A shaky Dune: Prophecy asks a whole lot of questions

Will the final pair of episodes of HBO’s Dune: Prophecy pay off the table-setting of the first four? They have to, right? The truth is that the critical and commercial reputation of this show could hinge on whether or not they do. If it’s all more set-up for future seasons, more wheel-spinning as the writers of this show put pieces in place instead of actually moving them on the game board, then it’s going to make this overall season feel like a disappointment. On the other hand, if the lit fuses finally lead to explosions, it could get the buzz that this show has distinctly been lacking. Notice how people online kept talking about The Penguin after its fantastic finale? Dune: Prophecy could use that kind of buzz, or risk sinking into the desert of the glut of TV options in the 2020s.

“Twice Born” is another choppy episode for about half of its runtime, continuing the division of its two most captivating characters in Valya and Tula Harkonnen, and spending a lot of time talking about what to do instead of actually doing anything. Despite the dramatic throat-clearing, there are thematic elements of the episode that are worth unpacking. For example, notice how the episode opens with two families in crisis, paralleling the power structures of House Harkonnen and House Corrino. It starts with Valya’s reunion with her elderly uncle Evgeny, who blames her for the dissolution of the legacy of his entire house. Understanding that Harrow Harkonnen is someone she could easily control, she offers herself as the family’s Truthsayer. She will guide them back to the High Council and again control universal politics from behind the curtain. She’s essentially pitching the creation of a leader from the rubble of a regime she helped topple a generation ago.

Cut to the Corrinos, who are on the opposite end of the power spectrum but also facing a formative chapter in their legacy. Nez is startled to see Desmond Hart at the table, especially as rumors circulate about how he murdered Pruwet Richese. She doesn’t hold back, telling her father that she won’t be a part of his plans if they include Desmond. In an interesting beat that could be easily missed, Constantine moves to join Nez as she storms out and Javicco orders him to sit. He may not be able to control Nez, but he’s not going to lose Constantine too.

Javicco is preparing for a meeting of the High Council, over which he’s kind of like the Speaker of the House, the Emperor who listens to the grievances and concerns of the other regimes throughout the universe. At the same time, Desmond is caught ripping out pages of Kasha’s sisterhood book one by one. It’s real “Universal Psycho” behavior, and he encourages Javicco to use that sociopathic power to his greatest advantage. “Show them the man that you are,” he says. “Use me.” He’s a weapon to turn policy into power. Is Dune: Prophecy a political commentary on life in the 2010s and 2020s, in which political discussion has turned to violence? Perhaps, but it’s thinly written so far if it’s designed to make any sort of specific political point beyond “be careful how you wield the power you’ve been lucky/corrupt enough to achieve.”

While wheels are turning (or spinning) behind the scenes, the rebels are planning an attack during the High Council meeting, one involving a “thinking machine,” a drone that can get close to the emperor before exploding. Shortly after learning of its existence, we learn that Valya knows about the drone bomb and plans to use that knowledge to reveal Atreides as a betrayer and gain favor with the council. It’s again power vs. politics, the main theme of the show. It will all end rather abruptly, cutting a potentially interesting plot thread before it has a chance to go anywhere, but I’m getting ahead of myself. 

Time for the acolytes! The episode actually opens with a haunting vision related to the death of Dorotea by Valya’s voice, a dream that multiple acolytes appear to be having at the same time. To try to figure out what they know and how they know it, Tula initiates a spice ceremony with the acolytes, starting them on a sort of vision trip like they’re getting high in the desert on their way to Joshua Tree. On the futuristic trip, the acolytes start furiously drawing circles. It’s a terrifying beat in a show that could use more powerful imagery. Is it the well where Dorotea was killed? Is it a sandworm? A planet? A bouncy ball? Tula tries to pull them out of the vision with her voice, but she can’t, until they all settle on the same drawing that looks like eyes in the darkness. It’s later revealed it’s not the well but the Shai-Hulud, the Fremen word for a sandworm. Why? Are the sisters drawing the connection between what happened on Arrakis to Desmond Hart?

A bit of behind-the-scenes action—most importantly, Nez going to Atreides to help burn down her father’s empire—leads into the High Council meeting. There’s some political chatter and talk of grievances before Nez makes her move, accusing Desmond of killing Pruwet on the Council floor. It turns out the rebels and Valya don’t need an actual bomb when they have a princess to blow everything up. And then Desmond steps in. He did kill Pruwet. He brought in a thinking machine, and that’s punishable by death in the regime that Desmond wants to make a reality. And he caught the rebels, although the Atreides connection appears unknown or at least kept secret. With a nod from his boss, Desmond lights up opposing council leaders and the rebels. It’s a brutal display of power that takes a physical toll on Desmond, which Javicco seems more concerned about than the chaos that the very public violence will sow.

Back to Tula, who’s talking to Emeline, who has put all of the pieces together. The Harkonnen sisters killed Dorotea and Orry. And she’s going to tell everyone. Tula responds by slitting her throat. Valya has been portrayed as the vicious one, but Tula will do whatever it takes too. Wait! It’s a dream. Or is it a vision? Will she have to murder to keep her sister’s secrets? She has something else to worry about first when she wakes to find Lila has returned from her spice agony. Lila doesn’t know where she is. What will Tula tell her?

In the episode’s final scene, Evgeny croaks (Mark Addy deserved better), leaving Harrow fully in charge, which is exactly what Valya wants. She can control him. She has a vision of Griffin. Or does she? Is it a shapeshifter? As Griffin shifts into another figure, Valya says, “Thank you, Theo.” It was Theodosia, the sister who went on the journey with Valya. Did she know that Valya needed to see Griffin one more time to center her? It’s a reminder of how much of this show is about the death of a Harkonnen at the hands of House Atreides and the battle that will continue over ten thousand years.

Stray observations

• • Edward Davis is effective as Harrow Harkonnen, taking a part that could have been all milquetoast, a pawn for Valya to use, and making it feel more complex and relatable. Let’s hope the writers give him more to do than Mark Addy.
• • Other MVPs this season outside of the recognizable “main” cast like Watson and Williams include Sarah-Sofie Boussinina (Nez), Emma Canning (Young Tula), and Shalom Brune-Franklin (Mikaela). 
• • Prophecy has a habit of throwing out terms that may not be familiar to casual fans (like Shai-Hulud). So what does “Making the Imperium comes at a cost” mean? In the books, it’s another word for the Corrino Empire, which was referred to as the Imperium, or the leadership at the seat of power on Salusa Secundus. It’s a fancy word for supreme power and right to control that dates back to ancient Rome.
• • I'm going with Mark Strong this week for an underrated recommendation. The actor in more than a hundred films often plays villains—he was just Carmine Falcone in HBO’s other late 2024 big-budget show The Penguin—but he’s got underrated range and often knows how to make an impact with limited material. (He did just that in 1917.) He broke through in films by Matthew Vaughn and Danny Boyle, but don’t miss his work in the great Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy.