Section 31’s Godsend Superweapon Explained

Star Trek: Section 31 introduces a new superweapon to the franchise called the Godsend, and the immensely powerful device has an interesting backstory. The Godsend threatens the entire Star Trek: Section 31 cast, although the danger is arguably inert from the second it’s introduced. It originates from a familiar Star Trek setting too, which explains its focus on absolute destruction at all costs. However, Star Trek: Section 31‘s ending ensures the Godsend won’t return to the story further down the line.

Although it falls very short of reaching the standards of the upper echelon of Star Trek movies, Section 31 still manages to have flashes of what makes the sci-fi franchise so beloved. Large-scale threats aren’t always necessary for an entertaining Star Trek story, but Section 31 opts for a very grand scale. The movie is only able to build such a high-stakes story because of the Godsend, but it’s far from a perfect storytelling device in this respect. Regardless, it’s still a fearsome piece of technology within the saga’s lore.

Where The Godsend Comes From & What It’s Capable Of In Star Trek Canon

Emperor Georgiou commissioned the weapon during her time on the Terran throne

The Godsend was invented, designed, and assembled in Star Trek‘s Mirror Universe. The alternate reality diverges from the franchise’s Prime Timeline in several ways, but the main difference is that Starfleet was never established. Instead, humanity boasts a xenophobic Terran Empire that oppresses countless other races. Even the humans – although they refer to themselves as Terrans – don’t treat each other all that well. This was already known before Star Trek: Section 31, but seeing Emporer Georgiou poisoning her family to ascend to the imperial throne really drives the point home.

Although she has left the Mirror Universe behind, Michelle Yeoh’s character is haunted by her own past in Star Trek: Section 31 when the Godsend resurfaces. Worryingly, this time it has followed her into the Prime Timeline. She commissioned the weapon during her time as the Terran Emperor, against the wishes of the scientists under her command. It was only ever intended to be used if she was assassinated or deposed. In such an event, she would have detonated the Godsend – which was coded only to respond to her – and left her successor with nothing to rule over.

The Godsend is not an ordinary bomb. Instead, its destructive capability means it would leave an entire quadrant of space in ashes. In fact, the team who built the Godsend lived in such intense fear and regret about what they’d accomplished that they took their own lives after completing construction on the weapon. Given that the villainous Terrans are usually fearless, their fright over the Godsend is a huge deal. It’s also a one-of-a-kind device, which is definitely for the best.

What The Godsend’s Role Is In Star Trek: Section 31

Michelle Yeoh’s Star Trek movie revolves around the Godsend

The choice of Georgiou’s team to take their own lives after building the Godsend shook her to the core, as did the apparent suicide of her slave and former lover, San (James Hiroyuki Liao). So, the Terran emperor ordered the weapon destroyed, and it became little more than the stuff of legend. However, Star Trek: Section 31‘s entire story is built around the Godsend’s return and the fact it had actually been in storage in the Mirror Universe.

The weapon is illegally taken from an imperial storage facility by Dada Noe (Joe Pingue), so he can sell it and live comfortably on his earnings. Unfortunately for Dada Noe, San is also revealed to be at large, and he returns with the revelation that he had faked his death years ago. Still loyal to the Terran Empire, San intends to detonate the Godsend in the Prime Universe to send Starfleet and the Federation at large into complete disarray. In all the chaos, the Terrans planned to move in for the kill and establish a new multiversal empire.

Why The Godsend Doesn’t Pose A Real Threat In Star Trek’s Lost Era

A lost quadrant of space would have been mentioned in Star Trek lore long before Section 31

The movie takes place during an interesting era in the Star Trek timeline. It unfolds in a time decades before Star Trek: The Next Generation – but also after Star Trek: The Original Series. Because this period is addressed so rarely by the franchise, it’s come to be known as the “lost era.” Although certain established characters are canonically alive and thriving during this portion of the 24th century, they’d be either far younger or much older than they would otherwise typically be known. While this is fun to think about, it also means established lore pre-doomed San’s plan.

Star Trek would have already referenced a quadrant-destroying superweapon going off in the early 24th century. Although the movie doesn’t address much of the larger franchise, it does at least include Stacey Kohl as Rachel Garrett – a character who had already appeared as a Starfleet captain in Star Trek: The Next Generation​​​​​. So, even unleashing a fraction of the Godsend’s power with Garrett in the vicinity would have killed her and disrupted her future – which has already been written. This is just one piece of evidence that the Godsend was never a real threat.

With the Godsend not being mentioned until Star Trek: Section 31, the movie also had to find a way to convincingly dispose of the weapon. That way, it wouldn’t continue to be an outlier. The finale takes care of that by having Georgiou activate the Godsend aboard San’s ship and allowing the device to be sent into the passageway to the Mirror Universe. When it explodes, it seals the gateway. Presumably, the energy in the portal offsets the Godsend’s full power.

The Godsend Would Have Been So Much Better In Star Trek: Discovery

Discovery eventually shifted to the 32nd century

Although the movie largely avoids referencing Star Trek: Discovery, Star Trek: Section 31 is a direct spinoff of the show that brought the franchise back to TV screens in 2017. Discovery begins as a prequel to Star Trek: The Original Series, but the show leaves the 23rd century behind at the end of Star Trek: Discovery season 2. Then, the titular ship’s crew is left forever stranded in the 32nd century. At this point, all bets were off when it came to what could happen. So, the Godsend would have presented Star Trek: Discovery with a brilliant storyline.

Related

I Respect Star Trek: Section 31’s Boldest Decision, But I Don’t Think It Paid Off

Star Trek’s first straight-to-streaming movie tried something very brave, but the result fell short of the project’s substantial ambition.

Star Trek: Discovery drew a lot of criticism for its bold additions to canon. Primarily, making Michael Burnham (Sonequa Martin-Green) Spock’s adopted sister was seen as almost nonsensical. Similarly, the USS Discovery’s spore drive had never appeared in any other show. Discovery did provide in-universe explanations for why these developments hadn’t been previously known, but it did little to soothe enraged Trekkies. Thankfully, when the show jumped into the future, it was no longer bound by such restrictions.

The USS Discovery encountered several threats in its new part of the timeline, and they worked better because the 32nd century was uncharted territory. Unlike Star Trek: Section 31, there was no real way to predict the ultimate result of each run-in with a villain or hazard. On paper, the Godsend sounds like a great Star Trek plot device, but it didn’t work in Section 31 because the franchise had already established it wasn’t used to destroy the Alpha Quadrant. However, Star Trek: Section 31‘s Godsend would have been an amazing addition to Discovery‘s especially futuristic setting.

Movie

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Star Trek: Section 31

6/10

Release Date

January 15, 2025

Runtime

96 Minutes

Director

Olatunde Osunsanmi

Writers

Craig Sweeny, Bo Yeon Kim, Erika Lippoldt

Producers

Alex Kurtzman, Frank Siracusa, Michelle Yeoh, John Weber, Rod Roddenberry, Aaron Baiers

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  Emperor Philippa Georgiou

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  Omari Hardwick

  Alok Za’ha