I've been wondering, what do people generally think about the big twist at the end of this episode? 
I've seen a number of people say it was a letdown, primarily because of it's literal deus-ex-machina nature.
OTOH, I think it was a very good choice on the part of the writers, for several reasons.
1) Prophets really had godlike powers, at least inside the wormhole, and these were well established beforehand.
2) They had a clear motivation to act (they cared for Bajor and for their Emissary and he was asking for their help), it wasn't like they acted just on a whim or were pulled out by the writers to solve a plot hole.
3)It neatly tied Sisko's personal religious arc with the greater Dominion arc. I find it quite symbolic and ironic that an unbelieving Federation was saved only because of Sisko accepting his position as the Emissary.
4) It was unpredictable and shocking
(well, at least to me). I'm trying to think of a different way the resolution could have been handled. The Federation winning militarily I find rather cliched and unsatisfying. Especially since the Dominion forces were clearly established as stronger so it would either take some new ally suddenly coming to their side or some kind of technobbable solution. And it would be much less dramatic - no helpless shock at the minefield coming down and no sudden, almost magic reversal of the chances (epecially the effect it had on Dukat).
Either way, what do with all those Dominion reinforcements? The only plausible way is for the wormhole to somehow be shut. But thanks to Changling-Bashir it was now practically imposible to close it (or so I presume, since the option would have probably come up in Call to Arms). So you'd once again need some techobabble solution (or keeping the minefield, but then, like I said, you lose the shock effect).
Your thoughts?
I've seen a number of people say it was a letdown, primarily because of it's literal deus-ex-machina nature.
OTOH, I think it was a very good choice on the part of the writers, for several reasons.
1) Prophets really had godlike powers, at least inside the wormhole, and these were well established beforehand.
2) They had a clear motivation to act (they cared for Bajor and for their Emissary and he was asking for their help), it wasn't like they acted just on a whim or were pulled out by the writers to solve a plot hole.
3)It neatly tied Sisko's personal religious arc with the greater Dominion arc. I find it quite symbolic and ironic that an unbelieving Federation was saved only because of Sisko accepting his position as the Emissary.
4) It was unpredictable and shocking
(well, at least to me). I'm trying to think of a different way the resolution could have been handled. The Federation winning militarily I find rather cliched and unsatisfying. Especially since the Dominion forces were clearly established as stronger so it would either take some new ally suddenly coming to their side or some kind of technobbable solution. And it would be much less dramatic - no helpless shock at the minefield coming down and no sudden, almost magic reversal of the chances (epecially the effect it had on Dukat).Either way, what do with all those Dominion reinforcements? The only plausible way is for the wormhole to somehow be shut. But thanks to Changling-Bashir it was now practically imposible to close it (or so I presume, since the option would have probably come up in Call to Arms). So you'd once again need some techobabble solution (or keeping the minefield, but then, like I said, you lose the shock effect).
Your thoughts?
