Fridge / Star Trek Deep Space Nine S 06 E 21 The Reckoning

• The Prophets' disapproval of Sisko's Suicide Mission during the battle to retake Deep Space Nine could mean that they originally may have wanted the Dominion to win the war. It's likely that they thought that the Dominion (and therefore Cardassia) would leave Bajor alone, given that Sisko himself pushed for the non-aggression pact. This means that in this episode, a loss to the Dominion could have meant a completely different outcome for the battle between the Prophets and the Pah-wraiths around the same time of that episode (the likely implication is that Winn would likely not be in a position to interfere, as she had done originally) and that Dukat's continued hubris had he won may not have resulted in him allying himself with the Pah-wraiths at the end of the series. In essence, the Prophets may have been trying to save their Emissary knowing what would happen to him in the Finale.
  • Under this logic, it would mean that the Prophets also knew that Winn would turn against them. But the Prophet participating in the Reckoning acts as if she was unaware that someone was going to interfere. Either she knew she was on the clock, but couldn't defeat the Pah-wraith fast enough, or that its time trapped in the stone meant that it was not in touch with the other prophets to know about this betrayal.
  • One thing remains unclear: it is not known how Sisko would factor in to the Reckoning if the Dominion controlled the Alpha Quadrant. One possibility is that Sisko would be a fugitive hiding on Bajor when the tablet was discovered.
• As the prophecy apparently only predicts the battle but not a winner, in the end the Reckoning does play out as prophesied; they battle but are interrupted so neither one wins.