Philippa Georgiou: Second Chances and Sacrifice

In , Philippa Georgiou is drawn into a mission from Starfleet's secret division, who are tasked with protecting the United Federation of Planets. The assignment, however, forces her to confront her actions during her time as emperor of the Terran Empire.

Section 31 picks up some time after Starfleet lost sight of her following Star Trek: Discovery's "Terra Firma, Part 2." Georgiou has been running The Baraam, on the edge of Federation space, under the alias "Madame Veronique du Franc."

Accounts of her cruel reign were shown in Discovery's episodes involving the Mirror Universe. Though, there were also glimpses of Georgiou's humanity such as her willingness to thwart a coup and stay behind, allowing the Prime Universe version of her adopted daughter Michael Burnham to escape.

Section 31 offered a deeper look into who Georgiou was before ascending the throne — that led her to eliminate her family and alienate her only friend.

The question Star Trek: Section 31 asks is, Is redemption for a person like Emperor Philippa Georgiou possible?

StarTrek.com had the opportunity to speak with Star Trek executive producer Alex Kurtzman and the cast of Section 31 if the former Terran emperor was capable of redemption and if she deserved it.

To Academy Award-winner Michelle Yeoh, she acknowledges that Philippa Georgiou is the product of the Terran Empire, stating, "This is how they did things, how they are, in the Mirror Universe."

Yeoh praises writer Craig Sweeny for showing us where Georgiou came from and how she became the emperor. "He did not [include the backstory] as an excuse," says Yeoh. "What is redemption at the end of the day? Did she do it out of choice? Was it an evil intent or something else? It's very hard for us who are not in those kinds of positions to judge."

"With Philippa Georgiou, when she was dragged into the Prime Universe, when she first arrived, she had all this disdain with all the hesitation [from others]," Yeoh explains. "It's like, 'What are you guys doing? You'll never get the job done.' She's not a terrible, evil person. In a way, she's actually likable. We want her to see that she can't do things in that [Terran] way. In many ways, we want to forgive her. But now, can she forgive herself? You have to do so much before you can even have an inkling of being redeemed. It's a long path. It's a long journey for Philippa Georgiou."

"Philippa Georgiou is tricky because the character has done horrible, horrible things," acknowledges Alex Kurtzman. "We touched on this on Discovery as well. Even when she was doing horrible things, you could always see that she had a conscience. And you could always see that there was this, let's just call it the inner child in her that was searching for redemption and that didn't necessarily want to be doing these things."

Echoing Yeoh's praise for Sweeny, Kurtzman adds,"What's really, really compelling about the opening that Craig wrote, and when he pitched it to us, we were like that's an amazing perspective. You see that she has to do this horrible thing, but she's forced to do it in a way that not only violates everything about her, but it really is the moment of the inception of who she becomes."

"Because by doing that, she crosses over a line and has to really let go a part of herself, let a part of herself die in order to continue," says Kurtzman. "And from that point forward, she's been living with a sense of conscience. With Discovery, but also with this film, that the door opens back up for her again to redeem herself. You now have a character who does all the wrong things for all the right reasons. It's a really interesting part to play."

For Kacey Rohl, she sees a connection between Georgiou's willingness to sacrifice herself and her character's future actions, "It's interesting to me that moment where Georgiou decides to set off the Godsend, and potentially sacrifice herself, connects to where Rachel Garrett ends up in 'Yesterday's Enterprise.' I think that's an interesting line that she carries, in Rachel's connection with Georgiou and having witnessed that [willingness] to the choice that Rachel ultimately makes."

"The message of the movie is that redemption is possible," confirms Rohl. "That's what we're trying to do here. We're trying to remind folks that, even the worst of the worst, there's shifts that can be made. That happens in the film with Georgiou's journey as she deals with the fact that she did, she made the worst weapon, the most unthinkable weapon that one could make. Her humanity has been awakened to a place where she, in a way, almost makes the ultimate sacrifice. Obviously we know how that turns out, but she makes that choice. That is a distinct possibility that she would go, but she sees what she's done and the only way to remedy this is to hard reset. Redemption can be found in anybody; people have the ability to change."

For Rob Kazinsky, who plays the operative Zeph, and Sven Ruygrok, who plays Fuzz, they bring their own personal viewpoints into the equation.

"It's such a good question and it's one I actually struggle with," notes Kazinsky. "It's a really difficult question for me, because personally, if you are a person like Philippa Georgiou who did so many awful things, should you even have the chance to be redeemed. It's not a question that I think is answerable. That's what makes Section 31 so interesting and appealing because it's dealing with those issues that cause these horrific quandaries in your thought process and your morality. And that's what we should be doing."

"On a personal note, not on a Fuzz note, my answer's definitely far more optimistic," reveals Ruygrok. "Absolutely. There is definitely a chance given to each of us for redemption. The question is whether or not we choose to take that. At the end of the day, what Star Trek is for me personally, and what has been passed down from people who are far more knowledgeable about me, is that it is good. That in spite of the darkness, there is still hope. And I believe that to be true even now for Georgiou."