Plan B if they couldn't get the collar off (DS9 "The Jem'Hadar")

[marsh8472]

SISKO: That thing they put around your neck
ERIS: It suppresses my telekinetic abilities. Without it, I might be able to break through the security barrier.
SISKO: Then we'll just have to find a way to get this collar off.
ERIS: Even if we do get past the barrier, no one ever escapes from the Jem'Hadar.
SISKO: Luckily for us, they seem as sure about that as you do. Look around you. They've placed the three of us in the same containment field. I've never seen more than four guards on duty at any one time. As far as I can tell, there's only this single containment field between us and freedom. They're overconfident, and that's what's going to help us get out of here. Maybe if I can pry off that casing, I can get at the locking mechanism. (her brooch) May I?
ERIS: Of course.
…
ERIS: I can't believe I'm on the other side of the galaxy.
(Sisko comes out of his office, armed.)
SISKO: You'll get used to it. Move away from her.
ERIS: I don't understand.
QUARK: I've been looking over this collar of yours. I thought if I replicated it, I might be able to turn a tidy profit. Imagine my surprise when I discovered there's nothing in here. It's just a complicated locking device.
SISKO: Which means you could have used your telekinetic abilities at any time. So the question is, why didn't you?
ERIS: You seem to already know the answer.
SISKO: The Jem'Hadar wanted us to escape, didn't they? That was the plan all along, for us to bring you back here so that you could spy on the Federation.
ERIS: Well done, Commander.

Quark and Sisko managed to get the collar off of Eris so that she could use her telekinetic powers to help them escape. But it turned out it was all an act and the dominion actually wanted Quark and Sisko to escape. So if they would have left the collar alone instead, what do you suppose the dominion would have done to provide another avenue of escape for them? They just let the Odyssey rescue them? A friend of Eris helps breaks them out? Dig a hole under the force field maybe

 

[Farscape One]

Quark is actually the real hero of this episode. He not only got the collar off, setting their 'escape' in motion, but he was the who discovered the collar was just a ruse. He prevented the Dominion from getting even more intel earlier than expected.

And his speech to Sisko was dead on. I think this was one of his strongest episodes, particularly in the early seasons.

 

[at Quark's]

<Sisko>: Hmmm... curious.... all week long they were patrolling here with double guards and a perimeter defense as far as I could make out. Today, no guards are to be seen, that perimeter defense has been deserted, half an hour ago the force field holding us shimmered and went off, and I find a kind of padd here marked 'top secret-- for the eyes of the First only'- in English no less! - that tells us where to find our runabout .... it's probably a result of my years of Starfleet training but I just smell something fishy is going on here ....

 

[JirinPanthosa]

Eris probably would have started less and less subtly leading them to discover the way to remove the collar.

 

[at Quark's]

<Eris, scratching her neck> "That itch is driving me crazy, must be some kind of material I'm allergic to ..... Well what-have-you, that collar just fell off, just like that!"

 

[Takeru]

The plan was always a bit weird, it relied on someone being able to open the complicated lock but the Dominion had no way of knowing if their hostages had that ability or the necessary tools, so they must have had a plan b (like a second Vorta breaking them out and heroically dying) but then why not make plan b plan a? Because then you actually control exactly when they break out instead of waiting for the lock to finally open.

And why did they destroy the Odyssey? Yeah, to send a message but their real goal was to get a spy into the alpha quadrant so why did they risk killing her during a space battle? They can't just not shoot the ship Eris is on, that would have been suspicious so why not allow for an easy escape?