Star Trek: Changes/Tropes

* Audience Surrogate: Both Jiku and Derin are this. Jiku is a big fan of Starfleet excited of working at Deep Space 9, reflecting the feelings of longtime Star Trek fans, while Derin is ambivelent to the whole thing and knows little of Starfleet, much like audiences who are being introduced to Star Trek througth this film.
* Author's Saving Throw: A major complaint over the last theatrical Star Trek films was their focus on action, which many felt was anthitesis to what Star Trek stands for. This film tones down the action in favor of more character-driven moments.
* Cassandra Truth: Jiku and Derin try to warn everyone of the inminent peril Deep Space 9 is in, but nobody listens to them simply because they are changelings.
* Casting Gag:
** Michaela Dietz once again potrays a shapeshifter in a project directed by Dana Terrace.
** Similarly, Matthew Rhys once again plays a racist villain in a project helmed by Terrace.
*Continuity Nod: Among the devices Cadre uses in his plan are the red matter as seen in Star Trek (2009).
*Distant Sequel: The film is set 20 years after the events of Star Trek: Picard, the last appearance of the Changelings.
* Does This Remind You of Anything: The Deep Space 9 crew's treatement of Jiku and Derin is intended to evoke post-9/11 xenophobia, particularly over how she's treated badly over something horrible she was too young to be involved with.
* Heartwarming Moments:
** Kira, surprisingly, is a walking moment of heartwarming, being one of the few to never treat Jiku or her sister badly due to being Changelings.
*** On a related note, her conversation with Jiku has her briefly asking about Odo.
** Derin tries to solve the situation at Deep Space 9 by giving a speech to the terrorists asking if destroying a space station just because they disagree about a decision is what a Starfleet officer really would do. Not only does this show her compassion, but proves that Starfleet's ideals really have come to mean a lot to her.
* History Repeats: As in Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country, Starfleet members go rogue after Starfleet offers a former enemy species the olive branch. Carde even says "You have betrayed the Federation" during his speech to Deep Space 9, the exact same words Valeris told Kirk's crew after being found out as part of the conspiracy.
* Hypocrite: Carde accuses Deep Space 9 of betraying the Federation by accepting a changeling. His response? To launch a terrorist attack towards a Federation station.
* Mythology Gag: 
** The opening and closing credits are an homage to Star Trek: First Contact.
** One of the Ensigns at Deep Space 9 is bamed after Odo's actor, Rene Auberjonois.
* Promoted Fanboy: Dana Terrace, a fan of Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, gets to direct a film set in the station.
* Production Posee: Dana Terrace brought several crew members from her show The Owl House to work on the film, including co-writers Rachel Vine and Molly Ostertag and stars Michaela Dietz, Sarah-Nicole Robles, and Matthew Rhys.
* Realism-Induced Horror: The reason Carde is such a terrifying villain is that he is a terrorist with xenophobic motivations willing to kill anybody who stands in his way, an all-too-real type of evil.
* Redemption Rejection: After Derin guves a passionate speech about Starfleet's ideals to Cadre's co-conspirators, most of them realize their actions are wrong and abandon the plan. Cadre, however, refuses to see the light and tries to destroy Deep Space 9 by himself.
* Shout-Out: The way Jiku's shapeshifting is depicted is similar to Morph's shapshifting in X-Men '97.
* Tearjerker: Kira still clearly misses her friends Sisko and Odo even years after leaving.
* Wham Line: "Honestly, though, even I'm surprised you fell for a fake plan".