History Recap / StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS07E25E26WhatYouLeaveBehind

* EspeciallyZoidberg: Before joining the Great Link, Odo relays his regards for the [=DS9=] crew to Major Kira...and admits he'll even miss Quark, which he tried to downplay out of pride when actually saying goodbye to Quark before leaving the station.

* DidntSeeThatComing: The Dominion's response to the sabotage of the Cardassian planetary power grid. While Damar, Kira, and Garak knew there would be immediate reprisals, they didn't anticipae the Dominion would actually nuke an entire Cardassian city from orbit in retaliation.

* EurekaMoment: A villainous example after Damar's agents sabotage Cardassia's planetary power grid. Upon learning that the saboteurs are civilians rather than military personnel, this gives Weyoun an idea: If Damar has turned the Cardassian people against the Dominion, then it's the ''people'' who should be punished. The Female Changeling agrees...and it backfires, kicking off a chain of events that ultimately costs the Dominion the War.

* HistoryRepeatsItself: ''Deep Space Nine'' opens with a devastated alien world emerging from a brutal foreign occupation and dependent upon the mercy and charity of the Federation and it allies. Last time it was the Bajorans emerging from the Cardassian withdrawal...and the series ends with the Cardassians, thanks to the Dominion, now in the exact same position they left the Bajorans in all those years ago[[note]]Though with one crucial difference; Bajor was occupied and essentially ''raped'' by Cardassia, simply because they could. Cardassia, on the other hand, ''invited'' their occupiers, intending to become stronger through them. While the Federation was very sympathetic to Bajor, they will be considerably less so toward Cardassia, largely considering it a "you got what you deserve" situation[[/note]].

* DeconReconSwitch: The end of the Dominion War is the conclusion of the series' deconstruction of the Federation and its ideals. The idea of a sustained war with moral decline and compromises is antithetical to classic ''Trek''. But for all that, the War ultimately ends not with more firefights and bloodshed, but with a very classical ''Trek'' resolution: Our heroes (in the form of Odo) reaching out a hand and showing compassion to an enemy; and the enemy tentatively - almost unbelievingly - accepting.

* SurprisinglyRealisticOutcome: The ''Sao Paulo'' had barely arrived at the Station in the previous episodebefore the preperations for the Battle of Cardassia began. So, the crew's still 'breaking it in' and adjusting to a newer, more advanced, and still problematic ''Defiant''-class vessel.

* TakingYouWithMe: Garak and Kira trying to convince the Female Changeling to surrender is unsuccessful. She accepts that she's lost and has resigned herself to the fact that the virus will kill her, so she just wants to make sure as many of her enemies die as she can. Threats aren't going to convince her, with it taking Odo giving what she wants to for her to surrender.

* TakingYouWithMe: Trying Garak and Kira trying to convince the Female Changeling to surrender is unsuccessful. She accepts that she's lost and has resigned herself to the fact that the virus will kill her, so she just wants to make sure as many of her enemies die as she can. Threats aren't going to convince her, with it taking Odo giving what she wants to for her to surrender.

* NoSympathy: Having spent the last two years fighting the Cardassians, Martok has no qualms about drinking bloodwine over their corpses. Downplayed, as Klingons don't see corpses as anything but empty husks, as seperate from the person as a used set of clothes.

** Before that, there's the Female Changeling's orders to have the captured Damar, Kira, and Garak executed at Enabran Train's home rather than bringing them directly to Dominion HQ. This allows the unit's Cardassian guards to turn on the Jem'Hadar, save our heroes, and resume their attack on HQ.

* GoodTimesMontage: As they are preparing to move on to the next stage of their lives, O'Brien, Odo and Worf each pause a moment to reflect on the moments they'd spent on the station. Jake and Kassidy also spend a moment remembering Sisko.

* NiceJobBreakingItHero: Kira and Garak having Damar reveal himself in front of the Jem'Hadar barracks in the preceding episode. While it was necessary to re-ignite his legend and trigger a popular uprising, the rumors and reports of his sighting inevitibly make their way to Dominion HQ. The Jem'Hadar are thus put on the alert and Damar nearly ends up getting captured while he and Garak are overseeing final preperations for their sabotage campaign.

** Dukat isn't killed, but being dragged into the company of the Pah-wraiths is a deeply deserved fate after all the atrocities he'd wrought over the series.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Winn poisons Dukat, both to serve as a HumanSacrifice and so that she can stand alone as the Pah-wraiths' Emissary. It ends badly in more than one way.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: For the entire series, Garak has wished for an end for his exile from Cardassia. Here, his exile is officially over, but everything about the home he wanted to return to is gone; Mila is dead, the house he grew up is reduced to rubble, Cardassia itself is in ruins, and hundreds of millions of his people were senselessly slaughtered by the Dominion.

* PlotArmor: Kira and Garak are the only survivors of their suicidal attack on the Dominion headquarters.

* NoSympathy: Having spent the last two years fighting the Cardassians, Martok has no qualms about drinking bloodwine over their corpses.

