Warning: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Section 31.Michelle Yeoh’s Academy Award-winning filmEverything Everywhere All at Oncefeels more likeStar Trekin many ways thanStar Trek: Section 31does. Yeoh returns as Emperor Philippa Georgiou inStar Trek: Section 31,which picks up sometime after she was sent back in time inStar Trek: Discoveryseason 3. Now in the early 24th century, Georgiou gets pulled into a mission to save the Federation by an eclectic group of Section 31 agents. WhileSection 31features some fun sci-fi action, it ultimately feels like it’s missing something quintessentiallyStar Trek.
Everything Everywhere All at Oncetook the 2023 Oscars by storm, winning seven awards, including Best Picture and Best Actress, cementing it as one of thebest Michelle Yeoh moviesever. Yeoh portrays Evelyn Wang, a Chinese immigrant mother who runs a laundromat with her family. However, she is soon yanked from her stressful everyday life into an absurd adventure involving the fate of the multiverse.With its universe-jumping storyline and wacky sci-fi action,EEAAOalready has elements ofStar Trek,yet its core message feels more likeStar Trekthan whateverSection 31was trying to say.
Everything Everywhere All At Once Celebrates Connection & Kindness (& That Feels Very Star Trek)
Everything Everywhere Celebrates The Themes Star Trek Is Known For
ThroughoutEverything Everywhere All at Once, Evelyn fights to survive against multiverse-jumping enemies and glimpses what her life could have been had she made different choices. As the multiverse threatens to unravel and Evelyn sees more of it, she temporarily accepts the nihilistic belief that nothing matters. In the end, however, Evelyn’s husband Waymond (Ke Huy Quan) helps her see the importance of kindness and connecting with the people around her. Waymond, who puts googly eyes on things to make people smile, fights against the apparent meaningless of the world with empathy.
Which Star Trek Movies & Shows You Need To Watch Before Section 31
Star Trek: Section 31 is the first Star Trek streaming movie, but it’s a spinoff of Star Trek: Discovery and has elements of other Trek lore.
Everything Everywhere All at Onceuses an absurdist multiverse story to illustrate the importance of love and compassion. It would be difficult to find a moreStar Trekmessage than that. Since its inception,Star Trekhas been a celebration of diversity, compassion, and kindness, as well as one of science fiction’s most hopeful visions of the future.BothEverything EverywhereandStar Trekcelebrate the beauty that can be found in a nonsensical life,even in a universe where everything is purple or where everyone has hot dogs for fingers.
Star Trek: Section 31’s Theme Is Unclear
Section 31’s Message of Redemption Gets Somewhat Muddied
This is not to say thatStar Trek: Section 31is an entirely bad film. It has its moments, andMichelle Yeoh is always compelling as Emperor Georgiou, but the film’s theme is somewhat muddied.Section 31tries to tell a story about Georgiou’s redemption, butStar Trek: Discoveryalready did that with its second and third seasons. As a television series,Discoveryhad more time to make viewers care about Georgiou as a characterand to show her change gradually. With its opening flashback scene,Section 31actually makes it harder to root for Georgiou, further complicating its theme of redemption.
Jaime Lee Curtis pops up briefly inStar Trek: Section 31as Control, reuniting with Michelle Yeoh, after her Oscar-winning turn asEverything Everywhere All at Once’s Deirdre Beaubeirdre.
While there are some compelling members ofGeorgiou’s Section 31 team(Sam Richardson’s Quasi and Kacey Rohl’s Rachel Garret are particular standouts), the viewer does not have enough time to get to know them. Georgiou’s relationship with San (James Hiroyuki Liao) also comes to a depressing conclusion. Ultimately,Section 31doesn’t feel quite as much likeStar Trekas it could have, and its central message remains somewhat unclear. Ironically,Everything Everywhere All at Oncehas a more"Star Trek" message thanStar Trek: Section 31.
Everything Everywhere All at Once
Cast
In Everything Everywhere All at Once, a middle-aged laundromat owner (Michelle Yeoh) is distracted from her financial and family issues by a multiversal crisis. With just her husband (Ke Huy Quan) to support her through the confusion, she must contend with her overbearing traditional father (James Hong), a pencil-pushing auditor (Jamie Lee Curtis), and her emotionally-distant daughter (Stephanie Hsu).
Star Trek: Section 31
Star Trek: Section 31 follows Emperor Philippa Georgiou as she joins a clandestine Starfleet division tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets, confronting the consequences of her past actions.
