Why Rachel Garrett From Star Trek: Section 31 Looks So Familiar

This post contains spoilers for "Star Trek: Section 31."

It's been a while since "Star Trek" fans have gotten a new movie, and even longer since we've gotten a movie that doubles as an introduction to a new slate of characters. "Star Trek: Section 31" is full of surprises, from its surprisingly light tone (especially given, you know, the dictatorial ruler turned girlboss at its center) to its subversive use of pre-existing cultural lore from the "Star Trek" universe. (A non-celibate Deltan! A laughing Vulcan!) One of its biggest surprises, though, is that despite having been refashioned from a TV show to a TV movie, "Star Trek: Section 31" signs off as if its newbies are going to stick around.

Given the final tease that sees the Section 31 team take on a new assignment from Control (played by Jamie Lee Curtis), this may not be the last we see of Chameloid Quasi (Sam Richardson), Augment Alok (Omari Hardwick), Deltan Melle (Humberly Gonzalez), Vulcan-wearing-nanochem Fuzz (Sven Ruygrok), certified baddie Philippa Georgiou (Michelle Yeoh), and human buzzkill Rachel (Kacey Rohl). Sadly, the movie does seem like it could be the last we see of mech-wearing himbo Zeph (Robert Kazinsky), who meets his maker before the credits roll. At any rate, it's worth familiarizing ourselves with the "Section 31" squad in case they do return, starting with the character who already has decades of "Star Trek" history under her belt: Rachel Garrett.

The Rachel Garrett character first appeared in "Star Trek" back in the "Next Generation" years, where she was revealed to be a doomed commander from the past — the woman in charge of the Enterprise C. Back then, Garrett was played by "Brave New World" and "Murder, She Wrote" actor Tricia O'Neil, but this time around, Kacey Rohl takes over the role. If Rohl looks familiar (either in or out of her character's blue wig-and-lipstick disguise), it's likely because you've seen her before. Indeed, the 33-year-old actor has taken key roles in some of the most underrated TV shows of the past decade, as well as an unforgettable part in Bryan Fuller's baroque horror masterpiece, "Hannibal."

If you've managed to stomach all three seasons of Fuller's gory and glorious spin on the Hannibal Lecter story, you no doubt will know Rohl as Abigail Hobbs, the daughter of a serial killer dubbed the Minnesota Shrike. Her father's crimes kick off the show's first season, and though he tries to kill Abigail, she lives on to become a part of some of the series' best twists. Rohl is great in "Hannibal," and it's likely her meatiest role to date, but she's also a standout in plenty of other projects. She played the best friend of Rosie Larsen, the victim at the heart of the briefly ubiquitous crime drama series "The Killing," and appeared as a hedge maze in the Syfy adaptation of Lev Grossman's "The Magicians."

Rohl was also a main cast member in season 2 of the short-lived, M. Night Shyamalan-produced Fox puzzler "Wayward Pines," and she popped up in episodes of cult favorites and geek mainstays like "iZombie," "Supernatural," "Fringe," "Arrow," and "The X-Files." The actor even appeared as Megara — of Disney's "Hercules" fame — in an episode of "Once Upon a Time." She's taken on some major dramatic roles over the course of her relatively short career as well, including playing the actor and victim of reported FBI targeting Jean Seberg in a new adaptation of the controversial novel "White Dog" and portraying a woman faking a cancer diagnosis in the 2019 movie "White Lie." It would make no sense to put an actor of Rohl's calibre in a "Star Trek" story without plans to bring her back; hopefully, we'll see Rachel and the Starfleet-shaped chip on her shoulder again soon.

"Star Trek: Section 31" is now streaming on Paramount+.