Star Trek: Discovery showrunners Aaron Harberts and Gretchen J. Berg gave WonderCon attendees a gigantic surprise by showing off a pretty major "bonus" scene that was deleted from Season 1. The scene not only showed those familiar black badges that eagle-eyed fans noticed in earlier episodes, but it also confirmed they indeed belonged to members of the secretive organization Section 31. As such, those theories about the organization' existence in Season 2 have been proven true, and it looks like Mirror Georgiou is about to become Section 31's newest recruit.
The scene, which was officially shared by the Star Trek team, began with Mirror Georgiou now running the cabaret and going about her business when a shady-looking man attempted to get her attention. Georgiou saw through the disguise and instantly identified the man as Starfleet, but to her surprise, she was somewhat mistaken. The man introduced himself as Leland and informed Georgiou of the basic background of Section 31 before extending the former Mirror empress an invitation to join their ranks. The previously unseen sequence ended with Georgiou picking up the black badge, which has shown up in previous episodes of Star Trek: Discovery as worn by various security officers.
Check out the scene for yourself below, and read on to find out what it could all mean.
For Star Trek fans out of the loop on Section 31, the organization is essentially the unscrupulous Black Ops version of Starfleet, and its existence is only known to its members and a privileged few who wish to protect the interests of United Earth. Section 31 was first introduced during Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and has since been incorporated into Star Trek: Enterprise and the film Star Trek: Into Darkness. The latter feature portrayed Section 31 as somewhat opposed to the Federation, although in the televised Prime universe, its members are seen more as Starfleet officers with extremist values. Franchise history would dictate the organization will be portrayed as the latter in Star Trek: Discovery, although bringing Mirror Georgiou into the organization makes it sound as though these guys might be more sinister than expected.
Regardless, it appears as though Star Trek: Discovery will feature a big story arc with Mirror Georgiou and Section 31 at some point in Season 2. How the organization will come into play is unknown, but Section 31 is often quietly pulling the strings of various Starfleet initiatives, so more likely than not, the Discovery crew will happen upon the organization in the midst of some encounter they weren't supposed to be a part of. But even though we watched as Burnham was able to beat her mentor's doppelganger in their last encounter, will she be able to do it again when her rival has Section 31 backing her?
Star Trek: Discovery fans still don't have a solid date of when to expect Season 2 to premiere on CBS All Access, but there's plenty of information about the new season to them to pour over beyond this. Check out what theme Season 2 could dive into or how the new season may handle Spock. For a look at upcoming television and where to find it, visit our midseason premiere guide.
