Luckily or because they were confident, the writers of Dune: Prophecy bet on the second season to deliver a ‘conclusion’ of the first that answered two or three questions, but left many others for the future. There were no sensational twists in an intense and dramatic episode, but it will certainly have a new chance to enchant us.

The succession and the coup?

Let’s start with the worst TV leader in recent times? What does no one want? Or care about it?
This guy is Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong). Insecure and impressionable, his thing is to stay with Sister Francesca (Tabu) and let the Empire get by. But the bene gesserit, one of the most loyal and close of the Harkonnen sisters, is not who he thinks she is.

Francesca bridges the gap between Javicco and Valya (Emily Watson), as requested, and is tasked with killing him next. The sisterhood wants Inez on the throne and the emperor is more than disposable, as he is extremely impressionable, he is already dangerous. Francesca hesitates but accepts.

Empress Natalya (Jodhi May) no longer wants her wimp husband either: she takes power from her husband and daughter without thinking twice. Her advisor is Desmond, but it is uncertain how close they are after last week’s kiss.

Javicco is so inept that we almost beg for one of the sides to succeed faster. He falls like a duck in Valya’s plan, which further irritates Desmond, the only one who tries to maintain a semblance of respect for the Emperor. Shocked when he realizes how he was used and humiliated, Javicco confronts Francesca. She has the poison to eliminate him but offers to try to find another way out (she really likes him). The not-so-clever Javicco finally understands that in no scenario will he be who he thought he was or will have the throne and decides to end his own life. Francesca cries and despairs, but Natalya sneaks in and uses poison to eliminate her rival. How she will deal with her stepson is a topic for the second season. Judging by the scene, it will either be a suicide pact or Francesca will take the blame for the “murder”.

Desmond Hart redefines the term “going viral”

The great mystery and interest of the series was Desmond Hart, whose theories sailed the Internet for six weeks. Two were certain: he is the son of Tula (Olivia Williams) and Orry Atreides, but he was also tortured by order of an enigmatic figure who used machines to insert a mechanical eye into him that spreads the lethal virus that allows him to kill whoever he wants. In other words, he is half machine/half human. And the middle is a virus that Desmond emanates and that is lethal and fast, especially because it feeds on fear. Going viral has never been so sinister…

Let’s get to the action first: Desmond is tired of Javicco and when he realizes he’s going to be fired so the sisters can come back, he kicks the bucket and stands by Natalya.

Still looking for the final proof of Bene Gesserit’s involvement in the rebellion, the soldier interrogates (under torture) Keiran Atreides, who doesn’t know or understand the sisters’ involvement in the story. Desmond teases that he, an Atreides, is acting with the Harkonnens, but Keiran, who is the son of the only survivor of the massacre that Tula promoted, hates his enemies but hates Desmond even more, so he stays silent.

Inez tries to free her boyfriend, but her mother stops her and arrests her. When Valya finds out about this, she uses it to her advantage. She runs to free the princess (and is forced to free Keiran too) and is almost caught by Desmond. Theodora sacrifices herself to help the escape.

The chase is long, but Desmond catches up with his aunt (they don’t know about their relationship) and the confrontation has unexpected results. I’ll tell you later.

Tula’s Power and Fear

With so much going on, in the present and in the past, it’s easy to have doubts about Tula’s role in having to stay at the school, managing the students, while Valya personally launches herself into the political war. In the sisters’ relationship, Valya has always been the leader and the feared one, but only those who didn’t pay attention saw Tula as weak.

Let’s go back to the story: Valya was at the school when she planned to avenge Griffin’s death and Tula infiltrated the Atreides to kill them. On the one night of love she had with Orrin, she became pregnant. When she, alongside Kasha and Francesca, witnesses Dorotea’s murder, Tula begins to doubt that Valya can genuinely – as she offers – help her raise her child.

Valya has shown her allies the genetic blueprint created by the secret thinking machine, Anirul, and in a private consultation, they see that all signs point to Tula’s child having incredible power. In fact, it is the seed for the Bene Gesserit plan that will result in Paul Atreides, confirming yet another theory. In any case, after seeing Valya use her voice to eliminate her enemy, Tula is not about to tempt fate. With Francesca’s help, she switches baby Desmond with a stillborn and sends her son away so that, ignorant of his origins, he can have a chance at a happy life. It is worth mentioning that, for a truth-sayer, Valya failed class one without realizing the lie. Thirty years have passed and she remained uninformed.

