In many ways, Star Trek: Section 31 has given Star Trek an opportunity to revisit a lot of small details from earlier movies and shows. Most notable, of course, is "Section 31" itself. Ever since Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, Section 31 has been the shadowy agency at the edge of Starfleet, protecting the Federation's interests without necessarily following Federation methodologies. Section 31 can do what normal crews cannot, so the movie can show things the rest of Star Trek cannot. The promise Section 31 would push the boundaries of Star Trek was core to the appeal of the film.
One way this promise could have been fulfilled is through the species of aliens included in Agent Philippa Georgiou's (Michelle Yeoh) team with Section 31. In the past 60 years of cannon, countless species have been introduced to the franchise. Indeed, in Star Trek: The Next Generation, Lieutenant Commander Data (Brent Spiner), mentions that he has personally met 1754 non-human species during his time with Starfleet. From its initial trailers, Section 31 has promised a cast of characters full of those interesting classic Star Trek aliens. It's a shame that all the classic aliens Section 31 brought back were wasted.
Star Trek Bringing Back A Chameloid After 34 Years Didn’t Matter In Section 31
Cool In Theory, Pointless In Practice
At the start of Section 31, a group of agents comes to pull Philippa Georgiou back into the action. Immediately, she establishes her badassery, however, by seeing through all their carefully thought-out plans. Georgiou identifies each of the agents scattered around her bar, including seeing through Agent Quasi's (Sam Richardson) appearance and recognizing him as a Chameloid. While Chameloids appear as amorphous collections of tubules while transitioning, they spend most of their time taking on the forms of other species.
Quasi could just as easily be any other tough or fast reflexed species and have served the exact same role in Section 31.
In theory, Section 31's initial plan would have involved killing Georgiou and having Quasi take her place. But, once Georgiou agreed to join up with Section 31 once again, that became pointless. The only time he ever shape-shifts on screen is to save a teammate by briefly becoming an amorphous starfish-like creature. Quasi could just as easily be any other tough or fast-reflexed species and have served the exact same role in Section 31. The fact that he was a Chameloid and able to shape-shift was ultimately completely irrelevant to the plot of the movie.
Section 31 Wasting Star Trek’s Newest Deltan Was Even Worse
Her Life Was Meaningless, Her Death Was Pointless
But Melle (Humberly Gonzales) was an even bigger disappointment. Melle is a Deltan (a species that can compel other beings to feel attracted to them), and as such has a lot of potential for the shady Section 31. Melle is able to distract and attract almost any other creature (Chameloids are a rare exception) and so, in theory, could have talked her way into anywhere. Her powers of seduction could have been invaluable in Section 31's quest for the Godsend superweapon.
Mell could have been impactful, if she hadn't died half an hour into the movie. By the time Melle died, the audience got to see her do something cool exactly once. She didn't attract Quasi because he's a Chameloid, and she didn't use her powers as a distraction because Georgiou joined the team. For about thirty seconds, Melle was able to distract an attacker in Georgiou's bar, before being promptly disintegrated by a phaser.
Melle's death is quick, inelegant, and pointless. The rest of the team does not really mourn her, they are moving fast enough that there isn't time, and by the ending of Section 31 she is all but forgotten. If Star Trek: Section 31 was so uninterested in exploring the abilities of classic Star Trek species, it is hard to imagine what the point was in including them.
