The Meaning of That Bull Scene in ‘Dune Prophecy’ Goes Deeper Than You Think

In one of the most shocking scenes in Dune: Prophecy, young Tula Harakonnen (Emma Canning) kills all the men in House Atreides, including her boyfriend, Orry Atreides (Milo Callaghan) in this week’s episode, “Sisterhood Above All.” The party was preparing to hunt a Salusan bull on Caladan, and, after they all died, the creature appears to Tula but calmly walks away instead of attacking. The Salusan bull is an iconic Dune creature, and, although it carries a lot of symbolism about Tula’s own character, it also has ties to House Atreides.

The Salusan Bull Is Particularly Important to House Atreides

The Salusan bull has this name because it’s a species from Salusa Secundus, the capital of the Imperium in Prophecy, but an inhospitable toxic planet at the time of the Denis Villeneuve movies. They are mostly connected to House Atreides, since Duke Paulus Atreides, Duke Leto’s (Oscar Isaac) father, used to fight these beasts for his subjects’ amusement, even being killed by one of them.

Before Paulus’ last fight, his wife, Duchess Helena Richese, secretly drugs the bull, resulting in his death. They never had a good relationship, and Paulus often had affairs and took concubines. After Paulus dies, Leto becomes Duke and exiles Helena, his mother, to the far side of Caladan to live in solitude. In the original Frank Herbert novel, this bull’s head is mounted on the walls of Castle Caladan and is brought to the palace on Arrakis, along with a small statue of a bullfight.

It’s not clear whether Paulus’ bulls are the only ones to have ever been on Caladan or if House Atreides had them brought before that. Because of Paulus, however, they became mostly associated with House Atreides and their homeworld, embodying the fatalistic nature of power.

The Salusan Bull Now Has Its Own Symbolism for Tula

In “Sisterhood Above All,” Tula explains to young Albert (Archie Barnes) how to bait a Salusan bull using a local rabbit species, mentioning that they are “rare, shy creatures” who “need a scent to lure them.” First, she removes the innards, focusing on a small sac of toxins the rabbit carries, otherwise it contaminates the whole bull. It’s the same toxin she uses to painlessly kill the wounded horse and likely what she uses to kill the Atreides men.

While the party believes themselves to be the bull’s predators, they don’t realize that the bull is actually the bait, and Tula is the predator. Disguised as “Tula Veil” to hide her Harkonnen heritage, she seduces Orry, intending to kill his relatives from the very beginning, and uses the bull hunt as a pretext to kill the Atreides men. She is the only woman there, which likely shows just how much thought she put into her plan.

In “Sisterhood Above All,” we see how Tula had to let go of her innocent nature and become a predator under young Valya’s (Jessica Barden) influence; in a way, Tula has to become the Salusan bull, otherwise she risked the same fate as their brother, Griffin (Earl Cave), who is killed by an Atreides. As for House Atreides, for both Duke Paulus and the men Tula kills, the bull is a symbol of how they often lose sight of their responsibilities. As nobility, hunting and bullfighting may seem like typical hobbies, but they are actually dangerous, especially for people in positions of power and a lot to lose. For predators like the Salusan bull and Tula, they make for the perfect prey.

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

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