Star Trek: Section 31’s teaser trailer shows an entirely different side to Rachel Garrett (Kacey Rohl) from the character fans met on Star Trek: The Next Generation. As the Captain of the USS Enterprise-C before Captain Jean-Luc Picard (Patrick Stewart), Rachel Garrett holds a special place in Star Trek history. Despite this, little has been revealed about Garrett as a person or her life before TNG’s brief glimpse of Captain Garrett’s Enterprise. Introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation season 3, episode 15, “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” Captain Rachel Garrett (Tricia O’Neil) met Captain Picard when her Enterprise-C inadvertently traveled through a wormhole into the future.
As glimpsed in its first teaser trailer released at San Diego Comic-Con, Star Trek: Section 31 already feels different from any previous Trek project. Since her introduction in Star Trek: Discovery season 1, Michelle Yeoh’s Emperor Philippa Georgiou has become one of modern Trek’s most fascinating and compelling characters. Yeoh has always seemed to have diabolical fun portraying the Emperor, and it looks like Section 31 will lean into that. Full of fight sequences and explosions, the teaser suggests a true action film, perhaps involving a heist or black ops mission. Kacey Rohl’s Rachel Garrett cycles through a variety of colorful hairstyles, suggesting she is involved in Section 31’s undercover work as well.
Star Trek: TNG’s Rachel Garrett Is Completely Different In Section 31 Movie
From blue-haired spy to serious Enterprise captain?
Although the Star Trek: Section 31 teaser trailer only shows glimpses of Rachel Garrett, she seems very different from the serious Captain introduced in Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Yesterday’s Enterprise.” But considering “Yesterday’s Enterprise” saw Garrett on what was likely one of the worst and most stressful days of her life, this isn’t particularly surprising. Kacey Rohl’s Garrett is obviously much younger and less experienced, but she remains committed to Starfleet. By the time of “Yesterday’s Enterprise,” Garrett is willing to sacrifice her life, her ship, and even her crew to ensure that the Federation achieves peace with the Klingon Empire.
In one of her only lines in Star Trek: Section 31’s teaser, Garrett says: “Section 31 is a black ops division, spy work. Starfleet is here to make sure no one commits murder.” Georgiou simply laughs at this statement, responding, “What a cute idea,” in a mocking tone. Garrett later refers to Georgiou as a “bad b****” in a complimentary way, which doesn’t feel like something the Rachel Garrett of “Yesterday’s Enterprise” would say. Still, viewers have seen so little of Rachel Garrett that it’s difficult to say what is or is not in character, and it will be fun to see Rohl’s interpretation of the role.
How Does Rachel Garrett Go From Section 31 To Captain Of USS Enterprise-C?
Based on first appearances, Rachel Garrett had quite an interesting Starfleet career.
Rachel Garrett’s appearance in Star Trek: Section 31 raises the question of how she goes from working with Starfleet’s black ops organization to becoming captain of the Federation’s flagship. Philippa Georgiou is, of course, the star of Section 31, and the teaser reveals the film will delve into her backstory, introducing Miku Martineau as the young Georgiou. Although we don’t yet know how big of a part Rachel Garrett will play in Section 31, the film likely won’t have time to explore too much of her story. This leaves the door open for future Star Trek projects to tell the story of Garrett’s journey to the Enterprise captain’s chair.
Star Trek: The Next Generation’s “Yesterday’s Enterprise” made Captain Garrett a fascinating character in only a few scenes, and it would be great to see more of her. Kacey Rohl has proven her talent as an actress in shows like NBC’s Hannibal and Syfy’s The Magicians, and she has the chance to truly make the role of Rachel Garrett her own. From its bright yellow title card to its villainous main character, Star Trek: Section 31 is shaping up to be unlike any other Star Trek film, and will hopefully make Rachel Garrett an even more compelling character.