WARNING: This article contains SPOILERS for Star Trek: Picard season 3, episode 3, "Seventeen Seconds."The introduction of a rogue schism within the Changelings in Star Trek: Picard season 3 sets up a very different type of Dominion War in Star Trek's 25th century. Investigating the theft of weapons from Starfleet's Daystrom Station, Captain Worf (Michael Dorn) and Commander Raffi Musiker (Michelle Hurd) have discovered that the perpetrators are rogue Changelings who broke away from the Great Link. Worf acted on the information of his former colleague, and Changeling, Odo (Rene Auberjonois), who informed him of a rogue element within the Founders seeking revenge on the Federation.
First introduced in Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, the Founders were a shapeshifting species from the Gamma Quadrant who ruled over the Dominion and sought to subjugate the Alpha Quadrant. They were eventually defeated, bringing DS9's Dominion War to a close. However, Star Trek: Picard season 3 reveals that there are those within the Great Link that feel aggrieved at how the Founders were treated under the stipulations set out by the Treaty of Bajor following the Dominion's surrender. This suggests that, deep in the heart of the Gamma Quadrant, there is an internal struggle in progress within the rulers of the Dominion.
Picard Season 3 Set Up The Dominion At War With Itself
At the end of the Dominion War, the Treaty of Bajor stipulated that the Dominion were to withdraw from the Alpha Quadrant and return all occupied territories. However, Starfleet had no real jurisdiction in the Gamma Quadrant, so it's unclear exactly what happened to the Dominion in the years since the DS9 finale. Star Trek: Picard season 3 suggests Odo may have succeeded in his mission to reverse his peoples' centuries of prejudice against the "Solids". However, as with all sweeping societal changes, it's clear that Picard's Changeling villains objected to Odo's reforms and have broken away from the Dominion to exact their revenge.
This creates a fascinating opportunity to explore Star Trek's new Dominion, as a lot was left unresolved by the Treaty of Bajor. For example, the Jem'Hadar were the Dominion's military force, kept in their thrall due to a chemical dependence on Ketracel-white. It's hard to imagine Odo overseeing such a problematic process, so whether the Jem'Hadar have continued to serve the Dominion remains an unanswered question. Perhaps there's also a rogue schism of Jem'Hadar, too, working alongside the Changelings, or even Captain Vadic (Amanda Plummer).
Will The Dominion Save The Federation In Picard Season 3?
It is forbidden for Changelings to harm each other, so this ancient rule would surely prevent the new Dominion acting in opposition to the schism. It's also likely that, given that the Federation Council withheld information about the cure to the morphogenic virus engineered by Star Trek's Section 31, the Founders decided against warning Starfleet about the impending attack for fear of triggering another war. This inaction would have likely forced Odo's hand to reach out to his old friend Worf, out of his own loyalty to the Solids.
It's therefore unlikely that the Dominion will come to the rescue because they have no such loyalty to the Solids or the Federation. However, the previous Dominion War almost ended with the genocide of the Founders, so it would be in their best interest to work alongside the Federation to prevent the actions of the rogue schism. Until that happens, it's up to Worf, Raffi, and the crew of the USS Titan-A to avert disaster. Picard's Enterprise crew missed the first Dominion War, but, hopefully, they can prevent the start of a second one as Star Trek: Picard season 3 continues.
Star Trek: Picard Season 3 streams Thursdays on Paramount+.