Emily Watson steals this show ‘Dune: Prophecy’ premier review: Emily Watson steals this show 

A still from ‘Dune Prophecy’.
| Photo Credit: IMDB

The mention of worms mid-way between dark, dire prophesies, combustible bodies, and the swishing skirts of the sisterhood was cause for celebration in Dune: Prophecy. Those mighty sandworms with their gaping many-toothed maws moving about quickly through the desert were such an enigma in Denis Villeneuve’s two Dune movies starring Timothée Chalamet as Paul Atreides.

Based on Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s Great Schools of Dune, a prequel trilogy set in Frank Herbert’s Dune universe, Dune: Prophecy is set “116 years after the end of the great machine wars” (surely nothing to do with Skynet) and “10,148 years before the birth of Paul Atreides.”

The first episode, ‘The Hidden Hand’, starts with two sisters, Valya (Jessica Barden) and Tula (Emma Canning), from house Harkonnen joining a sisterhood to train as Truthsayers to serve the rulers of the Imperium. Upon the death of the Mother Superior (Cathy Tyson), Valya uses the Voice to force Dorotea (Camilla Beeput), the successor, to kill herself. Valya does that to preserve the sisterhood’s breeding programme, which ensures peace in the realm by arranging marriages between “suitable” bloodlines.

Thirty years later, Valya (Emily Watson) as Mother Superior fixes a match between Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), the heir to the Lion Throne, and nine-year-old Pruwet Richese (Charlie Hodson-Prior). Tula (Olivia Williams) wishes her sister would temper her autocratic ways.

Ynez is training to be a Truthsayer and believes she can mould Pruwet to her will. Ynez’s father, Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong), is not too happy about the sisterhood’s interference but believes the fighters that come with Pruwet will help maintain the peace in Arrakis and the supply of the all-important spice.

A soldier, Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), brings disquieting news of his battalion on Arrakis being destroyed not by the rebellious Fremen but by insurgents from the Imperium. The Imperial Truthsayer, Kasha (Jihae), sees troubling visions of fire and destruction, which Valya discounts even though the Mother Superior had similar visions.

Ynez goes to a nightclub with her brother, Constantine (Josh Heuston), the Emperor’s illegitimate son. At the club, amidst the spice and sundry intoxicants, she meets the Corrino sword master, Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason), for whom she has a soft spot.

The first episode introduces most of the major players in this game played out a long time ago or ahead, in galaxies far, far away. Watson is watchable as always and anchors the episode. The production design is lovely, with sweeping vistas, tinkling fountains, and blighted landscapes. The costumes are luscious, from the muted sheaths the sisterhood sport to Ynez’s scarlet engagement gown.

The engagement party is a fascinating study as Pruwet plays with a forbidden thinking machine (a ball that transforms into a skittering lizard), Baron Harkonen (Edward Davis) tries to sell “whale fur” (furry whales truly boggles the mind) to the Emperor, and the oddly intimate engagement ceremony where Pruwet and Ynez feed each other a version of pomegranate.

ALSO READ:‘Dune: Awakening’ trailer: What if Paul Atreides was never born?

Tabu, as Sister Francesca, the Emperor’s former lover, is yet to make an appearance. In the absence of a grand world-shifting saga, the sibilant palace intrigue keeps the interest, and then there is always the hope of the sandworms bursting in on future proceedings.

Dune: Prophecy streams on JioCinema with weekly episodes every Monday till December 22.