Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Dune: Prophecy Episode 4.

The plot thickens as Dune: Prophecy starts gearing up for its season finale. In “Twice Born,” the Acolytes of the Sisterhood share a mysterious, seemingly machine-induced dream (or nightmare?) that may hint at who is really behind the conspiracy to bring them down, while, back in the Imperial capital of Salusa Secundus, Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) resorts to using her ambitious family to make her way back into the High Council of the Landsraad. As the Great Houses prepare to meet, the rebellion also sees the perfect opportunity to strike, but they all share a common obstacle: Desmond Hard (Travis Fimmel).

An Ominous Dream Troubles the Sisterhood in ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 4
Image via HBO

The episode begins with a sound we haven’t heard since Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies came out: a thumper. Sister Emeline (Aoife Hinds) jumps awake, and sees a ghost wandering the halls of Wallach IX. When she finally catches up to it, the ghost is revealed to be herself with eyelids sewn shut, and cuts its own throat. It’s all a nightmare that, apparently, the other Acolytes are also experiencing, except for Sister Jen (Faoileann Cunningham), who has to run to stop Emeline from killing herself. In the Acolytes’ nightmare, a thumper awakens Shai-Hulud, who swallows them into a darkness where only a pair of cold blue eyes can be seen and a robotic voice can be heard.

Terrified, the Acolytes tell Reverend Mother Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) about what happened. While Sister Avila (Barbara Marten) thinks they should simply return to their studies, Tula expresses concern and calls for an experiment with the girls. They each take a spice pill to help them open their mind’s eye, and then draw what they saw during their collective nightmare. First, each of them draws a different version of their own deaths. Then, in a collective trance, they all turn pages and start drawing sand dunes. Turning the page again, they all draw the mouth of a sandworm. Tula starts calling them back, but the Acolytes don’t even acknowledge her presence and continue drawing. Finally, they all draw the same set of two cold blue eyes in the darkness. The Acolytes suddenly awaken again, and Emeline says that “God is watching” and “judging” them, and that “the reckoning is here.” Emeline later gathers with other Acolytes to read about Reverend Mother Dorotea (Camilla Beeput), who was a religious zealot and young Valya Harkonnen’s (Jessica Barden) nemesis at the Sisterhood.

Later, Tula and Avila discuss the Acolytes’ drawings. Tula reveals that it wasn’t she who woke the girls from their trance, but fear of the blue eyes they all saw. Tula recognizes that this is connected to Reverend Mother Kasha’s (Jihae) death in Episode 1, and then determines that this isn’t to be discussed with the Acolytes to avoid spreading fear. Later, Tula retreats to the hidden computer room and begs Lila (Chloe Lea) to wake up, because she may be the one “twice born” instead of Desmond Hart, and, then, she has a vision of Emeline discovering the computers that are keeping Lila alive. When Tula snaps out of it, she sees that Lila isn’t inside her tank anymore. The girl then appears sporting the iconic blue eyes of Ibad, typical of Fremen due to their constant contact with spice.

Valya Uses Harkonnen Ambition To Her Advantage in ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 4
Image via HBO

On Salusa Secundus, Valya Harkonnen continues on her blast-from-the-past journey. Having been kicked out of the Imperial Palace by Desmond Hart, she needs to find a way back into House Corrino’s service, and her own family may be the way. At the Harkonnen apartment, uncle Evgeny (Mark Addy) continues to complain about everything, while Baron Harrow Harkonnen (Edward Davis) asks about the royal engagement, seeking to position the Harkonnens back in the Landsraad. That’s precisely what Valya needs right now, so, after denying them a truthsayer four times in a row, she decides to take the role herself to help Harrow. On the wall, a picture of her brother, Griffin (Earl Cave), watches over them.

For the first time ever, we see the Landsraad gathering, and some new houses are named: Yasu, Hagal, Gbangbala, Vernius, and Yaourfiks. This governing body assists the Emperor in ruling the Imperium, but all the house representatives also have interests of their own. In Dune, Liet-Kynes (Sharon Duncan-Brewster) acts as the Landsraad liaison on Arrakis, for example, and, at the end of Dune: Part Two, the Council decide to attack the desert planet once Paul Atreides (Timothée Chalamet) becomes the new Emperor.

Valya’s plan consists of allowing the rebellion to conduct a terrorist attack at the final Landsraad session, in which Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) is supposed to make a speech. With Harrow being part of the High Council, she will be present to save the Emperor’s life and regain his trust. Valya and the Sisterhood also decide to play on the rumor that it was Desmond Hart who killed young Pruwet Richese (Charlie Hodson-Prior) on Javicco’s orders, and that the Emperor pressured House Richese not to investigate the murder. This would give the Landsraad a reason to directly confront Javicco. The Council would need a “lesser” house to carry this out, however; someone who has something to prove and would be willing to make a strong impression — in other words, Baron Harrow of House Harkonnen. Later, at night, Theodosia confronts Valya and asks why she was brought along, to which Valya answers that Theodosia’s “talent” is a last resort.

Related ‘Dune: Prophecy’s Latest Episode Confirms House Harkonnen’s Fatal Flaw Have the Harkonnens earned their bad reputation?

