As a long-time fan of Frank Herbert’s Dune saga, I’ve been eagerly anticipating this adaptation and, while I won’t claim to be a seasoned space traveler or a Bene Gesserit, I can certainly appreciate good storytelling and world-building.
On Sunday, November 17th, when it airs on HBO, the show Dune: Prophecy will replace The Penguin in the schedule. This also marks another instance of unusual corporate integration for HBO, where they adapt blockbuster film franchises from Warner Bros. into new TV series based on successful HBO shows.
Similar to how the creators of “The Penguin” transformed Colin Farrell’s waddling criminal character into a series akin to “The Sopranos” with an added touch of latex, it appears that the makers of “Dune: Prophecy” saw an opportunity to create a prequel linked to Denis Villeneuve’s “Dune”, and in its place of numerous dragons, they introduced a handful of sandworms in “House of the Dragon”.
Although it’s unlikely that the long-awaited HBO Harry Potter series will secretly be a revival of Arli$$, I can’t entirely rule out the possibility. It’s somewhere between highly improbable and not entirely impossible, if you catch my drift.
Moving past any sense of familiarity, “The Penguin” wasn’t poor, with Cristin Milioti’s portrayal being the main appeal. In comparison, “Dune: Prophecy” doesn’t reach Milioti-like brilliance, and the series falls short in many aspects of the technical marvel that is the Villeneuve films. However, as a dramatic exploration of female agency within a patriarchal system – where names like “Harkonnen” and “Atreides” are used sparingly to appeal to a presumed audience – it provides instances of skillfully crafted, ethically ambiguous plotting and betrayal.
Dune: Prophecy, penned by Diane Ademu-John and Alison Schapker, essentially presents a detailed backstory for the Bene Gesserit, a powerful sisterhood within the franchise. However, it’s more of an interpretation than a direct adaptation from the novel Sisterhood of Dune. The narrative lays out the foundational elements in approximately four minutes through voiceovers by Valya Harkonnen (portrayed by Emily Watson, with Jessica Barden appearing frequently in flashbacks). Valya’s objective is to harness the influence and supernatural abilities of the Sisterhood for her own purposes: attaining some level of control across the galaxy and rehabilitating her family’s tarnished reputation.
It becomes clear within the first few minutes that Valya has committed a deeply regrettable act, and she acknowledges this by saying, “I knew then that the name Valya Harkonnen would forever be associated with the darker chapters of history.” However, was this action taken for justifiable reasons? Or is there no valid excuse for pursuing power-driven ambitions? Moreover, how does society perceive such actions when a woman rather than a man carries them out? These are thought-provoking questions!
Valya’s most reliable ally is her sister Tula, portrayed by both Olivia Williams and Emma Canning in different stages of life. They manage a whole school filled with novices or apprentices, among whom we encounter several characters, such as Sister Emeline, who is fixated on martyrdom; the rebellious Sister Jen; the secretly talented Sister Theodosia; and the exceptional young Sister Lila, who stands out the most.
The Sisterhood is on the verge of welcoming Emperor Javicco Corrino’s daughter, Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), who aspires to learn Truthsaying – their unique talent for detecting lies – while she waits for her future husband to mature. However, a turn of events is imminent at the royal palace, as Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), the lone survivor from a tragic spice mining incident on Arrakis, arrives as a soldier.
What unfolds is akin to the epic power struggles depicted in ‘Game of Thrones’, as the emperor, the Sisterhood, various old dynasties, and the mysterious Desmond all begin to strategize, each aiming to seize control over the Imperium and the precious spice. To borrow lyrics from the Spice Girls of the ’90s, “The world needs a little bit of spice!
It seems as if someone haphazardly incorporated lines from a “Game of Thrones” script template, inserting the word “spice” at various points without much thought. For example, “We are all mere pawns in a game, moved around for power and spice” or “Ho-spicedor.
