‘Dune Prophecy’ Episode 1 Recap

Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Dune: Prophecy Episode 1.

It’s time to get back to the Dune universe, as Dune: Prophecy has finally debuted on Max. The series is set 10,000 years before the events of Denis Villeneuve’s movies, and the series premiere, “The Hidden Hand,” shows how different the universe is. Humanity is still recovering from its war against thinking machines, and many of the established institutions we know are still finding their footing, like the Bene Gesserit — which is currently known just as the Sisterhood. The Imperium is also struggling to consolidate its power under House Corrino’s leadership, as other noble houses plot to extend their influence over the throne, and the shadow of a devastating past war clouds everyone’s judgments.

Humanity Is Still Recovering From the Butlerian Jihad

“The Hidden Hand” kicks off with a flashback sequence going back a hundred years to the final battle of the Butlerian Jihad, marking the end of humanity’s war against the thinking machines. Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) explains in voiceover that history claims it was an Atreides who led humanity to victory, while House Harkonnen were branded as cowards and banished to a desolate world as punishment. However, according to Valya, these records are based on lies, so she has set out to change them.

Decades later, a young Valya (Jessica Barden) joins the Sisterhood with her sister, Tula (Emma Canning), on Wallach IX. The order has been created by the first Mother Superior, Raquella Berto-Anirul (Cathy Tyson), whom Valya considers her “true mother,” and who trains women to act as Truthsayers to the Great Houses, helping them discern truth from lies and forming a network of influence across the Imperium, through which the Sisterhood could “govern the future.”

Thanks to her Harkonnen blood, however, Valya is an outcast, but that changes when, on her deathbed, Mother Raquella asks to see her, warning of the coming of Tiran-Arafel — a reckoning for the whole galaxy. They share a vision of a sandworm swallowing the Sisterhood headquarters in a desert, amidst Raquella’s screams of “red dust.” The vision ends with a pair of mechanical blue eyes saying something unintelligible. Raquella then pulls Valya closer and tells her that she “will be the one to see the burning truth and know.” Raquella’s death causes a brief schism in the Sisterhood, with Reverend Mother Dorotea (Camilla Beeput) refusing to bow to Valya and threatening to destroy the genetic matrix they use to record the genes of all the Great Houses. Valya stops her by using the Voice, a new technique she has developed, and orders Dorotea to kill herself.

Valya Plans Humanity’s Future in ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 1

Thirty years later, Valya is now Mother Superior of the Sisterhood, and Tula (Olivia Williams) is her most trusted advisor, teaching classes on brain anatomy (with a focus on lying), martial arts, and truthsaying. The Sisterhood is thriving, with young girls from all over the galaxy having joined to become Truthsayers, and preparing to welcome among their ranks Princess Ynez Corrino (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), the heir to the Golden Lion Throne. She is to spend ten years training with the Sisterhood, and the anticipation of her arrival disrupts the other students’ daily lives. Meanwhile, Valya carries on with the order’s affairs, assigning Truthsayers to two houses while denying House Harkonnen (whose blood she carries) a fourth time.

Over the decades, Valya has kept a careful eye on how the Great Houses behave thanks to her Truthsayers. She has also devised a secret breeding program, instructing the Truthsayers to influence the houses to marry according to it. Right now, her eye is on House Corrino, who rules the Imperium. Ynez is set to soon marry nine-year-old Pruwet Richese (Charlie Hodson-Prior), thus keeping the Corrino line stable for centuries. Before that, however, Ynez has ten years until Pruwet comes of age, and will become part of the Sisterhood to ensure that Valya’s plan of having a Sister on the throne happens. To influence Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) and Princess Ynez, Valya has placed Truthsayer Kasha (Jihae Kim) by their side.

