Dune: Prophecy Episode 2 Review

WARNING: Major spoilers for episode 2 of Dune: Prophecy below!

Now that the pieces are in place and the key players have been introduced, Dune: Prophecy is able to spread its wings when two rivals face each other for the first time. The show’s first episode was an appropriately packed entry with the mammoth task of reintroducing us to the vast Empire 10,000 years before Paul Atreides in Dune: Prophecytimeline. Now, a conflict is brewing for the Bene Gesserit and the contours of it are beginning to take shape.

Following the murder of a young prince of a noble house and the emperor’s former Truthsayer, Kasha, at the hands of Desmond Hart, House Corrino is in disarray. Should Emperor Javico trust this mysterious figure who claims to have survived Shai-Hulud? And does it matter if he committed such a horrible crime, if he apparently did it out of blind loyalty to the royal family? These thematic questions will apparently be addressed throughout the season, but it’s not even the most interesting part of the new episode, which finally reveals the Bene Gesserit’s role in the series’ conflict.

Desmond Hart and the Emperor want the Bene Gesserit to disappear

What does this mean for Valya’s plan?

The crucial turning point in the last episode of Dune: Prophecy happens when Valya and Desmond confront each other, without masks and with vulnerabilities exposed. It is Valya who leaves the loser, with Desmond immune to the Bene Gesserit Voice as he reveals that the Emperor has left her and the Bene Gesserit aside.

It’s a complete unraveling of Valya’s plan, and remember, the Bene Gesserit love a plan. As the mysterious organization’s origin story, it’s a necessary place for Valya to start, while the rest of the Bene Gesserit is also reeling from Lila’s failed attempt at The Agony. They must reach the bottom before returning to the top.

We already know that the Bene Gesserit will achieve this. Emperor Shaddam keeps his True One, Reverend Mother Gaius Helen Mohiam, close by. Thanks to the performances of Olivia Williams and Emily Watson as Tula and Valya, the road ahead for the Bene Gesserit is intriguing. There is a lot of noise around that cushions the impact.

Subplots about a rebellion in Salusa Secundus and the various interpersonal relationships within the Corrino family and those in their orbit are introduced, although the show is less interesting when it leans into politicking and the betrayal of noble houses. It is the Bene Gesserit and the two Harkonnen sisters who are most interesting, although Dune: Prophecy seems content to release them in small doses.

We see a young Bene Gesserit acolyte, Lila, go through what is called the Agony. It’s an eerily similar process to what the Bene Gesserit go through to become Reverend Mothers. It is through this sequence that we are shown a new perspective on the collective memory of the Bene Gesserit, a cavernous room shrouded in shadows where dead Bene Gesserit lurk in the corridors, awaiting the arrival of any poor soul.

Lila is one of those poor souls. Although Tula and Valya hoped she could unlock the key to the prophecy, she is now seemingly trapped forever in this world of shadows thanks to the vengeful spirit of Dorotea, the Bene Gesserit Valya killed in the first episode. It’s a tragic turn of events, made all the more heartbreaking by Tula’s own reticence in putting Lila through the Agony. It’s also perhaps the most moving image we’ve gotten from the series so far.

At the end of Dune: Prophecy episode 2, Valya’s plan suffered more than a few setbacks. The Harkonnens are formidable, however, and it’s a question of how exactly Valya will end up back on top, not if. This could undermine the series’ dramatic stakes and this, coupled with strange subplots, has made the series slow so far, but Dune: Prophecy it still seems to have a few tricks up its sleeve that could make for an exciting season.

Dune: Prophecy episode 2 is now streaming on Max. The series will air new episodes every Sunday until December 22nd.