DUNE: PROPHECY – Season One

Prequels are fickle beasts; telling a new story in an established universe, when the audience knows how it all eventually unfolds, requires solid storytelling chops. Factor in a beloved universe or franchise, and you have a recipe for big expectations and very possible disappointment. Sci-fi fans were treated to a truly spectacular remake of Frank Herbert’s Dune universe with Denis Villeneuve’s Dune (2021) and Dune: Part Two (2024), and everyone was surprised when HBO decided to jump onto the bandwagon. Their new prequel series, Dune: Prophecy, premiered in November 2024 and ran for six one-hour episodes (except for the season finale, which clocked in at a whopping 80 minutes).

Prophecy takes us back 10,000 years before the events depicted in the films, almost one hundred years after the end of humanity’s war on thinking machines, and introduces the Sisterhood, which will eventually become the Bene Gesserit. Formed by a former warrior with great ambitions for humanity named Mother Superior Raquella Berto-Anirul (Cathy Tyson), the Sisterhood is a religious order training young women to become Truthsayers to the Imperium’s Great Houses, concubines, and spies all over the known universe. On her deathbed, Raquella gives her most trusted follower and successor, a young woman named Valya Harkonnen (Jessica Barden), an ominous prophecy. She foretells a great threat to the Sisterhood, a reckoning she dubs Tiran-Arafel, and that Valya will be able to see the “burning truth”.

The series then jumps 30 years ahead: Valya (now played by Emily Watson) is the order’s Mother Superior. With the help of the order’s breeding programme and a tight-knit group of sisters including her blood-related sister and second-in-command Tula (Olivia Williams), Valya is on the verge of accomplishing their ultimate goal, putting one of their own on the throne of the Imperium. Young Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sophie Boussnina) is set to marry before joining the order when her young fiancé (Charlie Hodson-Prior) is brutally killed by a soldier with mysterious psychic powers. This soldier, Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), claims to have been given powers by a sandworm during an assignment on Arrakis. He goes on to occupy a place of choice on the side of Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) and his wife Natalya (Jodhi May). Might he be the reckoning prophesied by Raquella?

The series is based on Herbert’s son’s work, Brian Herbert, who co-wrote multiple novels in the Dune universe with writer Kevin J. Anderson. Their body of work is somewhat controversial within Dune’s fanbase, with critiques mainly directed at the lack of coherency with the original series and the quality of storytelling. That didn’t stop HBO from latching onto the franchise’s prequel potential, with big-hitter names like Diane Ademu-John (The Haunting of Bly Manor) and Alison Schapker (Westworld) developing the story for television. The result is messy: HBO gives Dune the Game of Thrones (2011-19) treatment, with random eroticism and plot twists at every turn, much to the series’ disadvantage.

Prophecy jumps between two storylines using flashbacks, but neglects to give us Valya and Tula’s full backstory and motivations until the third episode, which feels like too little, too late for a six-episode season. It left me feeling no connection to the sisters and their scheming, unsure who I should root for in the heavily layered political drama. And heavily-layered it is, to a fault. After double-, triple-, and even quadruple-crossings, it becomes hard to figure out why the characters are doing what they’re doing and filter through their motivations. The plotlines could have used some culling to bring focus and a bit more action. As a political powerplay story, it was already going to be dialogue-heavy but Dune: Prophecy was especially ripe with empty philosophical musings that aimed to validate their characters’ actions but were ultimately confusing and contradictory.

Even if the story is messy, the rest of the series shines in many other ways. The casting and performances are superb. Jessica Barden (The End of the F***ing World) is impressive as the younger Valya, displaying righteous rage and brimming power, and Emily Watson (Small Things Like These) brings the character into the refined leader of the Sisterhood. The chemistry and tension between Watson and Olivia Williams (The Crown) make the Harkonnen sisters a dynamic, compelling duo, which would have been even more formidable had the show taken more care in introducing them. Unfortunately, the show’s second lead after Watson, Travis Fimmel (Warcraft), delivers an overly quirky Desmond Hart in a performance reminiscent of his role as Marcus in Raised by Wolves (2020-22). He errs on the side of goofy and grotesque, à la Jack Sparrow, making him hard to take seriously.

As far as secondary characters go, Prophecy has almost too many, but they all are strong performances. Mark Strong (Tár) and Jodhi May (Transatlantic) make another solid duo. Strong portrays the outwardly confident but weak-willed Emperor who struggles to maintain a fruitful partnership with his ambitious, power-savvy wife, who May renders with gusto. Finally, a group of younger acolytes under Valya and Tula’s tutelage features more engaging performances, including Chloe Lea as the naïve Sister Lila, Jade Anouka as the powerful Sister Theodosia, Faoileann Cunningham as the sceptical Sister Jen and Aoife Hinds as the pious Sister Emeline.

The aesthetics and soundscapes of Villeneuve’s Dune adaptations are integrated into Dune: Prophecy with success, and the viewer thus experiences a smooth transition between the movies and the show. The sets aren’t as grandiose in scale, but are equally lavish and alien. The Sisterhood’s base on planet Wallach IX is austere and brutalist on the outside but reveals softness and greenery in its centre, and its overall design is beautifully executed. The royal palace is another dualistic environment; it appears warm and lush with golden and red hues but is ultimately cold with its wide and empty spaces. The wardrobe has some strong moments, especially in establishing the Sisterhood’s uniform, with the younger acolytes in lighter blue shades that get progressively darker as they go up the ranks, up to the Reverend and Superior Mothers’ black garments.

As a fan of both the original novels and the recent movie adaptations, I admit my expectations for Dune: Prophecy were high. My main gripes are mostly to do with the story. For one, the pacing could’ve been better, as I mentioned earlier, by introducing the Harkonnen sisters first, and maybe keeping some circumstances of Valya’s rise to the rank of Mother Superior for a later reveal. Furthermore, the show’s main storyline, the foretold reckoning, is not nearly as interesting and compelling as HBO thinks it is. If you’ve seen the movies, it won’t be a great spoiler, but spoiler alert nonetheless: we know the Sisterhood prevails, as it goes on to become the Bene Gesserit and scheme for 10,000 years to deliver the Kwisatz Haderach in the form of Paul Atreides.

Smaller stakes would have benefited Prophecy, to explore the universe at leisure and introduce us not only to the Bene Gesserit, but to other factions of the universe, such as the Mentats, and explore the war, also known as the Butlerian Jihad, in more detail. As it stands, Dune: Prophecy has been renewed for a second season, which might help it redeem itself. If you’re a Dune fan, proceed with caution, and keep expectations to a minimum; for everyone else, keep a notebook handy to keep track of all the characters and their myriad of schemes.

USA • CANADA • HUNGARY | 2024 | 6 EPISODES | 2:1 | COLOUR | ENGLISH

Cast & Crew

writers: Diane Ademu-John, Elizabeth Paden, Kor Adana, Monica Owusu-Breen, Jordan Goldberg, Kevin Lau, Suzanne Wrubel, Carlito Rodriguez & Leah Benavides Rodriguez (based on ‘Great Schools of Dune’ by Brian Herbert & Kevin J. Anderson, and ‘Dune’ by Frank Herbert).
directors: Anna Foerster, John Cameron & Richard J. Lewis.
starring: Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Travis Fimmel, Jodhi May, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Chloe Lea, Chris Mason, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Mark Strong, Jade Anouka, Edward Davis, Josh Heuston, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds & Mark Addy.