Only two references are made to Marla McGivers. Both indirect. One about being killed by a Ceti Eel, and the other some 55 minutes later:
"I will leave you as you left her, marooned on a dead planet."
Props to the producers for not pounding us over the heads with the exposition hammer.
See, this is what I'm saying every time this Trek continuity baggage discussion comes up. You don't NEED to know the episode Space Seed to understand the movie. All you need to know is that Kirk exiled Khan after he tried to take over the ship, and that his wife died in exile. That's it. You don't need to know any specifics.
There is also no episode that shows how Kirk met Carol. Or an episode that shows how Saavik met Spock. Same thing as if Space Seed had never existed to show how Kirk met Khan.
All those “Can't do this or that because the audience will be confused.“ Forget it, it's absolute bullshit. From the point of view of a newcomer, there is no fucking difference between a backstory reference to an event in a previous episode and a backstory reference to an event that has never been shown before. No difference at all.
