TV Review: "Dune: Prophecy--Two Wolves" (S1, Ep. 2)
The second episode of the sprawling space opera series heightens the tension and shows just how far the Bene Gesserit and Desmond Hart are willing to go in their respective quests for power.
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Warning: Full spoilers for the episode ahead.
Like many others, I tuned in to the second episode of the first season of Dune: Prophecy with pretty high expectations. After all, the series really did hit the ground running, with lots of action, politics, and scheming, which is really what you would expect for a series focused primarily on a group of sorceresses and their attempts to bend the Known Universe to their will. For the most part, this second outing was a great deal of fun to watch, though I still think that the Bene Gesserit parts of the story are the most enjoyable and compelling and thought-provoking ones,
One of the more intriguing twists in this episode was the revelation that Jodhi May’s Empress Natalya is more than a little willing to see just what it is that Desmond Hart can provide the throne. There were signs in the first episode that her loyalty to the Bene Gesserit wasn’t particularly strong, but even so it’s really quite remarkable to see one of the most powerful women in the Known Universe working against some of the other most powerful women. As she showed in The Witcher–in which she played the fierce but doomed Queen Calanthe–May is perfect for this kind of role. I may not always like her, but it’s hard not to admire her loyalty to her husband and House Corrino.
Dune: Prophecy, much like Game of Thrones and House of the Dragon, is very much about power and who can and should wield it. The Bene Gesserit–particularly Valya–believe that their greater wisdom and their grasp on the longue durée of universal history means that they should be the ones entrusted with both political power and doling it out to those they think deserve it. And, say what you will about Valya, she is remarkably clear-eyed when it comes to this, which is what allows her to make the types of choices that others might hesitate about, whether it’s forcing a young girl to undergo a horrifying initiation or fomenting rebellions in order to maintain the political order of the Known Universe.
In that sense, the Bene Gesserit bear more than a passing resemblance to another group of highly-trained sorceresses in a sprawling universe: the Aes Sedai of Robert Jordan’s The Wheel of Time (and its Amazon adaptation). In both cases they have taken it upon themselves to set humanity on the path to stability and peace, and they both yearn for–and actively try to cultivate–a savior who will remake and/or break history itself. While we might not agree with every decision that the Bene Gesserit take as they attempt to establish a positive and productive–and presumably more just–future for all of humankind, one can at least appreciate the fact that they are willing to do so in the first place.
Unfortunately for Layla and the rest of the Bene Gessert, Desmond has in mind nothing less than the destruction of the entire Sisterhood or, at the very least, a damaging of their authority to such a degree that they lose their stranglehold on the Padishah Emperor. And, if this episode is anything to go by, he’s remarkably effective when he puts his mind to a purpose. There’s a certain animal cunning behind those piercing blue eyes, and Layla learns very quickly that it’s dangerous to underestimate him.
Nor is Desmond the only one who wants to gain revenge on the Bene Gesserit, and one of the more fascinating, and terrifying, sequences in this episode is the one in which young Lila is put through the wrenching test known as the Agony, in the hopes that she’ll be able to commune with her ancestor to gain more information about the threat that they Bene Gesserit face. The entire sequence is shot almost like a horror movie, with the shades of her past ancestors pressing in on the poor young thing like a horde of Dementors. Of particular note is Dorotea, who seeks to destroy her own descendant in an effort to destroy the very woman who ended her own life. It remains to be seen whether poor Lila will be able to emerge from this terrifying ordeal.
Speaking of the Agony…I love what Olivia Williams is doing with her character of Tula Harkonnen. While she may lack the cutthroat and steely approach of her elder sister, she more than makes up for this in her compassion and her empathy, particularly when it comes to the young women under her charge. Unlike Valya, who tends to see things in terms of the big picture–sometimes to the exclusion of the smaller, more personal stories and loves that her decisions touch–Tula is very much focused on individuals, for better and worse. Dune: Prophecy asks the question of which one of these approaches is better, and so far it (wisely) refuses to provide an absolute answer.
fOf course, this is Dune that we’re talking about, so of course there has to be a mention of spice and the extent to which it has already become an absolute necessity for pretty much everyone in the Known Universe. There’s not been too much mention of this just yet, but one suspects that this will be one more thing that the Bene Gesserit have to contend with in the episodes to come.
I will admit that I’m still a bit on the fence when it comes to the other young members of the cast, particularly the royals. Don’t get me wrong, Princess Ynez is fun to spend time with, and both Keiran Atreides and Constantine Corrino, but I just don’t find them that interesting. They sometimes seem like they’ve been teleported in from a CW show and, as I wrote last week, that’s just not quite the ethos that you expect from a prestige show on HBO. Perhaps this wouldn’t be so noticeable if it weren’t for the fact that the rest of the series just feels so much weightier.
Despite that little quibble, I really did enjoy this second episode. It accomplished what it needed to do by both deepening the mystery surrounding Desmond and also making his endgame explicit, even as it also demonstrated the extent to which Valya and the Sisterhood are not going to be content to go peacefully into that goodnight. If Desmond, and the Emperor, think that it’s going to be so easy to get rid of the Bene Gesserit, they are definitely going to have another think coming. I daresay that Javicco is going to come to regret his Henry II moment regarding the young Richese heir; political assassinations seldom have predictable consequences.
Overall, I’d say that Dune: Prophecy has good bones and, if we’re lucky, we might get several seasons out of this. When it focuses on the maneuverings of the Bene Gesserit this series really sings, and I hope that in the rest of the season it focuses more on them than on teenage angst.