Star Trek: Section 31 could see Emperor Georgiou recruit other Star Trek characters into the black ops agency, including Star Trek: Picard’s Soji.
Summary
- Soji’s abilities and potential make her a perfect candidate for Star Trek: Section 31.
- Soji’s role as an ambassador may leave her feeling unfulfilled, making her open to joining Section 31.
- Fans hoping for Soji’s appearance in Star Trek: Legacy may be disappointed, as there are no current plans for the spinoff.
Star Trek: Section 31 is the perfect way to bring back Soji (Isa Briones), who was missing from Star Trek: Picard season 3. Originally announced as a series spinning off of Star Trek: Discovery, Section 31 was retooled as the first made-for-streaming Star Trek movie on Paramount+. Star Trek: Discovery season 3 set up Section 31 when the Guardian of Forever (Paul Guilfoyle) sent Emperor Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh) away from the 32nd century to save her life, after the time portal deemed Georgiou had sufficiently changed from her days as the despot of the Mirror Universe.
Soji was a principal character in Star Trek: Picard season 1. The murder of Soji’s twin sister Dahj launched Admiral Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart) on a mission to save Soji from Romulan assassins. Before she realized she was an android who was built from the late Commander Data’s (Brent Spiner) positronic neuron, Soji believed she was Dr. Soji Asha, who worked to reclaim former Borg on the Artifact, a derelict Borg Cube controlled by the Romulans. Soji was a focal point of Star Trek: Picard season 1’s ending, but she only made a brief cameo at the start of Star Trek: Picard season 2 as an ambassador for the synthetic race on Coppelius, her homeworld.
Isa Briones played a new character, Kore Soong, for the rest of Star Trek: Picard season 2.
Why Soji Is Perfect For Star Trek: Section 31
If Section 31 can’t have Data, Soji is the next best thing.
If Star Trek: Section 31 involves time travel and Emperor Philippa Georgiou recruiting her own black ops team, Soji would be an ideal candidate. Not only has Soji been sorely underutilized since Star Trek: Picard season 1, but she brings numerous advantages that would be a boon to Georgiou and Section 31. Like her ‘father,’ Data, Soji is super-intelligent and possesses enhanced abilities like super strength. Soji can also pass for a human and can be an infiltrator, something Data could not do before he was resurrected as a more human-like synthetic in Star Trek: Picard season 3.
Until he was freed by his USS Enterprise-D crew in Star Trek: Picard season 3, Section 31 took possession of the rebuilt Data, who was designated Daystrom Android M-5-10 and provided security for the Daystrom Station black site.
A possible premise where Emperor Georgiou cherry-picks her own Section 31 team of Star Trek characters from different eras should logically lead her to Soji. As a tactical genius, Georgiou would immediately see the value of an android with Soji’s capabilities fighting on her side. In turn, Soji may feel unfulfilled in her role as an ambassador, and she might be intrigued by what working for Section 31 offers, such as knowledge of the darker side of Starfleet and the United Federation of Planets. Whether they are aligned as a new Section 31 team or aiming to take down the existing Section 31 agents, Soji and Georgiou would be a dynamic force. Georgiou and Soji working together would also be a brilliant team-up of two of Star Trek‘s most prominent and talented Asian actresses, Michelle Yeoh and Isa Briones.
Soji Returning In Star Trek: Legacy Is Looking Less Likely
There’s no movement by Paramount+ to produce Star Trek: Legacy.
Fans hoping to see Soji as part of Star Trek: Picard season 3’s proposed spinoff, Star Trek: Legacy, may end up disappointed. Star Trek: Picard season 3 ended with a clear setup for a continuation of the USS Enterprise-G under Captain Seven of Nine (Jeri Ryan). Picard season 3’s showrunner Terry Matalas also spoke of his hopes to include more children of Star Trek: The Next Generation‘s characters in Star Trek: Legacy, and Soji would be at the top of that wish list. After all, Soji has never met her ‘father,’ Data, and that canon event could be part of Star Trek: Legacy.
A scene were Data and Soji meet in Star Trek: Picard season 3 was scrapped due to time and budget.
Unfortunately, Paramount+ has made no movement to put Star Trek: Picard‘s spinoff into production, despite constant fan demand online and the public wishes of Picard‘s cast and crew. This means characters like Soji will remain in limbo since no other Star Trek series is set in the 25th century, although Star Trek: Prodigy season 2 will explore an alternate 25th-century timeline that could potentially see an alt-Soji appear. However, if Star Trek: Section 31 does involve Emperor Georgiou time-traveling, it could be the way to bring Soji back into action, at last.
