'Dune Prophecy' Finale Recap - Sisterhood Above All

22 hours ago 3

Dune: Prophecy

Editor's note: The below contains spoilers for the Dune: Prophecy Season 1 finale.

Fresh off its renewal for Season 2, Dune: Prophecy reaches its first season finale with a lot on its plate. A feature-length episode, "The High-Handed Enemy" is too dense, proof of the uneven pace of such a short season. Despite this, it still manages to use past and present timelines to build to a climax. As it turns out, Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen's (Emily Watson) hold over the Sisterhood is not as strong as she thinks, and this takes a heavy toll as she dedicates all of her attention to stopping Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel) on Salusa Secundus.

With this problem growing increasingly personal to Valya and her sister Tula (Olivia Williams), Wallach IX is left vulnerable to Sister Lila (Chloe Lea), who continues to be possessed by her forebears. One of them is Valya's arch-nemesis, Mother Dorotea (Camilla Beeput), who takes over Lila's body to exact her revenge upon the Harkonnen sisters and turn the Sisterhood into a group of religious zealots. Meanwhile, on the Imperial capital world of Salusa Secundus, Padishah Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) learns the truth about his role in the conspiracy that's unfolding. Surprisingly enough, now the Sisterhood is his only viable option to remain in power, while Desmond Hart continues to plot with Empress Natalya (Jodhi May) and even arrests Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina).

Tula Takes Center Stage in the 'Dune: Prophecy' Finale

Troubled by the reveal that Desmond Hart is her lost son with Orry Atreides (Milo Callaghan), Mother Tula Harkonnen recalls the moment when, in her youth (Emma Canning), she witnessed young Valya Harkonnen (Jessica Barden) use the Voice to compel Mother Dorotea to commit suicide. Tula, young Francesca (Charithra Chandran), and young Kasha (Yerin Ha) pledge to lie about this, claiming that Dorotea killed herself over grief for the loss of her grandmother, Mother Superior Raquella Berto-Anirul (Cathy Tyson). In the same sequence, Tula recalls when she revealed to Valya that she was pregnant, with Valya being surprisingly supportive despite the fact that Orry Atreides is the father.

As Mother Superior, Valya shows Tula and her allies Anirul, the thinking machine that manages the breeding index conceived by Raquella, which suggests a match between the young prince (and future Emperor) Javicco Corrino and Natalya Arat. Together, they can produce a daughter whom the Sisterhood can train as one of their own and lead the Imperium. To ensure it all happens, Kasha will become Truthsayer to the Imperial House, and Francesca will imprint on Javicco to keep him infatuated with her, as well as loyal to the Sisterhood, and occupied until Natalya reaches marrying age. When they are alone, Valya also explains to Tula that her child, a boy, is the first-ever crossing of Harkonnen and Atreides bloodlines, and will have the power to change the universe if they guide him.

To ensure Valya's control over the Sisterhood as Mother Superior, she and her allies confront the remaining followers of Dorotea. Using the Voice, they make sure every one of Dorotea's followers choose either death or loyalty to them. The only one to choose loyalty is a young Sister Avila (Sarah Oliver-Watts). Later, scared about what this means for her son, Tula decides to send the child away after giving birth, with Francesca helping her swap the infant for a stillborn. Tula tells her son that she wants him to be free to choose his own path, and that this is the only gift she can give him.

In the present, Tula and Sister Nazir (Karima McAdams), who is also a Suk Doctor, analyze the virus and how it kills its victims by enticing overwhelming fear. Nazir argues that Desmond couldn't have bioengineered the virus, so someone made him a weapon. She and Tula come up with a plan to reverse-engineer its effect, seeing how Mother Kasha (Jihae) was a master of Prana-Bindu, the art of controlling the body down to the molecules, but couldn't stop the virus because she didn't know how it worked. Nazir is the test subject and is even able to resist the virus initially, but ultimately succumbs to it. The only conclusion is that the virus isn't natural, so it must come from machines. Speaking to Anirul, Tula decides she must deal with Desmond Hart herself.

