Review of the first season finale of Dune: Prophecy: “The High-Handed Enemy”

It turns out that the majority of HBO’s first season consists of six episodes Dune: Prophecy was created by Frank Herbert to tell future stories in this world. That’s a problem. One of the things that people loved The penguin was how much it stood on its own. It was a drama that worked even if you hadn’t seen Matt Reeves’s The Batman and was worth watching, even if there wasn’t another season. The fatal mistake of Dune: Prophecy is how tied it is to the past and the future, relying heavily on the love of this world in the books and films and using much of its final episode to set the stage for future episodes. Still, the inherent risks of a season finale finally allow for some emotional power in this powerful ensemble’s performances, even as it becomes increasingly difficult to care about what happens to the characters they play.

Much of The High-Handed Enemy consists of putting into action a plan that Valya Harkonnen has been implementing for generations, using Emperor Corrino as a puppet to bring a sister to power. As Valya moves the pieces on her side of the chessboard, a rebellion once again awakens in the sisterhood, led by the reincarnated soul of Dorotea, the sister who murdered Valya so many years ago. The episode ends with Tula Harkonnen bonding with the villainous Desmond Hart after realizing he is the son she gave up so many years ago.

At 81 minutes long, The High-Handed Enemy’s pacing can be inconsistent. At times it feels like a shortened season resulted in too much being crammed into this finale, but at other times it’s also bloated and repetitive, as if the writers were tasked with dragging things out , to make the final episode seem more important. It’s a largely unsatisfying installment, even if it does feature some of the series’ best work from Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Chloe Lea and Travis Fimmel.

It begins with the revelation that young Valya was not alone when she used the Voice against Dorotea. Young Tula, Kasha and Francesca all saw the crime and witnessed the aftermath, with the same act of violence being perpetrated against all the sisters who would have sided with Dorotea, leaving only Sister Avila and the four core members standing. They all put a plan into action using Anirul – the device that allows them to plan bloodlines that will bring them to power – to bring Javicco and Natalya together. It’s an interesting idea that’s under-researched: the concept that politicians are manipulated in ways they can’t even imagine, and that they are influenced and shaped by forces beyond their control. Even Javicco’s love interest Francesca and the fortune teller Kasha were part of this multi-year plan. He hasn’t done anything in his entire miserable life that wasn’t influenced by the Sisterhood.

Of course, the episode also reveals what we all expected after the end the last: Desmond Hart is the son of Tula Harkonnen and Orry Atreides, who was sent for adoption many years ago but now leads these two essential bloodlines into a violent future. It is also revealed that Desmond was altered by a “thinking machine” on Arrakis, given the power he now has in a trial that someone was monitoring. But who? This is one of the main questions of the second season.

The focus of The High-Handed Enemy is to remove Javicco Corrino from power, but it turns out Valya isn’t his only enemy. Empress Natalya has also decided that she no longer needs her husband, especially now that he is trying to resume his relationship with Francesca. It’s almost a race to kill Corrino as Valya brings Salusa a drug-laced needle, ready to take out her puppet after he has served his purpose. Arguably the best scene of the season comes when Valya drops the curtain on poor Javicco. “You were always just a mission,” she tells him, revealing that every aspect of his life has been orchestrated by the Sisterhood and that it’s time for Ynez to take charge. And that’s after the poor guy was told by his wife that she wants to use him as a puppet herself to run the universe behind the scenes together with Desmond.

Javicco tries to regain some semblance of control by throwing Francesca out, but even that doesn’t get him anywhere. He realizes that the only option he can take is to take his own life and stab himself in the stomach in a truly sad scene. As Francesca sets out to save the father of her child, the Empress sticks a needle into her neck, killing her instantly and stopping all attempts at resuscitation of her husband. She watches her truly pathetic husband die. Dune: Prophecy will miss the seriousness that Mark Strong and Tabu brought to the show. Let’s hope they find equal actors to replace them in the second season.

Before I get to the crucial scenes, I have to talk about Lila/Dorotea. It begins with her convincing Emeline to loosen her bonds and drugging her for the favor. She joins the remaining sisters looking for Valya and her allies, only to learn that everyone on her side was killed shortly after her. As the episode progresses, Lila/Dorotea seems to become more and more powerful and enlist the sisters as allies in her cause. “I will return us to our righteous path,” she says. Valya and Tula will experience a brutal homecoming.

The season has neared the final scenes of “The High-Handed Enemy.” After escaping Salusa, Valya, Nez and Keiran end up on another planet, pursued by Desmond and his soldiers. She uses the voice to take them down quickly and bring about a showdown. “You say you’ve seen the end of me,” she says. “Show me.” And then things get weird. There are gasps, wide eyes, and shots of Arrakis. They both pass out and suddenly Valya finds herself in a snowy, icy landscape, moving between the Watson and Jessica Barden versions of the character. She hears Griffin screaming for help. In reality, Tula is trying to free Valya from the mental prison she’s trapped in, and the show finally gets a little creative in its visual language, incorporating natural elements like wind, snow, sand, and ice into a menacing montage. Dreamscape Valya is ready to face what is coming, and the scene shifts to one of her greatest challenges Dune-Esque images: A sandworm comes directly towards the camera.

After her recovery, it turns out that Valya and her allies will go into the shadows, presumably to try to regain power from Natalya/Desmond in the second season. Tula hugs Desmond and offers both actors a good bit of dialogue-free, emotional acting, but Hart has his men arrest his mother. And then the trio of Valya, Nez and Keiran end up on Arrakis. “The path to our enemy begins here,” she says. It’s always nervous to end a season with the words “starts here.” Let’s hope the makers know where they’re going next.

Crazy observations

• • It’s worth noting that this episode was written by two women and directed by a third. Despite its many flaws, it is a series with a strong female perspective. Think of Javicco’s worthlessness and how even Keiran feels like a passenger on this journey. The strongest characters – Valya, Tula, Lila/Dorotea, Nez, and even Natalya in this episode – are given additional resonance by giving tasks that are still too male-dominated in this industry to female creators.
• • Give Emeline more to do in the second season. Seeing her break her hands to escape Lila’s bonds is a highlight of the episode. She’s kind of badass.
• • Do we ever need 81-minute television episodes? Just throw that out there.
• • So who is the MVP of season one? Probably Watson or Fimmel, although I was more intrigued by the unknown actors, especially Chloe Lea as Lila and Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Ynez. As the show gets better, they’re the ones to watch for breakout potential.
• • Thanks for reading this season! See you next time.