The penultimate episode of Dune: Prophecy brings revelations, explosions, and sets the stage for a bigger confrontation. Let’s break it all down!
The fifth episode of Dune: Prophecy, “In Blood, Truth” directed by Anna Foerster, brings us within sight of the season finale. As Desmond Hart’s influence leads him to greater purpose and the Sisterhood’s machinations become more desperate, things are clearly coming to a head. Between action and even more revelations, there’s a whole lot going on. Let’s talk about it!
Again, we’re full blast into spoilers with the episode, so if you haven’t watched just yet, join me after. In the meantime, get all caught up with my previous breakdowns: Episode 1, Episode 2, Episode 3, Episode 4.
Bringing it All Together
With everything out in the open with the Landsraad, Desmond Hart’s role within the Emperor’s circle is pretty much sealed. Now given the title of Bashar leading a new “elite” squad of the Emperor’s forces (a not-so-subtle nod to the origins of the dreaded Sardaukar), Desmond is in charge of uncovering the full extent of the brewing rebellion within the Imperium. A role, of course, he’s using to exact his own revenge against the Sisterhood…if only he can find proof connecting them to the rebels.
With her plans thwarted and Desmond hot on the trail, time is running out for Mother Superior Valya. Though she has plans (probably within plans) in place to deal with Desmond, we’ve already seen how she’s been routed time and again by other forces. As such, she’s calling in a ringer, with Sister Francesca who’s been off on a mission within the Spacing Guild.
Why’s she important? Apparently she’s “imprinted” upon Emperor Javvico, binding him to her on multiple levels in order to manipulate him. She also happens to be Constantine’s mother (we knew he was a “bastard”), which also helps to explain Empress Natalya’s general hatred of the Sisterhood. Valya hopes that Francesca can help maneuver Javvico into giving her son, Constantine, a prominent role within the Imperium while also helping to assuage his current anger with the Sisters. Thus giving Valya a chance to focus on Desmond Hart and dealing with his troubles, through the help of Mikaela.
Meanwhile, Keiran Atreides struggles with his dual-role as both rebel and Imperial Swordmaster. When he tries to convince Mikaela to flee, he ends up helping her lay a trap for Desmond. Then there’s Ynez and Constantine who are desperate to prove themselves in different ways, which inexorably leads them along different paths to similar goals.
The result is that just about all the major players throughout the series are now wrapped up in a singular plot line and hurdling towards each other. Even Harrow, who’s getting a little weasel-y, is trying to ingratiate himself with Desmond to avoid the Emperor’s ire. The game board is definitely set and all the remains is for the final moves to be made. I suspect next week’s finale could be rather…epic.
Rooting Out Rebels
Desmond is definitely in his element in this episode as he’s unleashed against the enemies of the Emperor. Moreso, he’s incredibly effective at getting the information he needs (magical torture will loosen any tongue I imagine) and zeroes in on the originators of the plot.
His brutal efforts ultimately lead him to Mikaela’s bar, which has been a central hub of a bunch of illegal activity on Salusa Secondus. He already knows what’s been going on there, but he needs evidence of the Sisterhood’s involvement…not knowing that Mikaela is a Sister herself, nor that Keiran Atreides is also there working to help plant bombs for an ambush.
It’s a very fun, and incredibly tense sequence, which also manages to give us some solid hand-to-hand action. Desmond is fully in villain mode here, coming across as menacing and intelligent (a genuine threat to even the highly trained Bene Gesserit). We know Mikaela’s in trouble, but seeing how calmly she handles everything, while waiting for Keiran to finish arming the bombs.
Seeing Keiran take on these elite forces alongside Mikaela, as Desmond tears apart the upstairs and discovers Mikaela’s telltale robes (all while the bombs are ticking away), makes for a thrilling sequence. As a series where action has been a bit slower overall, it’s nice to see things kick up a notch, especially as all these different elements’ conflicts finally come to a head.
Even as the massive explosion helps wipe away evidence of Keiran’s actions, he’s still not safe. Constantine, feeling a renewed purpose after some well time ass-chewings, manages to uncover Keiran’s role in the rebel plot. Turning him in nabs Constantine the Fleet Commander position the Sisterhood was angling for, while setting him (once again) at odds with his sister Ynez.
Solving the Mystery
That’s just everything going on over at Salusa Secondus! Meanwhile on Wallach IX, Lila is awake and…well, not entirely recovered. Her ordeal with the Agony has left her mind a bit frayed, as those who dwell within her Other Memory vie for control (abomination?), leaving her acting almost possessed, with moments of lucidity.
As tensions rise among the acolytes, who are still dealing with the shared nightmare/vision, Tula brings Sister Jen into her confidence to help keep Lila grounded. It’s a good call, as their friendship and bond helps Lila cling to something more tangible, which allows for Reverend Mother Raquella to once again “take control” of Lila.
This is an intriguing moment, and Chloe Lea (Lila) does a fantastic job of conveying the idea she’s a totally different, significantly older, women in a young body. She manages to embody the tone/cadence of speech and mannerisms we’ve seen of the original Reverend Mother expertly and I fully believed we were seeing Raquella back in action.
