Visions abound in the fourth episode of Dune: Prophecy, which brings new revelations and a more looming threat into focus. Let’s break it all down!
After a sojourn to the past in last week’s episode, Dune: Prophecy‘s fourth episode, “Twice Born” directed by Richard J. Lewis, is full steam ahead with the current plot. As more people seem to get on the same page, the stakes manage to jump even higher. There’s a lot going on the season rushes to the finish line, so let’s get to talking!
As always, we’ll be hip deep in spoiler territory for the episode, so if you’re waiting to watch, maybe come back after. In the meantime, get caught up on everything with my previous recaps: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3.
Dreams and Portents
“Twice Born” kicks things off with a wild dream—nightmare—shared throughout all of the acolytes…except for Jen. Why she isn’t privy to the shared vision isn’t explained, and adds a bit of mystery to what’s going on. Personally, I think it has to do with her more independent nature; or perhaps because she isn’t as committed to the Sisterhood as others (much like a younger Valya was).
Regardless, with Valya still on Salusa Secondus, it’s up to Tula to try and uncover the mystery behind the terrifying shared vision. While Sister Avila cautions against spreading “hysterics,” Tula nonetheless works with all the affected acolytes to dive back into their dreams to try and get to the root of it all. This goes about as well as expected, but the revelation that everyone is seemingly sharing some form of Raquella’s oracular death-bed vision, is enough to put everyone on their guard.
On one hand, it’s nice that everyone seems to be on the same page now in regards to this prophecy and the “reckoning.” Even as they worked to keep things relatively quiet to safeguard against fear, this event can serve as a uniting factor to get them all together to overcome the dangers heading their way.
On the other hand, I’m not convinced they’re interpreting their vision/prophecy correctly. And I mean, NONE of them are. When the acolyte’s all draw the same image of the eyes watching them, Emeline states, “God is watching us, judging us. The reckoning is here.” But as we’ve seen (well, heard mostly), there’s a different aspect to those ever-watching eyes. Something distinctly machine in nature. As we see by the end of the episode, this interpretation is leading Emeline, and other sisters, down the same path of faith as Dorotea…
As for the second part of the prophecy, provided during Lila’s Agony, Valya is convinced the “twice born” is referring to Desmond Hart, who needs to be destroyed to prevent the reckoning. Meanwhile, Tula is convinced it’s referring to Lila, another reason she placed her into the spice chamber to try and bring her back; a potential savior. So not only are they seeing the “twice born” as two different people, they’re also seeing different purposes within them.
Again, I’m not sure the threat of the reckoning is as impending as they all believe. While there are obvious threats coming for the Sisterhood, the real threat of Tiran-Arafel probably extends well beyond the Bene Gesserit, and to humanity in general. Hell, the description of the “twice born” could easily apply to Paul Atreides, 10,000 years in the future.
Wheels Within Wheels
As Tula deals with the shared vision on Wallach IX, Valya works with her House Harkonnen family members to find a way back into the good graces of the Emperor. To do so involves a multi-pronged plan, including utilizing assets that have been in play for a long period of time already. In short, it’s par for the course when it comes to the Dune universe.
Essentially Valya wants to use the rebel cells (the one with Keiran Atreides) impending attack on the Emperor during the Landsraad High Council meeting. In thwarting the attempt and saving everyone, including Javvico, she’ll be able to reclaim her status or at least be better off. To do that, however, she’s gotta get into the same room after being publicly kicked out.
This is where her family reunion comes into play. She puts her fellow Sisters to work, spreading the rumor about Pruwet Richese’s murder (which apparently was leaked out by the Empress herself) in order to get the Great Houses to demand an official inquiry. Since none of them want to propose such a thing themselves—putting their own status at risk—they turn to the minor House Harkonnen. Bringing Barrow to the High Council gives the other nobles a patsy if the formal inquiry blows back on them.
As the official Harkonnen truthsayer, Valya would be allowed to attend the Landsraad meeting, and thus be where she needs to stop the rebel attack. It’s a lot, and conveyed pretty impressively in a short amount of time. Of course, there are other factors at play…
Machines and Machinations
Valya isn’t the only player in this “game” and others are working to maneuver Javvico. Among those, is Empress Natalya. With her own axe to grind against the Sisterhood, she sees an ally in Desmond Hart. Against Javvico’s direct wishes, she uses Desmond as the muscle she feels the Emperor needs against their enemies (both current and potential).
As we see earlier, when the Sisters are manipulating the various noblemen, it’s apparent that a number of people within the Imperium are flouting the laws regarding thinking machines. Turns out the Richese’s (with the incident in the first episode) are not the only ones who feel the rules go too far, as we see plenty of secret deals going around.
Apparently, the Corrino spies have a whole list of people who are suspected of breaking this law and the Empress has Desmond go out to round them up officially. Desmond’s hatred of thinking machines seems to go pretty deep, again making me think he has some sort of connection to the fanatical Butlerian movement (more on this in a bit).
But they aren’t the only ones with plans for the Landsraad High Council. Princess Ynez wants no part of the cover up and reveals the truth; even roping in her reluctant brother, Constantine, to help. Her speaking out against the Emperor, ultimately blunts Harrow Harkonnen’s big moment. Worse, Desmond confesses to the act and his roundup of the “machine sympathizers” allowed him to thwart the rebel attack; preventing Valya from taking advantage.
Again, there are a lot of things going on within this episode (not to mention Lila has recovered!) and yet, all of it felt expertly paced. Despite the multiple plans/intrigue going on, everything is laid out clearly for the audience, without dumbing things down, while still bringing some emotional heft to it all. I think I lost count of the times I said, out loud, some version of “holy shit” or “what the fuck.” For all I was bummed about last week’s episode going back to the past, “Twice Born” came back swinging with the goods.
