That said, most of “In Blood, Truth” works precisely because of its plot mechanics. Make no mistake, the plots are still dumb, especially with Constantine (Josh Heuston) trying to shake off his failson status and impress his father Javicco (Mark Strong). But the plots unfold with actual action and humor, making for the first truly entertaining episode of the series. “In Blood, Truth” doesn’t try for Shakespearean drama or even the Game of Thrones style palace intrigue. Instead, it clears the low bar of pulpy, silly fun.
That fun, unsurprisingly, comes from Travis Fimmel’s Desmond Hart, who gets promoted to Bashar over Javicco’s army. Leading a new elite fighting force (ancestors of the Sardaukar we see in Dune), Hart leads a scourge to root out enemies of the Emperor. In this position, Hart leads a raid on the insurgents and gets to toy with Harrow Harkonnen, whom Edward Davis plays like an Imperial functionary about to be force choked by Darth Vader.
Even Valya finally gets in on the fun. The excellent Emily Watson hasn’t had much success imbuing the one-dimensional Valya with much pathos, so she tries for wit here instead. Watson has a wry wink and a smirk when Valya tells her old friend Mother Francesca (Tabu) about a plan to busy Desmond Hart with his scourge and put Francesca’s son Constantine in charge of the Imperial fleet. She keeps it when Valya belittles and puffs up her nephew Harrow in a single sentence.
Chloe Lea follows in Watson’s approach to play Lila, back from the dead. Lea put in fantastic work in Lila’s earlier appearances, moving from wide-eyed true believer to a young woman dying a horrific death in the Agonies. Here, she plays Lila as possessed by the sense memory of Mother Raquella, which means that she must portray a much older, much wiser woman in the body of a teen.
Lea nails it. Curiosity and faith in her own mission gives Raquella a moral clarity that other characters have lacked, and Lea’s clearly having a ball doing the work. The beat she takes after Raquella in Lila’s body acknowledges the confused and aged Sister Avila (Barbara Marten) shows comic timing this series has lacked.
Still, I know some Dune fans will disagree with my positive assessment of the show’s turn toward the broad. As much as Star Wars borrows from Dune‘s desert planet and space empire, it has no interest in anything beyond popcorn action. Frank Herbert wrote rich and morally complex characters and used fantastic worlds to turn a cynical eye on the concept of human progress. Even a talky book like Dune Messiah was thrilling in the ethical dilemmas it posed.