** Though it turns into a lament about the fact that [[YouCantGoHomeAgain it's no longer the Cardassia he grew up on]], Garak states that Cardassia could be viewed as [[KickTheSonOfABitch having gotten what it deserves]], and not just for allying with the Dominion:

* ThereIsNoKillLikeOverkill: When it is clear the Cardassians won't fall in line, the Female Changeling orders the death of every Cardassian and destruction of every city. When it is all over, an estimated 800 ''million'' dead and the casualty reports are still coming in.

* RevengeByProxy: Damar's resistance caused massive problems, so the Female Changeling orders the civilians to pay the price. To start with, they destroy ''an entire city'' roughly 2 million dead.

** The Female Changeling's furious reaction upon learning from Broca that Damar's saboteurs weren't Cardassian soldiers, but Cardassian ''civillians''. She realizes that what began as a military revolt (and one she thought crushed after the events of the previous episode) has now escalated into a popular uprising (and at the ''worst'' possible moment for the Dominion with the Federation Alliance armada inbound.)

* HistoryRepeatsItself: ''Deep Space Nine'' opens with a devastated alien world emerging from a brutal foreign occupation and depdendent upon the mercy and charity of the Federation and it allies. Last time it was the Bajorans emerging from the Cardassian withdrawal...and the series ends with the Cardassians, thanks to the Dominion, now in the exact same position they left the Bajorans in all those years ago.

* EurekaMoment: A villainous example after Damar's agents sabotage Cardassia's planetary power grid. Upon learning that the saboteurs are civillians rather than military personnel, this gives Weyoun an idea: If Damar has turned the Cardassian people against the Dominion, then it's the ''people'' who should be punished. The Female Changeling agrees...and it backfires, kicking off a chain of events that ultimately costs the Dominion the War.

* EveryoneHasStandards: Even Kira's left stunned by the Dominion's vicious retalaiation against Lakarian City.

* DoNotGoGentle: The Female Changeling plans to do this when Kira and Garak storm the Dominion command room, stating that even if she had lost the war, she will have had the Jem'Hadar and Breen kill so many of her enemies that it would ultimately a worthless victory for the Federation. It is only thanks to Odo that she changes her mind.

* DeconReconSwitch: The end of the Dominion War is the conclusion of the series' deconstruction of the Federation and its ideals. The idea of a sustained war with moral decline and compromises is antithetical to classic ''Trek''. But for all that, the War ultimately ends not with more firefights and bloodshed, but with a very classical ''Trek'' resolution: Our heroes (in the form of Odo) reaching out a hand and showing compassion to an enemy; and the enemy, tenatively - almost unbelievingly - accepting.

* DeconReconSwitch: The end of the Dominion War is the conclusion of the series' deconstruction of the Federation and its ideals. The idea of a sustained war with moral decline and compromises is antithetical to classic ''Trek''. But for all that, the War ultimately ends not with more firefights and bloodshed, but with a very classical ''Trek'' resolution: Our heroes (in the form of Odo) reaching out a hand and showing compassion to an enemy.

* AndIMustScream: Dukat is trapped with the Pah Wraiths for the rest of eternity.

* AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence: After re-sealing the Pah Wraiths (and Dukat with them), Sisko is taken into the Celestial Temple to live with the Prophets and learn from them. However, in a vision he tells Kasidy that he ''will'' return to her one day.

** Dukat isn't killed, but being dragged into the company of the Pah-Wraiths is a deeply deserved fate after all the atrocities he'd wrought over the series.
* BackFromTheDead: Winn poisons Dukat to become the sole inheritor of the Pah-Wraiths' power, but the Pah-Wraiths choose him as their emissary, reviving Dukat and even restoring his natural appearance.

* BeCarefulWhatYouWishFor: For the entire series, Garak has wished for an end for his exile from Cardassia. Here, his exile is officially over, but everything about the home he wanted to return to is gone; Mila is dead, the house he grew up is reduced to rubble, and Cardassia itself is in ruins and hundreds of millions of his people were senselessly slaughtered by the Dominion.

** Winn, when the Pah-Wraiths choose Dukat over her.
* BittersweetEnding: The Dominion is defeated, the Cardassian Union is broken as an imperialist power, and the Pah-Wraiths are permanently sealed in the Fire Caves. Additionally, Dukat is trapped with the Pah-Wraiths, Winn and Weyoun are dead, and the Female Changeling has surrendered to stand trial for war crimes. However, Worf and O'Brien leave for new assignments, Odo returns to his people, with little chance of returning any time soon, Garak is able to return to Cardassia, but the planet has been devastated by the Jem'Hadar, with the closest thing to family he has left is dead, and Sisko is forced to AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence, with no guarantee of when he'll be back.

** The Female Changeling vowed to Garak back in [[Recap/StarTrekDeepSpaceNineS04E26BrokenLink "Broken Link"]] that all of Cardassia was dead and that they would be punished for Tain and the Obsidian Order's failed attack on the Great Link. Three Seasons later, that pledge is finally, very nearly horrifically fulfilled.

