Dune: Prophecy - Season 1

Frank Herbert’s Dune books have a pretty fanatical fan base. The books his son Brian has written about the Dune universe aren’t appreciated by everyone. Will this series change that? In Dune from 1965, Frank Herbert wrote his vision of what humanity could achieve in the future. In that book and the 5 parts that followed, he described a universe in which humans have genetically adapted themselves to be more resistant to the demands of that society. There are no aliens in the Dune books, but there are people with special abilities. Frank was aware of the fact that something like that cannot develop in a short time. The events in the first part of Dune are therefore set some 20,000 years in the future.

After his death it turned out that Frank had written a huge amount of background material about the Dune universe. Son Brian Herbert decided together with Kevin J. Anderson to use this material for a series of books. The counter is now at 19 books and 10 short stories. The TV series Dune: Prophecy is based on the book Sisterhood of Dune, one of the Great Schools of Dune books by Brian.

To understand the series, some additional explanation is required

To understand the series, some additional explanation is needed. Dune: Prophecy is set about 10,000 years in the future. Only 150 years earlier, humanity narrowly won the war against the 'Thinking Machines', the ruling class of tyrannical and almost invincible robots that had enslaved man. After a desperate struggle of over 100 years, mankind has learned its lesson. All forms of AI are prohibited and possession of a calculator is enough to get the death penalty. The fear is there.



But ruling is in humanity. The families are subject to the imperial power, reserved for the Corino family. Although a decorum is maintained, that veneer of civilization is only thin. Under the surface, an enormous power struggle rages. Various groups strive to grab power, although they do so in different ways.

The Sisterhood, from which the Bene Gesserit order will later emerge, is a religious organization with far-reaching political ambitions. They offer their special services at strategic locations. After all, whoever has the ear of the emperor will have influence on his decisions. In addition, the idea grows to create their own Messiah through genetic means. They know that this will require a long breath, but they sacrifice everything for the sisterhood.

The history of the struggle between all these factions is far too complicated to explain here. And that is where the problem with this series lies. The story is too grand and complex for most viewers, especially if they have not read at least half a dozen books in the Dune series. The history of the Dune universe is very detailed and stretches over millennia. Those who lack the background knowledge will have difficulty really understanding the series.

At first glance, Dune: Prophecy is a hell of a series

Don't get me wrong; at first glance Dune: Prophecy is a hell of a series. The sets, costumes and props are made with a lot of love and attention, both physical things and CGI. The actors are dedicated to their characters. Well-known names like Emily Watson, Olivia Williams, Mark Strong and Travis Fimmel give enough weight to the cast. Too bad Travis still hasn't gotten away from Ragnar Lothbrok.

No, the real problem lies in the script and the editing. The credibility is compromised because things like Mentats and the Butlerian Jihad and the Sisterhood are hardly explained anywhere. A newbie to this very complex universe will quickly be completely lost. That makes it impossible to see the depth. I expect that many people will drop out because of that.

The way the story is told doesn't help either. I had the same problem with the Game of Thrones prequel House of the Dragon. The constant jumping back and forth in flashbacks made the first episodes very confusing. A simple mention with such a flashback may seem old-fashioned, but in House of the Dragon and Dune: Prophecy the story would certainly become more understandable.

What is interesting is that the personal and political intrigues have not been forgotten. Here, no one is completely good or completely bad. Everyone has their reasons for doing what they do. It also becomes clear that the roots of the battle between the Artreides and Harkonnen, which is richly illuminated in the films, already stem from the last robot war. Both houses are still quite insignificant and anonymous here, and have not yet joined the circle of Great Houses.

All in all, Dune: Prophecy is worth watching for those who are willing to put in the effort. The more casual viewer will probably be less positive about this. If it had only been the script or the editing, it would have been bearable. The combination of the two is disastrous. Now you really have to be very well-read in the subject matter to be able to follow it all properly. That lack of accessibility will certainly have an influence on the success of the series.

Hopefully, the promised second season will make up for a lot, otherwise I fear there will be no third season.