The result of Raquella’s possession means Tula and the other Sisters are able to finally begin getting more answers in regards to this “reckoning” and maybe even Desmond’s abilities. After taking charge, Raquella/Lila discovers something familiar among the brain scans of poor Sister Kasha. Something seen during the days of the Machine Wars: a virus.
Those who’ve read the Legends of Dune trilogy (chronicling the Machine Wars) will immediately recognize the reference to the biological weapon/plague the machines unleashed against humans; known as the Omnius Scourge. It devastated the humans, and could have cost them the war if Raquella herself hadn’t been able to manufacture a cure.
A mutation of this virus seems to answer a few things. For one, it explains why all the acolytes are sharing the same vision; they’ve all been infected. It seems Jen has some immunity to the virus, which explains why she hasn’t experienced it. Also, it explains why Kasha and Pruwet’s deaths were able to happen simultaneously despite being a galaxy apart. She must have been infected along with everyone else on Salusa Secondus, and her return to Wallach IX allowed the other sisters to be infected as well.
So the implication here is Desmond’s strange powers are somehow connected to this virus. Perhaps his power is more about “activating” the virus so it’s no longer dormant. Maybe that’s why it has some sort of physical impact on his own body as well.
Remaining Mysteries
As before (and with just about all Dune stories), every revelation brings about more questions. The biggest question at the moment has to be who manufactured the new strain of this machine virus? As I’ve contended since the beginning, Desmond Hart seems to be working for someone else. A bigger player on the field who’s yet to be revealed.
His constant claim to “serve the Imperium,” conveniently leaves out any direct loyalty to the Emperor himself….so who does he feel loyal to? I’m still leaning toward the Bene Tlielax being behind it all. They have a history of genetic experiments/modifications, meddling in Imperial affairs, AND disliking the Bene Gesserit. All of this stuff with Desmond Hart feels perfectly suited to their brand of mischief.
Along these lines, how WILD is it that Desmond is apparently the love child between Tula and Orry?! It’s not outright said, but between Tula’s reaction to the news Desmond has both Atreides and Harkonnen blood, it’s about the only conclusion we can make. This gives him more personal reasons to despise the Sisterhood, though it still doesn’t explain how he survived the worm.
On top of that, we don’t know what Valya’s next moves will be. She brought Theodosia along in order to use her face dancing abilities, but how that’ll be helpful has yet to be seen. Maybe she’ll take advantage of Harrow being off planet to have Theodosia take his place within the Landsraad and make a move there somehow.
Moreso, I’ve been wondering for a few episodes now about Valya’s true goals. I do believe she wants the Sisterhood to survive and be a united force in the Imperium, but her almost despotic hold over the Order makes one wonder. Is she using the Sisterhood to make her personal goals happen, manipulating the entire Order? Or at the least convincing herself the things she wants are the same as the Sisterhood’s goals?
Valya can be callous, as evidenced by her lack of empathy regarding Mikaela losing all she’d established. She sees only what others can do within the scope of her plans and little else. Hell, we see that even earlier with how she brought Francesca back by sending a message pretending to be Constantine. While it might be totally in line with the larger goals for the Sisterhood, the method/means seem a bit extreme. As things come to a final (possibly?) confrontation with Desmond, and the growing rise in Butlerian beliefs within the Sisterhood, I wonder how Valya’s machinations will work out.
Then there’s Princess Ynez and Keiran Atreides. She’s been mostly sidelined over the past few episodes, but as she confronts Keiran and uses her truthsaying skills (though she’s still early in training), it’s clear she’s working on something. She has some plans for Keiran that may give them both what they want.
In the novels, Duke Leto is a distant cousin to the Emperor. Perhaps this is where they bloodlines initially crossed over. Ynez is the heir to the throne, and it could be possible she takes Keiran on as a royal consort whenever she’s in power; thus creating that connection.
Easter Eggs
There were actually a number of interesting references throughout this episode…but I’ve actually mentioned most of the big ones. From the Omnious Scourge, to presumably seeing the origins of the Sadaukar, and the mention of “Imprinting” there were a lot of fun things directly connecting to the overall story. So this section is going to be a little lighter than usual, because I won’t be rehashing those things.
Old Earth – Emperor Javvico makes mention of Old Earth during his proclamation at the beginning of the episode. Considering humanity’s home planet was wipe out during the Machine Wars, and rarely mentioned at all during the time of Paul, it’s neat to see it mentioned here.
Ancient Adage – Mikaela uses the Fremen adage, “God created Arrakis to train the faithful.” Something Paul says in the original novel. Personally, it’s one of my favorite quotes in the books, and was awesome to hear said aloud.
Book Resolution – For fans who’ve read the Great Schools of Dune novels, Tula having a secret child with Orry Atreides isn’t news. However, we never learned what came of that child in the books. It was a dangling plot line, so it’s neat to see that Dune: Prophecy has essentially given us some resolution to the books!
All in all, “In Blood, Truth” does a solid job of ramping things up ahead of the finale. Through some great performances and solid action sequences, it feels like Dune: Prophecy has really hit its stride…which makes it just a little frustrating that there’s only one more episode to go. Regardless, the stage is set for an explosive finale.