The story is placed approximately 10,148 years prior to Paul Atreides’ birth, making it significantly distant from contemporary prequel series like “House of the Dragon” or Amazon’s “Lord of the Rings.” Unlike the events portrayed in the Villeneuve films, this narrative takes place mainly on planets other than Arrakis. The families depicted in this series will eventually rise to power, but their future positions aren’t central to the current storyline. Instead, the drama highlights the fundamental traits of these famous houses as they manipulate each other’s lives, form fragile alliances, commit devastating betrayals, and devise intricate plans and counter-plots, all tinged with a moral complexity that gives the series a thematically confusing feel.
I get “ambition is dangerous” and “absolute power corrupts absolutely” and “religious zealotry is scary. But any takeaway that might make the narrative more timely, like about the threat of powerful women in a post-Kamala universe or the encroaching dangers of artificial intelligence, tends to be contradictory.
Even though Villeneuve’s films didn’t have enough time to delve deeply into world-building, the series Dune: Prophecy more than makes up for it. Each of its four episodes is over an hour long, providing ample opportunity to explore the war against “thinking machines”, the political system within the Imperium, and the backstory of elements that will become crucial later in the storyline, such as the Voice.
The question of whether viewers truly require all that background information might be answered negatively by those who relished the movies for Villeneuve and cinematographer Greig Fraser’s stunning visuals. While the initial movie doesn’t lack grandeur, the sequel, in particular, is as expansive and vast as many theatrical experiences from the past few decades.
Dune: Prophecy doesn’t match up with what one might expect. Instead, it’s quite grim, dimly lit, and surprisingly oppressive, even in the grandeur of its palaces, citadels, and such. Unlike the expansive vistas and rolling dunes in the films, it features narrow corridors, confusing labyrinths, and smoky spice hookah lounges. This design choice serves both to provide visual contrast within the narrative and likely to keep costs down. However, despite its deliberate construction, there’s a distinction between being “awe-inspiring” and simply being “well-made.
In essence, it’s not just about movies versus TV. There’s a noticeable difference between the photography by Pierre Gill and his team in “Dune: Prophecy” and the diverse sets created by production designer Tom Meyer. Shows like “Foundation” or “Silo” on Apple TV+, which are currently leading the pack in cinematography, visual effects, and set design, serve as a comparison. On a practical note, the directors of “Dune: Prophecy”, starting with Anna Foerster, tend to prioritize capturing the subtleties of the actors’ expressions over the detailed sets built on a soundstage in Budapest.
The main focus of the show is the dual roles played by Watson/Barden and Williams/Canning, and each actress delivers a stellar performance, perfectly aligned with their characters. Among the early episodes, my favorite was the third one, rich in flashbacks and cleverly complex twists, which put Barden and Canning front and center. This was the only episode that managed to genuinely catch me off guard.
Among well-known seasoned actors, Strong stands out as an astute pick to portray an emperor who exudes the impression of commanding authority, but is actually being manipulated on this chessboard by his wife Natalya (Jodhi May) and perhaps by Desmond – a role that allows Fimmel to deliver his customary blend of Hollywood charm and character actor quirkiness.
So far, due to the length of the chapters, there hasn’t been sufficient time for the younger actors to fully establish themselves as unique characters. Although a helpful scene featuring Valya and Tula discussing each apprentice and weighing their strengths and weaknesses provides some insight, most of their individual personalities remain underdeveloped or inconsistent.
I’ve spent a significant amount of time pondering over the narrative direction of the show regarding Princess Ynez, and whether Boussnina, who appears older than expected for the character, was perhaps wrongly cast. She finds herself in the least captivating part of the story, with a very unremarkable love interest, Keiran (Chris Mason), whose significance is elevated only by his last name “Atreides.” Meanwhile, Constantine (Josh Heuston) adds elements reminiscent of “Game of Thrones,” discussing royal bloodlines and legitimacy, and has been involved in the show’s one notable and distinctively “Game of Thrones”-ish sex scene thus far.
Despite being connected to a well-known brand, “Dune: Prophecy” presents numerous new elements and starts off at a leisurely pace, occasionally feeling quite heavy. However, as the series progressed, I found myself growing more interested, and by the end of the first season, I might be completely captivated. At this moment, however, there’s a touch more excitement needed to keep things engaging.
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2024-11-11 17:26