Emperor Corrino Meets a Mysterious Stranger in ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 1

In Prophecy, Salusa Secundus isn’t yet the caustic and rainy planet it is by the time of the movies. Instead, it’s House Corrino’s seat of power, with Emperor Javicco facing a dilemma. The Imperium hasn’t been able to pacify the Fremen in Arrakis in order to stabilize the spice supply, and needs to form an alliance to strengthen its forces. The solution presents itself in the form of House Richese, an ambitious and powerful house that wants to marry its heir, young Pruwet, to Princess Ynez. Empress Natalya (Jodhi May) disapproves of the wedding, but Javicco doesn’t see another way to solve his problems, and agrees to it.

Before the celebrations take place, however, a stranger arrives. Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel) was once a soldier fighting for the Imperium on Arrakis, and mysteriously survived an attack that killed his whole regiment. He arrives at the palace and Javicco welcomes him as a respected veteran, even inviting him to attend the engagement party. Desmond tells him the attack he survived wasn’t carried out by Fremen, but by rebel insurgents from the other houses. This surprises even Javicco’s Truthsayer, Kasha, who confirms that Hart believes the story he is telling and that it must have been an isolated incident.

Ynez is a smart young woman, who understands that marrying young Pruwet Richese will give her ten years to train as a Truthsayer in the Sisterhood, allowing her to effectively control her husband when he comes of age and rule the Imperium without interference. When they first meet at their engagement ceremony, however, Pruwet proves to be rather stubborn and not easily impressed, which surprises Ynez. In secret, she also has a relationship with her swordmaster, Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason).

After Hart’s arrival, however, everything changes. Kasha has a strange vision of Ynez wearing her red wedding dress and in danger as a sandworm swallows them both, and Ynez keeps saying that Kasha “did this.” Again, the vision ends with a pair of mechanical blue eyes saying something unintelligible. Distraught, Kasha decides to visit the Sisterhood on Wallach IX to try and beg Valya not to go through with Ynez’s wedding to Pruwet Richese. She is welcomed by Valya and Tula, but Valya vehemently refuses to call off the royal wedding, and suggests Kasha to stay the night with the Sisterhood on Wallach IX to remind her of her purpose. Tula then begs Valya to make sure that Ynez really is the one the Sisterhood should be betting on.

A “Burning Truth” Is Unveiled in ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 1

The royal engagement happens as planned in Salusa Secundus, but there is an incident during the reception: Pruwet accidentally releases his robot pet. Since the Butlerian Jihad, every robot, or “thinking machine,” has been banned, and Empress Natalya sees this as a reason to call off the wedding. However, Javicco minimizes the incident, letting Pruwet off the hook without even a slap on the wrist. Frustrated, Ynez lashes out at Pruwet and, after the party, goes to a club in the Division neighborhood with her half-brother, Constantine (Josh Heuston), who has no claim to the throne. There, she meets and spends the night with Keiran Atreides after they both partake of spice.

Back at the palace, Javicco talks with Desmond Hart, and confesses that he feels that marrying Ynez to House Richese is wrong. Hart tells him that it should help the Imperium pacify Arrakis, but that there is a larger insurgency going on. According to him, people wonder if the ban on thinking machines was the correct decision, and why only the Great Houses profit from spice. Hart also expresses disdain for the Sisterhood and tells Javicco that there is something else at play. He should have died in the attack on his division on Arrakis, but was reborn without fear. Javicco, who isn’t a believer, says he’ll believe in anything that frees him from Ynez’s wedding. Later, he finds a recording of the attack on Arrakis, showing Hart’s whole division killed, and him kneeling down as a sandworm appears to swallow him.

That night, Hart meets young Pruwet, who can’t sleep because of a bad dream. Hart tells the boy about a war that’s “hidden in plain sight,” fought by an enemy who has made themselves indispensable and does the thinking for everyone. He also says he’s been given great power, and says that Pruwet’s sacrifice won’t be in vain. Immediately after, the boy starts burning from the inside, painfully killing him and leaving his body completely charred. On Wallach IX, the same thing happens to Kasha, who dies screaming as Valya and the other sisters watch helplessly. Finally, Valya whispers: “I see, Mother. I see.” Is this the “burning truth” she was supposed to see?

Dune: Prophecy is available to stream on Max in the U.S. New episodes air on Sundays.

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