Premiered 24 January 2025 on Paramount +
Synopsis: Section 31 operatives enlist the aid of the Terran Emperor in order to save the universe from a weapon she ordered created.
This film can be seen as an illustration of James Hillman’s acorn theory—that just as an acorn has everything inside it to become an oak tree, we all have inner daimons with all the information we need to become who we are meant to be.
In Star Trek: Section 31 the Section 31 Alpha Team is sent to locate Philippa Georgiou of the Terran Empire, described as “a parallel universe with the most criminal population in recorded history” (Osunsanmi, 2025, 09:08), and where Georgiou was considered to have committed more atrocities than anyone else. The team finds her, and Alpha Team Leader Alok Sahar convinces her to join the team for this one mission to locate an individual, Dada Noe, who is selling a bio weapon to the Minosian High Council. Noe is captured, but the weapon he is selling was taken by another unidentified individual. Georgiou recognized the weapon as the Godsend, that she had ordered made, and then ordered destroyed. Noe is from the Terran Empire and tells Georgiou and Sahar that when it is discovered that the Godsend is missing, the Terran Empire will come through the same passageway that he used to get to this universe and then pillage it. But Noe is mistaken as it was San from the Terran Empire who took the weapon, and he plans on using it in the Federation universe to cause chaos and allow the Terran Empire to conquer it. The weapon is eventually recovered by the Section 31 team and used to collapse the passageway between the universes.
In this film, “Her Most Imperial Majesty, Mother of the Fatherland, Overlord of Vulcan, Dominos of Qo’noS, Regina Andor Philippa Georgiou, Augustus Iaponius Centarius” (Osunsanmi, 2025, 42:27), can be seen as an individual who is true to her inner daimon. She is who she is, in any universe, regardless to what society thinks about her. She may be an extreme and unusual illustration of Hillman’s acorn theory, but the analogy is valid. While we often associate the acorn theory with individuals who are successful in a way that is considered culturally positive, it can also apply to those who harnessed their inner daimons in ways considered negative. One example Hillman gives in his book The Soul’s Code: In Search of Character and Calling, of such a “bad seed” is that of Adolf Hitler (1996, p. 214). That being said, in Star Trek: Section 31 even though Georgiou has committed atrocities in the past, which would seem to make her an evil character, by helping Starfleet she is deemed redeemable, in the Star Trek optimistic worldview. This is evidenced in a piece of dialogue near the end of the film. One member of the Alpha Team, the Chameloid, Quasi, calls Georgiou a terrifying soulless murderer. To which Starfleet Lt. Commander Rachel Garrett says, “I love that for us” (Osunsanmi, 2025, 1:29:56).
Finally, as I have now written on each and every Star Trek episode and film in chronological order, my next post will be created when the next Star Trek episode or film is released. Until then “live long and prosper” (Sturgeon & Pevney, 1967, 46:17).
References:
Hillman, J. (1996). The soul’s code: In search of character and calling. Grand Central Publishing.
Osunsanmi, O. (Director). (2025). Star trek: Section 31 [Film for Streaming]. CBS Studios; CBS Television Studios; Roddenberry Entertainment; Secret Hideout.
Sturgeon T. (Writer), & Pevney, J. (Director). (1967, September 15). Amok time (Season 2, Episode 1) [TV series episode]. In G. Roddenberry (Executive Producer), Star trek: The original series. Desilu Productions, Norway Corporation.
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