Emily Watson standing next to Rebecca Ferguson and Timothee Chalamet

Tula secretly departs for Salusa Secundus, leaving the Sisterhood headquarters on Wallach IX without an acting headmaster, as Sister Avila (Barbara Marten) mentions to a colleague. Sister Emeline (Aoife Hinds) overhears this, and continues preaching Mother Dorotea's words to an ever-growing number of Acolytes. Little does she know, in a secret room in the school, Mother Dorotea is coming back from death by possessing Sister Lila and tricking Sister Jen (Faoileann Cunningham) into releasing her.

Dorotea eventually finds Emeline preaching in the library, and is shocked to learn that Valya Harkonnen is now Mother Superior. She finds Emeline, who takes her to Valya's office. When Jen breaks free and tells Emeline about what is happening, Emeline understands that she is actually talking to Mother Dorotea, not Lila, and decides to help the old zealot. Together, they go to the courtyard, where Dorotea destroys a pipe that empties the central pond.

Gathering the other Mothers, Sisters, and Acolytes, Dorotea shows them the remains of her old faithful at the bottom of the pond. She vows to return the Sisterhood to "its righteous path," which, in practical terms, means destroying the breeding index kept by the artificial intelligence Anirul. Dorotea is a Butlerian zealot, a religious sect that condemns the use of thinking machines, and finally destroys the thinking machine her own grandmother used to build up the Sisterhood's power and influence. Emeline watches in awe, while Jen is terrified.

Javicco Learns His True Purpose in the 'Dune: Prophecy' Finale

Enjoying his role as Emperor Javicco's new Bashar, Desmond Hart and his regiment interrogate and torture Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason) about the Sisterhood's involvement in the insurrection against the Emperor. Despite his hatred for the Harkonnens and the Sisterhood, Keiran doesn't cooperate and is sent back to the suspension cells. Princess Ynez tries to break him free, but is found by her mother, Empress Natalya, and is arrested, too. Meanwhile, Javicco wakes up next to his mistress, Sister Francesca (Tabu), who tells him she needs to leave to attend to other tasks. The Emperor doesn't like it, and comes up with a plan to send Natalya away on a diplomatic mission, which would allow Francesca to remain.

Needless to say, Ynez's arrest surprises everyone, even Valya. Back at the Harkonnen apartment on Salusa Secundus, she meets with Francesca and Sister Theodosia (Jade Anouka), whom she explains was bred as a Tleilaxu experiment and can shape-shift into other people, an art called Face Dancing. Together, they devise a plan to kill Javicco and break Ynez out. At the Imperial palace, Javicco confronts Desmond Hart about Ynez's arrest, and the Bashar is outraged that the Emperor would consider bringing back the Sisterhood because of his mistress.

Javicco summons Valya for a meeting, while Francesca receives Theodosia at the palace as a guest, effectively putting their plan in motion. Before that, however, he meets Natalya at their quarters, with Desmond Hart also present. Natalya tells Javicco that his role now is just a formality, wearing a crown while she and Desmond effectively rule. Javicco begins to see that he has never wielded any real power despite being Emperor, and now considers the Sisterhood his last hope. He meets Valya, who is sitting on the throne, and, like Natalya, the Mother Superior also belittles and humiliates him, going so far as revealing that he loves Francesca because she imprinted on him, and saying that his time "is coming to an end." Javicco arrests Valya, but that is all part of her plan.

Valya's plan was to swap Ynez for a disguised Theodosia, but she is forced to reevaluate her position as Desmond Hart and his regiment get involved. Instead, Theodosia disguises herself as one of Desmond's soldiers to buy Valya, Ynez, and Keiran time to escape, sacrificing herself in the process. It works, though, and the three of them successfully break out of the palace and head to the spaceport. Meanwhile, at the Emperor's quarters, Javicco confronts Francesca about her work on him. As it turns out, she eventually fell in love with him, and says that the plan to kill him was Valya's, not hers. Disillusioned and hopeless, Javicco kills himself in front of Francesca. As the Sister mourns her love, Natalya stabs her with the Gom Jabbar Francesca was supposed to use to poison Javicco. As the two lovers bleed to death, Natalya rushes out, claiming that the Emperor has been killed.

