatives from Section 31, who she’s obviously aware of having worked for them 65 years ago, and asked for her assistance in stopping the sale of arms that is going to take place on her station.
And that leads us into the events of the Star Trek: Section 31 movie.
Review to come soon – it has been a bit delayed due to researching this article!
I hope that’s cleared up who Phillipa Georgiou is and her timeline in Star Trek, if there’s anything I’ve missed out or if you have a question drop it in the comments below – I’d love to hear your feedback.
LLAP 🖖!
