Welcome back to the blog readers. As you most likely could tell by this point, we have been on quite the rollercoaster ride when it comes to Dune: Prophecy. While I did not expect (or want) this series to be as good or better than the Denis Villeneuve films, I wanted it to carve its own path and take its own direction, which I think it has done pretty well. While nowhere near the level of quality as House of the Dragon (2022-) or The Last of Us (2023-), I have liked most of this series thus far. Would we end it on a high note with the finale, titled "The High-Handed Enemy," written by Elizabeth Padden and Suzanne Wrubel, and directed by Anna Foerster? Stick around to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
Like I said in the introduction, I was never expecting this show to be like the Villeneuve films, but I wanted it to carve its own path. And over the course of the first five episodes, I think it definitely did that (and did it mostly well). I was hoping this finale could wrap up all of our main plots, and with a runtime of an hour and twenty one minutes, it definitely did that and more. Not only did we get a solid closing out of plot points and storylines, we got some intrigue for a potential second season, alongside a powerhouse performance from both Chloe Lea and Olivia Williams.
I first want to start by praising the performance of Chloe Lea as Sister Lila. I think throughout the course of this series, we have seen Lila to be more of a background player than anything. But when things began happening to her character around the midpoint of the season, I had a feeling that things were going to reach the tipping point and completely boil over. What we then get is one of the most domineering performances I have seen on this show thus far, and Lea basically transforms into a different person. I was completely shocked with what I was seeing, and I hope we do get a second season to flesh this character out more because this was incredible to watch.
Finally, I would like to make a note of Olivia Williams as Reverend Mother Tula Harkonnen. Williams has gotten to let loose a few times this season but she has remained a secondary player in terms of storylines and things to do. But she instantly becomes a main player this episode when we reveal Tula is the driving force behind the entire plotline of the series, we see some real acting from her in the brief time we see her. Her scene with Travis Fimmel's Desmond Hart is one of the most powerful scenes of the year in my opinion, and definitely one that will leave a lasting impact on me (especially if we do wind up getting a second season of this show).
I had stated in the first paragraph that this episode ran for an hour and twenty one minutes, so it suffices to say we have a lot of story to get through in this review. I do want to start with the flashbacks that are littered throughout the episode because this episode does what the third episode did not: find a balance between telling us the story in these flashbacks and advance the main story of the present. It helps that the past dictates the future in a way. When Valya forces Dorotea to kill herself in the past, it is revealed that Tula witnessed this and grew despondent of her sister. Valya confides in her sister and their allies that this had to be done to protect the Sisterhood, and Valya teaches the three the Voice so they can murder all of Dorotea's supporters (with the exception of Avila, who commits to Valya as the Mother Superior). It is revealed that Valya also arranged for the marriage of Javicco and Natalya to ensure their daughter would be a member of the Sisterhood and end up on the throne. Tula also confides in Valya that she is pregnant and they decide to give the baby up. Turns out, that baby is Desmond Hart. I love the flashbacks this episode because it really allows for the two storylines that were kept separate until this point to blend together and sort of dictate events to possibly come.
There are a lot of plot points to cover in the present as well, and I will do my best to cover them. I will start on Salusa Secundus and talk about what happens. We start with Ynez (who learned last week that Keiran really has a brighter future in mind for the Imperium) attempting to rescue Keiran from his suspension prison that he is in, leading Natalya to discover this and arrest her as well. When Javicco finds this out, he tries to send Natalya away after sleeping with Francesca. He has also grown to distrust Desmond due to his newfound humanity. Meanwhile, Valya gives Francesca a needle full of metacyanide (later known as the gom jabbar) to assassinate Javicco. She plans to get arrsted by Javicco and arrives at the emperor's palace. She tells Javicco (who begs for her help in taking out Desmond and getting his wife back) that her and the Sisterhood orchestrated his life. This is enough for him to arrest her and she is able to free Ynez and Keiran (at Ynez's request). Meanwhile, a despondent Javicco reveals what Valya told him to Francesca and she reveals the gom jabbar needle, claiming it was Valya's plan and not hers. He laments his lack of freedom and commits suicide in front of a shocked and horrified Francesca, but Natalya gives Francesca the needle, killing her instantly. She then runs off saying the emperor was killed.
Meanwhile, back on Wallach IX, Sister Nazir offers to assist Tula with analyzing the mind virus, but she dies while trying to manifest the thoughts. Learning that Desmond is her son, Tula travels to Salusa Secundus to try to talk him down. Meanwhile, Dorotea possesses Lila and tricks Jen into escaping into the restraints she is in. She reveals herself to a shocked Sisterhood and reveals the truth to the rest of the Sisters: Valya and Tula murdered her supporters to become Mother Superior, revealing their skeletons. She then reveals the thinking machine Anirul, which she finally destroys after thirty years. If we do get a second season of this show, I would like to see this plotline get explored more, because the Bene Gesserit we see in the Villeneuve films are about the same as we see them at the start of this series. I definitely think something will go down which will lead to Lila being killed or something similar.
To close out the episode, Valya, Keiran, and Ynez escape the palace and run into Desmond, who tries to ignite Valya's mind virus. Tula arrives and tells Valya of this and tells her the virus feeds on fear. She overcomes the attempt on her life, but not before she sees a vision of someone implanting thinking machine technology into Desmond's right eye. Tula attempts to embrace her son but he has her arrested in a shocking turn of events. The three manage to escape and make their way to Arrakis so they can try to find another way to defeat their enemy. I do think there is room for more story to be told with these characters and their struggles, which I fully think will get us a second season of this show at some point. I do think this episode ended this season strongly and made it so that I was glad I watched this show by the end.
Dune: Prophecy ends on an extremely high note with banger performances and a story that leaves us room for more stories to tell. All in all, this was a very good finale which makes this a solid show from start to finish. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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