It would be understandable to describe “Space Seed” as a prequel to Star Trek II: The Wrath of Khan, given the way that film looms large in the franchise’s history. But there’s a reason that Nicholas Meyer chose Khan as the TOS villain to bring back for a movie. It’s because “Space Seed” is a really, really good episode of Star Trek.

When does the new Star Trek movie Section 31 take place in the Trek timeline? There are some clues to help figure out the answer.

Section 31, a feature film that's a spinoff of the series Star Trek: Discovery, will soon be available to stream on Paramount+. The movie immediately grips its audience by the throat, delivering a cold open about the brutality necessary to acquire power that almost rivals Anakin Skywalker's march on the Jedi temple in Revenge of the Sith.