Another day, another Dune: Prophecy Episode goes where no dune Film went beforehand. After kills his youngest character On screen in the pilot, the latest episode shows the most impressive power in both dune Movies were foiled more than 10,000 years ago.
When it comes to that dune And Dune: Part Twoall those poison-filled false teeth, laser beams and nuclear missiles are deadly, but The Voice is almost divine. Used by the Bene Gesserit, “The Voice” is an almost gurgling modulation of one's natural voice that can make almost anyone do what they are told. Lady Jessica Atreides (Rebecca Ferguson) had a soldier slit his partner's throat and had Chani (Zendaya) feed Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) a mixture of her tears and the Water of Life to revive him. In Dune: ProphecyThe young Valya Harkonnen (Jessica Barden) turns out to be the creator of this powerful ability. She initially used them to force Venerable Mother Dorotea (Camilla Beeput) to stab herself in the neck to protect the Sisterhood's genetic index created by Venerable Mother Raquella (Cathy Tyson).
Until this final episode, we had never seen anyone immune to The Voice's influence. Then again, we'd never seen someone burn another person from the inside out by blowing into their mouth until Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel) came into our lives. In the crucial moments of the second episode, Valya seeks to re-strengthen the Bene Gesserit's influence over the ruling Corrino family following the death of Reverend Mother Kasha (Jihae), the fortune teller and confidant of Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong).
Her first attempt to do this in a private conversation with the Emperor was thwarted when Hart appeared in the Emperor's place. She then tried to resort to her contingency plan in case people start doing stupid things, like using their free will: making anyone who gets in her way kill themselves. She would also avenge Kasha's death – two birds with one voice. After it seemed as if her powers were working on Hart, causing him to take out his blade and put it to his throat, her final command to him to drive it down his throat was met with ears she never knew existed would have thought. Not only did Hart not kill himself, he also delivered on camera the coldest lines ever said to a Bene Gesserit:
“I always wondered what your biggest fear would be. Now I've seen it. It's not like no one will hear you. It’s that they hear you and they just don’t care.”
Shai-Hulud vs. The Bene Gesserit
As surprising as Hart's defense of Valya may be, it underscores the fact that Shai-Hulud has been around longer than The Voice. Fremen worship the sandworms as divine beings, like Dr. Liet-Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) said in the first part of Denis Villeneuve's famous sentence dune Saga that Shai-Hulud is the only master she serves. Bene Gesserit cannot become Reverend Mothers unless they ingest the poisonous bile or a dying sandworm called the Water of Life. It would make sense that the only way to overcome the Bene Gesserit's strongest trait would be to use the one entity responsible for them reaching their highest position.
Remember, Hart was swallowed by Shai-Hulud and supposedly given his deadly powers. Although Hart explicitly tells Valya that his mission is to wipe out any trace of the Bene Gesserit, we know from that dune Films that, 10,000 years later, are still as influential as ever. What Dune: Prophecy I just introduced the idea that there are people out there who may be imbued with Shai-Hulud's powers who pose a threat to the Bene Gesserit. It also makes one wonder how the Bene Gesserit adapted to this existential threat in order to survive as long as possible.
One thing is clear, Dune: Prophecy is here to shake up everything you've learned about dune World from the films. Have fun!
