Lila's Condition in 'Dune Prophecy' Foreshadows a Tragic Atreides Family Member's Fate

Editor's Note: The following contains major spoilers for Frank Herbert's Dune books, which could spoil future Dune movies.The first season of Dune: Prophecy ended with several major changes to the balance of power in the galactic Imperium, most of which affect the Sisterhood directly. While the group’s leaders, sisters Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) confront their more overt enemies on the royal planet of Salusa Secundus, the deceased Dorotea (Camilla Beeput) returns to a form of life by possessing the body of her young granddaughter, Lila (Chloe Lea), and wins the loyalty of many of the Sisters on Wallach IX by revealing how Valya and her followers attained and kept power through a combination of lies, murder, and the use of forbidden thinking machines. But how exactly did Dorotea manage this resurrection after a young Valya (Jessica Barden) killed her decades ago? The answer clarifies the nature of this often-chilling storyline ahead of Season 2 and foreshadows the dark destiny of a future member of the Atreides family set for a major role in Denis Villeneuve’s third Dune film.

Dorotea Conquers Lila's Mind in the 'Dune: Prophecy' Finale

Dorotea’s consciousness began invading Lila’s mind when the latter underwent a ritual known as the Agony to communicate with the ancestral memory of Dorotea’s mother, Sisterhood founder Raquella Berto-Aniurl (Cathy Tyson), to learn more about the destructive Reckoning Raquella prophesied that the Sisterhood would face. Initially, it seemed as if Lila was killed during the physically draining process, but Tula was secretly able to revive her with the help of the thinking machine that originally belonged to Raquella. However, while her body is seemingly back to a mostly healthy state, Lila’s mind is subsumed by those of her ancestors. First, Raquella used her body to help Tula find insight into the technological virus being used as a weapon by Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel). However, in the season finale, it quickly becomes apparent that Dorotea has taken possession of her granddaughter, possibly permanently.

Possession is a recurring plot device in the Dune novels. It is often experienced by characters related to the Bene Gesserit order (a future version of the Sisterhood) who undergo similar rituals to the Agony, usually involving the rare mineral spice. Especially vulnerable to possession are those characters who are what is referred to as “pre-born,” meaning that they have access to their ancestor’s memories and knowledge before birth, usually due to their mothers consuming large amounts of spice while pregnant. While Leto II and Ghanima, the twin children of Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet), are also pre-born, it is Paul’s sister, Alia (Anya Taylor Joy), who most famously suffers from possession.

Alia Atreides Suffers Possession in Later 'Dune' Novels

In the first novel, Alia’s mother, the Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), undergoes a spice orgy in order to become Reverend Mother to the Fremen of planet Arrakis, despite being pregnant. This results in Alia being pre-born and while she takes a position of authority when Paul conquers the known universe, many, including the Bene Gesserit, are frightened by her unusual nature, with the latter group dubbing her an Abomination. Unfortunately, Alia ultimately proves the witches’ fears about pre-borns are somewhat valid. In the third novel, Children of Dune, Alia rules the Imperium in Paul’s place after the latter departed for a self-imposed exile. After consuming increasingly large amounts of spice in the hopes of gaining prescient powers on the same level as Paul’s, Alia, like Lila before her, is ultimately corrupted and possessed by the memories of her ancestors, specifically Baron Vladimir Harkonnen, her despicable grandfather. Using Alia as his puppet, the Baron exerts increasingly tyrannical rule over the Imperium until Alia is confronted by her nephew Leto II, who has begun the transformation that will eventually make him into the titular character of the fourth novel, God Emperor of Dune.

David Lynch’s Dune film adhered closely to the novel, showing a two-year-old Alia (Alicia Witt) participating in Paul’s war against Houses Harkonnen and Corrino. While this unnerving sight fits well in the extremely surreal aesthetic of that film, Villeneuve’s Dune: Part Two excises the two-year time jump included in the book, with the latter film consequently ending before Alia’s birth. However, Jessica is still able to communicate with her due to her pre-born nature. The casting of adult Anya Taylor-Joy as a version of Alia featured in a flash-forward sequence suggests that the character’s instability will need to be depicted in different ways in the upcoming adaptation of the second novel, Dune Messiah, as the contrast between Alia’s knowledge and age will not be nearly as pronounced.

Consequently, Dorotea’s conquering of the adolescent Lila may remain the franchise’s most faithful modern depiction of the horrors of possession. It also wouldn’t be surprising if future seasons of Dune: Prophecy reveal that the Bene Gesserit’s fear and hatred of pre-borns is at least partially constructed by Valya or a sect with similar ideas to hers hoping to prevent another coup like the one Dorotea is currently leading.

Dune: Prophecy is available to stream on Max in the U.S.

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