Valya, Tula, and Desmond Finally Have to Face One Another in the 'Dune: Prophecy' Finale

At the Harkonnen apartment, Valya's nephew and head of House Harkonnen, Baron Harrow Harkonnen (Edward Davis), extracts the thinking machine he got from Desmond Hart to monitor Valya, which now contains proof of her plot to kill the Emperor. At night, Tula finally arrives at the Salusa Secundus spaceport. She sees Keiran and Ynez running away, meaning that Valya is facing Desmond Hart. The Mother Superior defeats the Bashar's guards, and tells him to exact his vengeance upon her; she is ready to face his powers. He infects her with the fear virus, but is himself knocked out in the process, his right eye breaking down.

Valya then has the same vision as the other Sisters, but one adapted to her own memories. She is back on the frigid Harkonnen homeworld of Lankiveil, rescuing her brother Griffin (Earl Cave) from drowning in an icy lake. She saves Griffin right as Tula finds her on the spaceport and tells her to let go of her fears. In the vision, Griffins blames Valya for everything, and the ice starts to break around her. Tula continues to tell her to let the fear "pass through" her, instructions that will possibly evolve into Dune's iconic Litany Against Fear. Thanks to this, Valya overcomes her fear and reaches the end of the vision, as the mechanical blue eyes stare at her. As it turns out, the vision shows Desmond Hart's memory after being swallowed by Shai-Hulud on Arrakis. The blue eyes are a thinking machine inserting implants into his right eye, as he sees a shadowy silhouette overseeing the process.

When Valya finally wakes up, she tries to kill Desmond Hart, but Tula stops her. The sisters then discuss who he is, and that he is actually a victim of the true enemy, who remains hidden. They come to terms with each other, with Valya deciding to continue her fight against this hidden enemy to prevent the reckoning to destroy the Sisterhood, while Tula remains on Salusa Secundus. She embraces her son as he wakes up, who, conflicted and confused, has her arrested. As the episode ends, Valya, Ynez, and Keiran arrive on Arrakis, where the Mother Superior says that the path to their enemy begins.

Despite its climax and the cliffhanger for Season 2, "The High-Handed Enemy" is far from a perfect conclusion to Dune: Prophecy's first season. While the acting, casting, and design have been near perfect, the problem is that this is a feature-length episode to wrap up a season that has had five other equally dense episodes before. Writing has been focused on fans, filling the story with Dune lore in a way that makes this universe feel authentic, but it hasn't been able to tackle its biggest problem of fitting such a comprehensive story into a short season. That's likely a problem that goes beyond production and writing, really, since it has been affecting other high-profile series (like House of the Dragon, for example). But, for Season 2, it's something that should be addressed in the earlier planning stages. The series is great for Dune fans, but these issues prevent it from achieving an even broader audience.

Season 1 of Dune: Prophecy is available to stream on Max.

Your changes have been saved

In the Dune: Prophecy finale, the Sisterhood faces a schism on Wallach IX, while the Harkonnen sisters team up to stop Desmond Hart on Salusa Secundus.

Pros

The finale boldly goes beyond the books into uncharted territory in the Dune universe.
The episode uses references and visual nods to lore that every fan will love.

Cons

The finale is more concerned in starting mysteries rather than solving them.
It's a dense, feature-length episode that somehow still feels rushed.

Set in the universe of Frank Herbert's Dune series, this sci-fi epic follows the political and spiritual struggles on the desert planet of Arrakis. As factions vie for control of the prized spice melange, a prophesied hero emerges, challenging the balance of power and the fate of the galaxy.

Release Date November 17, 2024

Cast Emily Watson , Olivia Williams , Jodhi May , Travis Fimmel , Mark Strong , Jade Anouka , Chris Mason , Sarah-Sofie Boussnina , Shalom Brune-Franklin , Faoileann Cunningham , Aoife Hinds , Chloe Lea , Josh Heuston , Edward Davis , Tabu , Yerin Ha

Main Genre Sci-Fi

Seasons 1

Writers Diane Ademu-John , Kevin J. Anderson , Brian Herbert , Frank Herbert

Directors Anna Foerster

WATCH ON MAX

Read Entire Article