Dune: Prophecy – Season 1 Episode 4 Recap & Review

Twice Born

Episode 4 of Dune: Prophecy begins with Emeline having a bad dream. The thing is, she’s not the only one. All the other Acolytes are also having nightmares too, and Emelina almost slits her own throat after seeing a vision of herself with a cut neck.

Emeline tries to use Truthsense on Tula regarding the death of the former Mother Superior, but of course it doesn’t work. They’re all obviously trying to find answers, and everything looks set to fall apart at any moment. In order to quell that, Tula decides to allow the Acolytes to experience Spice.

This is a way to try and understand the visions plaguing the women, and they all end up sketching clues, which Tula tries to decipher that night. She deduces that the spirals and strange markings are Shai-Hulud. The more concerning vision is that of those strange glowing orb, which look like eyes. This could well be a sign of things to come, and something so terrifying that it frightened all the women into awakening. 

Meanwhile, Valya is back home with her Great-uncle, who’s not too happy to see her. He’s convinced that she’s responsible for Pruwet’s death and incredulous over Valya pulling House Harkonnen from the depths and trying to elevate them. It’s Harrow’s decision though, and he’s a boy desperate for respect. It’s something Valya uses to her advantage, enticing him with the prospects of having the Mother Superior as his Truthsayer, which would immediately elevate the house – and the respect he could command – beyond their lowly position. He’d also get a place at the High Council too.

This isn’t the only dinner currently ongoing though. Ynez joins her family (and Desmond) outside. She brings up Pruwet’s murder and has decided that this planet isn’t safe for her anymore. Instead, Ynez wants to head off to Wallach IX. Her parents refuse though, believing they need a united front. It’s here where Ynez realizes that Desmond killed Pruwet, and she believes that as long as Desmond is here, the family will never have a united front.

As Ynez storms off, Desmond speaks to the Emperor and encourages him to use the guy as a weapon. For now though, the Emperor decides not to. However, there are definite waves being made in town. Keiran and the other rebels manage to get their hands on a thinking machine. This tiny plane is going to be used as a weapon to detonate the Emperor. The idea here is to smuggle it through the vents, and as soon as the Emperor makes his appearance at the High Council, Keiran will unlatch the grates and they’ll rush out, as this resistance would then become a fully-fledged rebellion.

Sister Mikaela is here too of course, working as a spy, and word reaches Valya of the current rebellion. She’s actually not too bothered by it, and welcomes it. In fact, she’s going to use this as a ploy to jump in and save the Emperor’s life, in full view of everyone, allowing them to be back in his good graces.

This would give the Sisters a foothold in the throne room once more, and then they’d work to destroy Desmond and oust him as a traitor. Another puzzle piece here though is getting Harrow on the Council. In order to do that, Valya mobilizes the Sisters to ramp up the rumour mill surrounding Pruwet’s death and sow seeds of distrust among the most powerful leaders from the corners of the empire.

With House Richese missing from the High Council, House Harkonnen gets the nod… on one condition. Harrow is to accuse the Emperor of killing Pruwet in front of everybody. It’s a pretty ballsy move and clearly Valya’s play here to kill two birds with one stone.

However, the Empress brings news to Desmond about the current rebellion too. She wants him to give this a “little push”, which is something the Emperor struggles to do. Desmond, working as the weapon here, readies the troops for any Machine Sympathizers that may show up.

The thing is, Ynez has plans of her own. She speaks to her brother and contemplates whether they should betray their father and get Desmond out. This would mean going to the Landsraad with what they know in a move not dissimilar to Harrow’s.

With all these power plays and scheming whispers in the dark, the High Council eventually goes ahead. All our players are in attendance, and while Keiran hurries to the back, looking to open the grates, Harrow stands up and delivers a shaky, but forthright accusation against the Emperor. Ynez also joins him, and accuses Desmond.

Keiran holds off on letting the Machine into the Council, as he’s too shocked when Desmond takes to the floor. He admits to Pruwet’s murder but frames it as an execution for using forbidden machine technology. He actually holds the detonating Machine in his hands too and destroying it, pointing out that the rebels need to be brought to heel (like the one currently paraded out in front of the Council and tied up). The way to do that is to support the Emperor.

This is not something that Valya expected, and just like that, Desmond flexes his power and burns all the Machine Sympathizers. Just like Pruwet, they burn in front of everyone, as a display of power. The ploy takes a lot out of Desmond too, as he bleeds from the back and is visibly distressed, but he does eyeball Valya on the way out.

Valya manages to swipe a sample of his blood and decides Tula should use this and run it through the system to work out exactly who he is. When Valya returns “home”, she lets her Great Uncle die right before her. After, standing in the doorway, happens to be her dead brother Griffin.

Valya embraces the boy and he promises to be help Valya. However, as he walks off, Valya thanks Theo, who shifts her face to look like one of the Sisters.

Meanwhile, there’s trouble back on Wallach IX. Emeline confronts Tula and brings up that she murdered Dorotea and needs to be brought to justice. She’s going to reveal everything, but as she turns her back and walks away, Tula rushes over and slits her throat. This is a clever scene because it was foreshadowed earlier in the episode through that vision.

However, the shocks aren’t over yet. Out of the shadows steps Lila, who has been successfully resurrected.

The Episode Review

Dune: Prophecy returns with an intriguing episode that finally moves the chess pieces around in decisive ways. The High Council meeting is easily the highlight of the entire show so far, especially given we see all the different motivations come together into a maelstrom of mayhem.

The winner here is, of course, Desmond Hart. He manages to not only show his power, but also turn the entire council to his cause with one fell swoop. Quite what Keiran’s fate will be here, given he wasn’t outed as a rebel, is anyone’s guess.

For now though, there are a couple of big reveals worth noting. Lila’s resurrection, plus Valya working with a shapeshifter, are massive reveals and potentially world-changing in the grand scheme of things.

The show has done well to keep things interesting up until this point, and the ending certainly leaves the door wide open for where this one may go next!