The comings and goings in the past and present, besides being interesting, give perspective to the drama: Valya was the chosen leader of the Bene Gesserit, but she had to kill to secure her position, eliminating her opponent and her followers. The secret between five women – Sister Avila ended up agreeing to be among them – never leaked, but the bill came. Only once again at a time when Tula is having to think of herself before the sisterhood.

Tula was left behind with two immediate missions: to find out what killed Kasha and who Desmond Hart was. The order was to use Lila to connect with her ancestors and identify the enemy, but this part of the plan failed because once on the other side, Dorotea’s spirit took over her great-granddaughter’s body and started her rebellion at the school.

Focused on her task, Tula ignored the risks of having resurrected Lila and delegated the care to still-unprepared acolytes while she continued her research into Desmond’s power. Upon identifying that he was her son and that the best way to stop him from killing others was to just kill him (which I would have thought before all this work), Tula abandons everything and everyone and literally flies to the Capital, both to talk to Valya and to find Desmond.

Of course, by this point Tula already knows what the virus is, how it spreads, and how to fight it: she needs to control her fear. When she finds her sister and son, they are both almost dying in the final clash.

Since she knows how to fight the virus, Tula helps Valya first. Before coming to, Valya has a vision of Desmond’s torture, under the image of a person she has not yet identified. Upon waking, she heads to kill the antagonist, but Tula stops her by confessing that he is her son. Valya is shocked by the revelation, which is twofold: Tula knows how to lie like few others and has never trusted her. Valya was apparently sincere when she promised to help her sister raise her son, even if he was Atreides. With time against them, there is no time for a deep conversation. Once again Tula has to choose and she decides to stay to talk to Desmond while Valya runs away.

Desmond, who was injured on the ground when he heard the revelation of who his mother was, accepts Tula’s hug but holds her back anyway. Closing the initial arc of the two most interesting characters in the entire plot and the two best performances of the first season.

In the 2nd season, the move to Arrakis

In the second season, the heart of the series goes to Arrakis and the desert landscapes. Helped by Inez and Keiran, Valya arrives on the planet both to hide and to discover who the Empire’s true enemy is. Can we say it’s Vorian Atreides? That’s my bet.

This fragile alliance between the three Houses during the struggle for Power will be tested several times. Keiran doesn’t trust Valya, and she reciprocates. And Inez will have to advance in her journey choosing between the Bene Gesserit, the Throne, or her love for Keiran. Honestly, the least interesting part of the entire series.

The loose ends for the next stage therefore include Natalya as the antagonist and Empress, dealing with the hatred of her own daughter Inez as well as that of her stepson, Constantine. This fight will be strong as long as Desmond is by her side, but if he and Tula truly connect, everything can change.

In the sisterhood, Dorotea/Lila has taken control of the school, destroyed the machine, and now wants the heads of the Harkonnen sisters. Whether Desmond will easily hand over Tula is another story and very unlikely. There is no unanimity among the women, Jen is clearly shocked by everything, but she is more inclined to follow Tula. How they will deal with the Harkonnens and the fact that Natalya hates the sisterhood will be another drama.

In general, despite the uneven acting and the rushed plot, Dune: Prophecy enters as one of the highlights of 2024, with the potential to improve in the second season (which should be in 2026). With the great performances of the young actresses, I hope they still have good flashbacks to keep them in the cast.

Olivia Williams was perfect from start to finish, but Emily Watson has not yet given Valya an enigmatic, spiteful, or scary figure. I expect more from her in the future and that she follows the incredible and spectacular line of Jessica Barden as the young Valya.

The young cast of the present time is very weak, especially Sarah Sofie-Bousssnina, who is terrible in drama or action, but since the focus will be on Valya-Tula-Desmond, we can let it go.

And of course, the big star of the series was Travis Fimmel, whose charisma and particular style of acting are the basis of a large number of passionate fans. Yes, Desmond is very Ragnar from Vikings and also Marcus from Raised by Wolves, but Travis is always so good that no one cares. Desmond’s story is original and doomed to tragedy, but he brought humor and mystery to a character that could easily be interpreted as gloomy and grandiose. The disdain that the soldier has for Faith or Politics is contagious and Travis is currently the actor who handles the little that is offered best. No other fight in Dune: Prophecy seems interesting compared to Desmond Hart. We know that he has even more to offer us and those who are fans (like me) can’t wait for more. Bring on 2026!

Pesquisar

Pesquisar