Welcome back to the blog readers. Dune: Prophecy has been gaining a bit of traction with me since that disappointing third episode with the series' best offering last week. The character work was impressive as hell, the shocking turn of events at the Landsraad was note-worthy for multiple reasons, and I am getting more excited in the final third of this series. Would this penultimate episode, titled "In Blood, Truth," written by Carlito Rodriguez and Leah Benavides Rodriguez, and directed by Anna Foerster, continue the upward momentum of this show? Stick around to find out.
NOTE: I will be using spoilers for my thoughts, so DO NOT read ahead if you have not seen the episode.
My rollercoaster ride with this series has been one I did not initially think we would be going on. Other than my real Tribal Chief Roman Reigns, I do acknowledge that this film had a high bar after the Dune films turned out to be awesome (Part Two (2024) is a top 5 film of the year for me right now). I never expected Prophecy to be nearly as good, but I wanted it to be good. And this episode continues the trend we got with last week's episode in that it was a solid episode for what we got in it. I do want to commend the performances of Jodhi May and Travis Fimmel (again) and the story is absolutely leveling up.
I first want to praise the performance of Jodhi May as Empress Natalya for a minute. Throughout the first four episode of this series, May has not really had all too much to do and let us be honest with ourselves here, there was really no purpose for her to be here other than to look pretty. But the hierarchy changes in this episode, and we finally get something interesting going on with this character. And May absolutely steps up to the plate to give us her best performance in the series thus far. There is a fire in her eyes as Natalya witnesses the implosion of everything she has known up to this point, and she especially gets to shine and air out some grievances opposite Travis Fimmel. That scene is total dynamite and finally makes her performance meaningful.
And then we have to talk about the man himself. Over the last four weeks, you guys have been witness to one of the most stunning character performances I have seen from television in a while. And not stunning because I expected it (because I didn't), but stunning because this man has acted circles around Mark Strong this whole time. And this episode is no different, because he grabs the momentum he took by the horns last week and he is completely in command of his craft this time around. If I am being completely honest with you guys, Desmond Hart is becoming the most intriguing and entertaining character on this show. This week, he expertly plays off everybody he interacts with to deliver a note-worthy performance for me at least. And you can't teach that.
This week's story is definitely going places, and it surprisingly features very little Valya this week. This began as an interesting decision for me but it made sense when you look at the grand scheme of things. We start on Salusa Secundus where Emperor Javicco Corrino condemns the rebel plot to assassinate him at the Landsraad and he introduces a new military force loyal to him, in which Desmond (who discovered and exposed the plot) to be its Bashar. This very clearly is the origin of what would become the Sardukar in Paul Atreides' time, and the rank of Bashar is akin to that of a colonel. Javicco tasks Desmond with rooting out anyone else that was associated with this plot. Meanwhile, Constantine is having a crisis of faith as he abandoned his sister Ynez at the Landsraad, and he apologizes to her. His crisis worsens with the arrival of his mother, Sister Francesca. Meanwhile, Harrow attempts to apologize for opening the inquiry into House Corrino, to which Desmond rebuffs him and tells him to determine whether his aunt Valya was in any way involved in the plot. He performs something Valya later calls imprinting on Harrow to gain his loyalty.
On Wallach IX, acolyte Jen expresses her discontent with the leadership keeping secrets from the rest of the Sisterhood, but Tula confides in her the resurrected Lila, who is being possessed by her Other Memories. Raquella finally possesses Lila and she asks for Jen to bring her to Tula. Together, the three determine Kasha's cause of death was due to a virus as Raquella praises Valya's efforts to keep control over the Sisterhood. Mother Avila learns of the resurrection of Lila and Tula argues with her stating both of their missions is to preserve the Sisterhood at all costs, something Tula claims to be doing. Back on Salusa Secundus, Sister Francesca is told by Valya to convince Javicco to make Constantine commander of his fleet, something she vaguely passes along to him as he admits he missed what they had and tries to kiss her.
Desmond interrogates Keiran to determine if he knows anything about the rebel plot, to which he lies and Desmond believes him. He then sends his men to the Division, where the plot was hatched and Sister Mikaela works undercover. Mikaela and Keiran have been planting explosives to take out the soldiers with the base, and Keiran is able to kill some of the guards. Desmond learns of this too late and must activate his portable shield to avoid the destruction of the Division. More importantly, he does not see Keiran which allows him to keep his cover. Keiran sees Mikaela's Sisterhood knife and warns her to never see him again. Constantine later discovers the palace plans in Keiran's possession and, remembering something his mother told him about seizing opportunities, betrays him to Desmond and the soldier force. Later, at dinner, Javicco publicly declares his proudness for his son and makes him fleet commander as a reward, troubling Ynez and Natalya. Ynez later interrogates Keiran and using her Truthsayer abilities, she determines he is truthful in his intention to better the Imperium. Natalya confides in Desmond her worry about the Sisterhood taking power from her and shares a kiss with him as she vows to take them down. Meanwhile, Tula, who had received a message from Valya, tests Desmond's blood and is horrified to learn he has the blood of both House Atreides and House Harkonnen. Desmond also tells Natalya his mother was a Sister.
This episode advanced our story to new heights and allows for an action-packed finale that I am sure will push the boundaries of Dune storytelling. I am curious to see how Ynez factors into this story and if she betrays her brother, if someone will be willing to kill Desmond, and if Javicco will still be emperor by the time the credits roll on next week's episode. Dune: Prophecy has officially found its groove and I cannot wait to see how it ends next week. Thank you all for reading, and I will see you for the next post.
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