TV Review: "Dune: Prophecy--The High-Handed Enemy" (S1, Ep. 6)
Matters in the Imperium come to a head as true identities are revealed, past wrongs are grappled with, and a new hierarchy of power begins to take shape.
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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode ahead.
Well, we’ve now come to the finale of Dune: Prophecy, and wow, what a show that was! For the most part “The High-Handed Enemy” managed to hit all of its marks, bringing several plotlines–particularly those involving Tula and Valya–to satisfying conclusions while also leaving enough room for a second season to hit the ground running. While this season certainly had its flaws when it came to pacing and subplots that meandered and lacked true emotional depth, I still give the series a great deal of credit for wrangling the sprawling Duniverse into a compelling and richly-told piece of sci-fi television.
I want to start by talking about Empress Natalya, who shows her true colors throughout this episode, both by essentially turning against her daughter and also by slaying Sister Francesca in cold blood, leaving her to take the blame for the assassination of Javicco. It’s clear that she plans to seize as much power for herself in the days ahead, even if that means sidelining Princess Ynez. Indeed, from the very beginning it’s been clear that Natalya nurses numerous grievances, and that her marriage to Javicco, seemingly functional enough on the surface, is instead riddled with resentments and hatreds that have come increasingly to the fore as the series has proceeded. Jodhi May has always been one of this series’ most potent weapons, and this finale shows us again why she is such a phenomenal actress, capable of conveying the many haunting depths of Natalya’s character.
While I love what Jodhi May has been doing this season–and in particular in this finale–I fear the same cannot be said of Travis Fimmel. I’ve written before about my dislike of both the character and his performance, and my criticisms remain the same. While you can tell that Hart is supposed to be this terrifying force whose presence could remake the very Imperium, the limits of Fimmel’s performance mean that he ends up being remarkably one-dimensional. Once you’ve seen one scene in which Hart gazes piercingly at someone, you’ve seen them all.
On the other hand, I found the final conversation between Francesca and Javicco to be quite moving, thanks to the strong performances from both Tabu and Mark Strong. However, I do wish that we’d gotten to see more of their bond so that the latter’s suicide would hit with a bit more emotional heft. It also probably goes without saying that this entire storyline would have been more effective if the series had a full ten episodes in which to explore the various human dynamics at the heart of the story. Even strong actors like Strong and Tabu can only do so much when they aren’t given enough screen time for their characters and their relationship to flourish.
As has been the case from the beginning, this is a show that is at its best when it’s focused on the Harkonnen sisters and their various efforts to protect the Bene Gesserit and also themselves. Once again Olivia Williams is simply astounding as Tula, and this episode allows her to demonstrate once again why she has always been as strong as her sister (if not stronger). Once she realizes the truth about Hart’s parentage–that he is the child that she long ago gave up so that he wouldn’t become yet another pawn in the games of vengeance and bloodshed that she and her sister have been playing. Seeing her use the Voice on Valya in order to save her son from near-certain death at her sister’s hands marks an important moment in her development of a character and, just as importantly, it serves as the final demonstration of the strength that she’s had all along.
Emily Watson, however, is the undisputed MVP of this episode, and of the series as a whole. A lesser woman than Valya would crumble under the unrelenting pressures that she’s faced–from her sister, from the rebelling elements within the Sisterhood, from the Emperor, from Desmond Hart–but that has never been her way. And, now that she has at last broken free of her fear and guilt over the long-ago death of her brother, she can now move forward into the future with a surer hand. Those who have sought so assiduously to bring about the end of the Bene Gesserit are going to have quite a fight on their hands, particularly since Valya has no less a person than the heir to the throne under her command. As she has throughout the season Watson captures Valya’s strength and vulnerability, allowing us to see her as a fully-fledged person rather than as another Harkonnen stereotype. We may not always like her or approve of her actions (in fact we are often led to see her as reprehensible), but we can’t help but find her fascinating and, to some extent, understandable. Forged by a dysfunctional family and given a heavy responsibility when it comes to leading the Bene Gesserit, is it any wonder that she’s become the person she is in the present?
When it comes right down to it, Valya and Tula are always going to have one another’s backs, even (especially) when the going gets tough.
As with Game of Thrones, Dune: Prophecy leans into the violence and the beauty of its imagined world. The climactic scene in which Valya strides through Imperial troops slaying them with abandon is both a highlight in an episode filled with rather mediocre fight scenes and also a reminder that this is a woman who sees most human life as utterly expendable. I was also struck by the moment in which the young Lila–finally possessed by the spirit of her vengeful ancestor Dorotea–destroys Anirul, setting the stage for further conflicts at the heart of the Sisterhood.
Thankfully, the series has (finally!) been renewed by HBO, so we know that we’ll get to see more of Valya, Tula, and all the rest. Until we get this second season–which I suspect will hit our screens sometime in 2026, given the glacial pace of fantasy and sci-fi TV production–there’s plenty for us to speculate on and think about. Who, for example, was responsible for turning Desmond into a biological weapon that was turned against the Bene Gesserit? It seems more likely than not that this is a plot by either the Bene Tleilax or the Ixians, both of whom have their own reasons to hate the Bene Gesserit and want to remove them from the gameboard of the Imperium. They failed to realize, though, that Valya Harkonnen isn’t the type of person to just sit by and let her enemies run the table. Since they are ready and willing to strike from the shadows, that’s exactly what she is going to do as well, retreating to Arrakis to begin plotting her next moves.
Seen now from the standpoint of the finale, it’s clear that Dune: Prophecy is truly great space opera storytelling. It grapples with some vexing questions–about the nature of power, about the responsibility that those in positions of authority (secular, religious and otherwise) have to those over whom they have influence, about the ways that family feuds can corrupt generations and turn individuals into agents of death and destruction. At the same time, it is also a remarkably beautiful series, and there are shots from this first season that sear themselves into the mind. While it may not always reach the operatic heights of Villeneuve’s films, there’s still a great deal to admire–narratively, thematically, and aesthetically–about Dune: Prophecy. As Valya, Tula, and the others begin to lay out their next moves, I’ll be waiting very impatiently for these delightful space witches to come to our small screens once again.