Much to Ponder
What I enjoyed about this episode is that so many people are now on the same page. Pretty much all of the Sisterhood is now aware of the prophecy/reckoning, while the mystery surrounding Pruwet’s death is now out in the open for all to see…and fear. Even so, with these revelations for the viewer and characters, the episode still gives us a whole lot to chew on and think about.
Desmond’s Powers – I’m more convinced than ever that Desmond’s powers are not, in fact, divine in nature. As we see in the episode, when he attacks multiple people simultaenously, he’s still gripping the sides of his head (something I’ve mentioned as being a clue to an implanted device) AND it takes some physical toll on his body.
When Javvico visits him afterwards, we see Desmond’s back is a web of scars; which he implies has some connection to using his powers. It could be that his powers are “burning him up” as well, but who’s to say those aren’t some sort of surgery scars? Perhaps part of the process used to give him such abilities.
I mean, we’re dealing with a show that has giant sandworms and women who can use their voice to control people…So having some form of pyrokinesis isn’t exactly outside the realm of possibility. Even so, something feels off with Desmond and I think it’s part of a larger group/plan.
Lastly, I find it fascinating that Desmond also seemed to have the same vision as the Raquella and the other Sisters. Though he’s come to a different conclusion about the threat…and I think he’s the one correct about them. I don’t want to dive too much into it here (that’s a whole ‘nother can of worms to unpack in an separate article), but I think Desmond’s interpretation of the incoming threat to the Imperium is the correct one. Doesn’t mean his methods aren’t deplorable…
The Butlerians – Among those who may be behind Desmond’s abilities, are the Butlerians. The Great Schools of Dune books essentially ended with them being thwarted and the death of Manford Torondo. Even so, we know by the time of Paul Atreides, the Butlerian tenets are pretty much the law of the land. So somewhere in between those 10,000 years, the fanatical movement found purchase.
Perhaps it’s through Desmond Hart that this begins. We clearly see how Javvico wants to leave some sort of legacy. To live up to the powerful legends of his ancestors. Perhaps he sees his chance at leaving an impact/looking strong in adopting a hardline stance against machine technology.
Sister Lila – Holy fuck, Lila has recovered. I’m thrilled to see this wasn’t some plot point left dangling for a later season (if we get one), and that Lila has indeed recovered. Her immersion in the spice melange seemingly helped the process, while giving her the distinctive blue within blue eyes. The real question now is what happens next with her?
The rest of the Sisterhood believes she’s dead, so it’s unclear how Tula can explain this away. Meanwhile, Lila now has knowledge of the forbidden computers the Sisterhood has been using….
At some point, those computers within the Bene Gesserit cease to exist. By the time of Paul Atreides, there’s a “Kwisatz Mother” who handles all the Other Memory connected to the Bene Gesserit breeding program. Since Lila was directly connected to the computer system to help keep her alive, maybe she’s somehow still connected to it and able to access the knowledge of the program. Could she be the first “Kwisatz Mother?”
Facedancer – The biggest “holy shit” moment, for me, came at the reveal of Sister Theodosia’s “talent.” We’ve known something was going on with Theodosia’s past, and the episode made mention of it earlier on as well. It may not be immediately clear, but at the end of the episode, we see Valya come face to face with her brother Griffin. While initially it seems to be some sort of vision/hallucination, when he walks away, we see a—seemingly painful—transformation unfold.
It’s a quick moment, but we can briefly make out the fact it was none other than Theodosia, which means she has the ability to transform her appearance. She’s a FACE DANCER. If you’re not familiar with the books they were initially introduced in Dune Messiah and become a major factor in the latter novels and big finale. Sure seems like we’re getting to see the origins of them here, which could be cool to see before they (presumably) show up in Denis Villenueve’s third film.
Easter Eggs
To be honest, I don’t think I caught as many Easter Eggs this time around. There’s a lot going on in the episode, so I probably missed a few. But these are the connections I did notice.
Keiran’s Dad – This isn’t so much an Easter Egg as it is a connection to the last episode. When speaking with Ynez, Keiran mentions his father “survived an atrocity” when he was younger. Sure sounds like he’s the kid who survived Tula’s attack that she let run away.
Landsraad – After being such a prominent aspect of the original novels and key aspect to the politics in play, it’s neat to finally get to see the Landsraad meet on screen.
More Houses – The Landsraad meeting gives us more noble house name drops for fans to take note of: Hagal, Ecaz, Tantor, and Vernius
Hunter-seeker – This might be more of a guess than a direct reference, but it’s hard not to notice the similarites between the machine “bomb” the rebels plan to unleash in the palace, and the iconic Hunter-seeker we see attack Paul Atreides in Dune. Perhaps it’s some predecessor to the same technology?
Kanly – We get a direct mention of Kanly (and even a quick explanation) in the episode. Kinda neat to hear the reference.
Litany Against Fear – More of a possible connection, but the topic of fear is brought up a lot in this episode in regards to the Sisterhood. There’s even a direct mention of fear being their “enemy” to be overcome. Perhaps this is the beginning of the iconic Litany Against Fear.
“Twice Born” is Dune: Prophecy firing on all cylinders. It brings all the political intrigue fans expect from Dune, while upping the stakes and dropping some solid character beats. Even as I wasn’t woohoo over last week’s flashback episode, I’m thrilled to see things are back on track.
With only two episodes to go, there’s a lot to wrap up, but this episode makes it clear they can make it work and still be character focused. I can’t wait to see what next week brings.
