Dune: Prophecy – Season 1 Episode 2 Recap & Review

Two Wolves

Episode 2 of Dune: Prophecy begins with the aftermath of Desmond’s attacks. There’s no evidence of an accelerant being used on the bodies and the palace is abuzz with what could have caused this. However one thing is definitely clear right now – killing a Truthsayer right around the time of an official wedding is definitely not an accident. The Sisters remain vigilant and mobilize to try and remedy this.

Valya decides to leave for Salusa Secundus, believing she needs to protect the princess and foresees all of this as the prophesized warning from the Mother Superior. Before Valya goes, she speaks to Sister Theodosia, the one pedalling the assassination theory earlier on in the episode. Valya’s plan here is to use Theodosia to get close to the Princess, becoming her confidant.

Meanwhile, Tula is tasked with convincing Lila  to connect with her ancestors. She could give them the answers they need. If Tula leads her, then Valya is convinced that the girl will make it but Tula is undoubtedly conflicted by this.

Unlike her sister’s iron fist, she’s going to let Lila make her own decision here. This is a bit of a double-edged sword because while it’s quite an admirable decision and makes her one of the more likable characters in the show, it also puts the fate of all the women inside those walls to chance, which is pretty risky.

On the back of Pruwet’s death, tensions are high in the palace. Right now, the current message out in public is that this attack wan accident but we obviously know the truth. In private, Desmond speaks to the Emperor. The former wants to be used as a weapon, and explains he did all of this for the Emperor himself. As he smirks, the Emperor has heard enough and decides to arrest him, stuck in a state of shock. Interestingly though, it’s clear he has his doubts as he decides to keep the entire endeavour a secret and not tell anyone.

Meanwhile, Ynez is barely phased by Pruwet’s death but understands that it’s a tragedy all the same. She continues to sleep with Constantine on the sly, but knows that the real power here is who controls Arrakis. Whoever controls the spice, controls the empire.

Ynez is clever here because she’s not just using Constantine as a way of satisfying her desires. She’s also getting information from him – including a titbit about Desmond’s arrest.

When the Emperor brings news of Desmond’s attack to the Empress, along with Desmond believing the Sandworm gave him a great power, she thinks they shouldn’t be so hasty to destroy him. She’s very much on the side of using him as a weapon against their enemies.

This is easier said than done when Duke Ferdinand Richese is on the warpath. He wants the man who killed Pruwet but they’re interrupted by Valya showing up. She knows that the Emperor is lying about Pruwet’s death when he feigns ignorance, but for now wants to speak to Desmond himself. The Mother Superior gets what she wants, and is pretty taken aback by his bold, brash nature. He admits to killing both Pruwet and Kasha, going on to reveal he did this to root out corruption.

It seems clear that Desmond wants to get close to the throne, but for now Valya is not quite sure how to handle him. What she is sure of however, is meeting one of her contacts to discuss this further.

While Ynez immediately demands Theodosia reveals how Kasha died, Keiran unveils his hidden agenda here. It turns out the swordsmaster has managed to get the schematics to the throne room and is working with a rebel group in secret. Their target is clearly the Corrino Empire, and their “final piece” is an attack against Constantine.

Valya’s contact happens to be Sister Mikaela, who seems to have been behind orchestrating the rebel attacks on the harvesters in Arrakis. She also gives Keiran’s name as one of the rebels.

Elsewhere, Tula speaks to Lila again and explains the process of unlocking her powers. It’s certainly risky, no doubt, and she doesn’t sugar-coat what a risk this is. She explains how this works, and Lila eventually decides to follow through, with a simple instruction of following the light when she’s consumed by darkness.

Interestingly, some of the visions she receives include the former Mother Superior showing the true events that happened in the throne room all those years ago of that brutal assassination. Controlling Lila, she speaks to the Sisters, explaining how she’s going to “take their hope”. And just like that, Lila dies.

Meanwhile, the Empress decides to use their newfound weapon to silence Duke Richese. As they stare one another down in the throe room, Desmond burns the man’s skin to a cinder. He begs for mercy, and eventually a slight nod from the Emperor sees Desmond stop in his tracks.

Valya returns to the palace not long after, wanting an audience with the Emperor. However, she instead finds herself in the presence of Desmond. He brings word that her privileges here have been revoked and she’s been cast out, along with the other sisters, from the palace. Valya plays her hand and uses her powers to force Desmond to kill himself, just like the former Mother Superior.

However, her powers don’t hold sway here, as Desmond easily overcomes her and he stuffs his blade back in his pocket. Defeated, Valya hurries away, but it’s clear this conflict is far from over.

The Episode Review

The politics certainly deepen here as Valya finds her initial plan of taking over and spreading the Sisters across the Empire start to run into some serious road bumps. Most notably is Desmond, who’s starting to become a real powerhouse of influence inside the palace. He has powers that the Emperor is now going to use as a weapon, and that spells bad news for all of their enemies.

Seeing Lila controlled in that manner by the former Mother Superior is a nice little twist, and perhaps something that the women should have foreseen given the plot to overthrow her that has seen Valya rise to the top and become Mother Superior. There’s a nice ebb and flow to everything here, especially this time as more of the puzzle pieces are unveiled and things take on a more intriguing edge.

The ending definitely leaves the door open for more, and we’ll have to wait and see where this one goes next week.