WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 3, "Seventeen Seconds."Star Trek series based on Starfleet Intelligence's black-ops group Section 31. A Section 31 show has been in development for a considerable amount of time but is yet to materialize on-screen. Aside from Michelle Yeoh leading Section 31 as Emperor Philippa Georgiou, information is thin but the post-Dominion War 25th century explored in Picard season 3 now feels like the most appropriate setting.
The Dominion War in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine was when Section 31 committed their greatest crime - the attempted genocide of the Changelings. As revealed in Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 3, a rogue schism of the Founders are now plotting an act of deadly revenge against Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. As Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) and Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) investigate the Changeling conspiracy further, they could prove themselves to be the perfect antagonists for the Section 31 show.
Worf And Raffi Are Perfect Enemies For Section 31
Section 31 is a law unto themselves in the Star Trek universe, operating without ability or oversight from Starfleet Intelligence. Although they claim to work in the best interests of both Starfleet and the Federation, Section 31 has routinely abandoned the core values of both institutions to do so. With Worf as a subcontractor for Starfleet Intelligence, and Raffi as a Commander, the two could represent the oversight that has been lacking in Section 31 for too long.
Star Trek: Picard season 3's Frontier Day parade is the likely target for the Changeling attack, and it could be the epoch-shifting event that forces the Federation Council to rethink their relationship with Section 31. It's easy to draw a line from the Federation Council's refusal to give the Changelings the antidote to Section 31's virus in DS9 to the revenge attack in Picard season 3. As the two intelligence officers who unmasked the Changeling conspiracy, and as Starfleet legends in their own right, Worf and Raffi could be deployed to bring Section 31 back in line with Starfleet Intelligence.
Why Worf & Raffi Should The Section 31 Show After Picard
One of the surprise joys of Star Trek: Picard season 3 is the partnership between Raffi and Worf, which already has great spinoff potential. Their chemistry together has so far provided the biggest laughs in Picard. Worf making Raffi chamomile tea and playing good cop to her bad cop during the interrogation of the Changeling Titus Rikka (Thomas Dekker), shows just the ideal chemistry Michael Dorn and Michelle Hurd share as actors. It would be a tremendous missed opportunity if Picard season 3 is their one and only investigation together as Starfleet Intelligence officers.
As the Section 31 show is still in development, and with Michelle Yeoh's already stellar status reaching new heights in the lead-up to the Academy Awards, it's possible the show's format and casting are still fluid. If that's the case, a Section 31 show that follows Picard, not Discovery would be a perfect way to continue the story of Star Trek: Picard's last remaining original character. In focusing on Raffi, Worf and perhaps even Dr. Julian Bashir (Alexander Siddig), Star Trek could create a compelling intergalactic political thriller series that interrogates whether Section 31's actions have protected the Federation, or put them in more danger.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.