** In the Fire Caves on Bajor, Dukat uses his power to disarm Sisko by causing his phaser rifle to fly out of his hands. Dukat then forces Sisko to kneel before him. Both of these things are what Gary Mitchell forced Captain Kirk to do on the planet Delta Vega in Star Trek TOS 2nd pilot episode "Where No Man Has Gone Before."

* ChekhovsGun: Just before the battle starts, Weyoun notes that the Dominion's lines are stretched too thin at the center. Their headquarters lose power before they can dispatch reinforcements. During the battle, Sisko points out this weakness, leading Admiral Ross and Martok to hit the center.

* EvilCounterpart: Dukat is officially appointed the Emissary of the Pah-Wraiths. His and Sisko's fates mirror each other as well; they both end up in the company of the gods they serve, but Sisko ascends to the Celestial Temple and will one day return to his friends and family, while Dukat is damned to remain in the Fire Caves with the Pah-Wraiths for the rest of time.

* EvilerThanThou: The reason the Pah-Wraiths choose Dukat instead of Winn.

* FateWorseThanDeath: Dukat [[DraggedOffToHell goes to Pah-Wraith Hell]].

* FinalBattle: Starfleet, Klingons, and Romulans in an epic battle for the Alpha Quadrant against the Jem'Hadar, Cardassians, and Breen. And then the Cardassians switch sides. Then right after, Sisko versus Dukat.

* HeelFaceDoorSlam: Winn, after seeing Dukat restored and ranting about how he and the Pah Wraiths are going to set the galaxy ablaze, suddenly has a change of heart and tries to help Sisko first by trying to destroy the book and then telling Sisko to destroy it before the Pah Wraith-empowered Dukat slams the door right in her face, however.

** There's also Sisko, who throws himself and Dukat into the Fire Caves to destroy the book of the Kosst Amojan and prevent the Pah-Wraiths from escaping, but he gets [[AscendToAHigherPlaneOfExistence rescued by the Prophets]].

* HumanSacrifice: Winn poisons Dukat as part of the ritual. Unfortunately for her, the Pah Wraiths find a kindred spirit with Dukat and revive him.

** The Cardassian Resistance is spearheaded by a former member of the ''Bajoran'' Resistance against Cardassia. Garak even points it out In-Universe while they're down in Mila's baseement.

** Winn became embittered with the Prophets for denying her power and appointing an alien Emissary, so she turned to the Pah-Wraiths... who do the exact same thing, ignoring Winn in favor of Dukat.

* KickTheSonOfABitch: Winn poisons Dukat, both to serve as a HumanSacrifice and so that she can stand alone as the Pah-Wraiths' Emissary. It ends badly in more than one way.

* KneelBeforeZod: Dukat forces Sisko on his knees using the power of the Pah Wraiths.

** Winn poisons Dukat so she can become the Pah-Wraiths Emissary, but the Pah-Wraiths prefer Dukat and revive him, depriving Winn of the power she feels she deserves.
** Winn and Dukat sought to release the Pah-Wraiths, and both pay for it: Winn is destroyed by the Pah-Wraiths after betraying Dukat and trying to help Sisko stop him, while Dukat ends up trapped in the Fire Caves with his gods for all eternity.

* LightIsNotGood: Winn is wearing all white when she commits herself to the Pah-Wraiths once and for all.

* NoHonorAmongThieves: Winn poisons Dukat to free the Pah-Wraiths by herself. The Pah-Wraiths have other ideas.
* NoSell: A Pah-Wraith-empowered Dukat doesn't seem affected when Sisko punches him.

* OmnicidalManiac: The Pah-Wraiths and by extension, Dukat, who gleefully foresees the Pah-Wraiths burning the entire Alpha Quadrant.

'''Sisko:''' First the Dominion, now the Pah-Wraiths. You have a talent for picking the losing side.

* RedEyesTakeWarning: Dukat's eyes turn a burning red after the Pah-Wraiths revive him and appoint him as their Emissary.

** Winn turns on the Pah-Wraiths at the last second and tells Sisko how to stop them. Dukat incinerates her for it.

* SaltTheEarth: The Dominion's initial alternative to defeat is to destroy as much as Cardassia as they can before they are subdued.

** Kira, Garak and Damar find the back door to the Dominion's headquarters to be [[MadeOfIndestructium too strong]] to demolish with explosives, but ''just then'' a party of Jem'Hadar lead the Dominion's Cardassian PuppetKing (Legate Broca) and his aides out the same door in order to execute them as part of the Founder's FinalSolution. Kira, Garak, Damar and the rest of the resistance exploit the surprise opportunity to kill the guards and make it inside.

* SaveTheVillain: Odo saves the Female Changeling from the virus and promises to save the Great Link from the virus as part of the deal to convince her to surrender and spar Cardassia.