Desmond Hart Faces Challenges in ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 4
Image via HBO

At the Imperial Palace, Princess Ynez Corrino (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) joins her family for breakfast, but doesn’t like sharing the table with Desmond Hart, whom she knows killed her groom, young Pruwet Richese. Rumors have been making the rounds in the capital, denouncing Hart as the killer — rumors that were carelessly started by Emperor Javicco’s own bastard son, Constantine (John Heuston). Ynez was set to join the Sisterhood, but learns that, in the face of recent events, her family has decided she will remain on Salusa Secundus with them instead. Later, Hart pleads to Javicco to use him against those who talk behind the Emperor’s back, but is denied.

Somewhere else in the capital, Horace (Sam Spruell) and Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason) meet with Duri (Steve Oram), an Ixian smuggler who supplies the rebellion with explosive drones, forbidden after the Machine War, they will use in the attack on the Emperor and the Landsraad. If it succeeds, they hope their movement grows, and spice finally flows for everyone, not just the Great Houses. As they enjoy a night out before the attack, Princess Ynez sneaks in to find Keiran. Ynez wants to help in any way she can, but without hurting her father. Keiran also mentions that his father “survived an atrocity”; is he the son of young Albert Atreides (Archie Barnes) from Episode 3?

What the rebels don’t know is that they were caught by surveillance cameras trading with the Ixian, and that this footage will be delivered to Hart by Empress Natalya (Jodhi May). She knows how inert Javicco can be, so she acts behind her husband’s back to get Hart to go after the rebels. He then asks the royal guards to scour the city and arrest the rebels. Later, Ynez and Constantine agree to attend the Landsraad’s final session and reveal to the Council the truth about Hart.

Things Don’t Go According to Plan in ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 4

When the Landsraad assembles for its final session in the Imperial throne room, everyone is ready. Harrow is ready to confront the Emperor about Pruwet Richese’s death. Ynez is ready to reveal the truth about Desmond Hart. Keiran and the rebels are ready for their terrorist attack on the Emperor. And Valya is ready to stop them. Harrow opens the session by saying the rules of Kanly, which prevent one house from directly attacking another, were violated. Before he can make any formal accusation, though, Princess Ynez interrupts the session to accuse Desmond Hart of killing Pruwet Richese.

As the representatives discuss, Hart brings in the Ixian and the rebels who were planning the attack on the Landsraad — all but Keiran, who was lucky enough to have been in the palace the whole time. Hart confesses to killing Pruwet, but argues that it was justified, because the boy had a thinking machine, which is strictly forbidden. He makes a passionate speech about drawing a hard line against thinking machines, and, once Javicco acquiesces, proceeds to burn the captured rebels and the lords who recruited Harrow the same way he burned Pruwet and Kasha to death. This time, however, the act clearly weighs on his mind and gives him his own vision: a thumper summoning Shai-Hulud under the scorching sun of Arrakis, and being swallowed by the beast. Then, two blue eyes saying something mechanically in the darkness. As the vision fades, we see Desmond’s eyes, one of them frozen in place as if it were a machine. Finally, the pain drives him to stop just short of killing everyone — but, before leaving, he stares at Valya, leaving behind drops of his own blood.

Back at the Harkonnen apartment, Valya tells Theodosia to send Desmond’s blood to Tula, so she can analyze it through the Sisterhood’s breeding index and identify who he is. Valya then confronts Evgeny about everything he has said about her and done against her. As Evgeny starts to choke and reach for his medicine, Valya takes it and keeps it out of his reach until he eventually drops dead on the ground. Griffin then appears to her and says that now he understands what it took for her to come back home, that he is also willing to make a sacrifice, and that everyone makes their own choices, and he has done his. As his face starts to glow, Valya says, “Thank you, Theo,” and it’s revealed that it wasn’t really Griffin she was talking to, but Theodosia. As it turns out, she is a Tleilaxu Face Dancer, capable of taking someone’s appearance and assimilating their knowledge.

Although the episode does push Dune: Prophecy’s plot forward and prepares to enter the season’s final leg, “Twice Born” is still far from perfect. It’s a treat for fans, surely, introducing lore like Face Dancers and expanding on key Dune aspects, like prescience, which are organically incorporated into the episode’s plot, and make for an overall excellent addition to the franchise. However, the episode as a whole feels like a heavy watch, given the amount of information and things that take place. It’s clear that the series is suffering from the need to compress its story into only six one-hour episodes, instead of taking the time to properly expand on what it needs to. With only two episodes left, there are still many mysteries hanging, and those two episodes may not be enough to answer the most important questions that have been introduced so far.

Dune: Prophecy is available to stream on Max in the U.S. New episodes air weekly on Sundays.

Dune: Prophecy may be running out of time to answer all of its biggest mysteries after Episode 4.ProsThis week’s episode creatively uses key concepts like prescience.Episode 4 continues to build on House Harkonnen lore. ConsThe episode is simply too dense, making it a heavy watch.

Your changes have been saved Set in the universe of Frank Herbert’s Dune series, this sci-fi epic follows the political and spiritual struggles on the desert planet of Arrakis. As factions vie for control of the prized spice melange, a prophesied hero emerges, challenging the balance of power and the fate of the galaxy.Release Date November 17, 2024 IMDb ID tt10466872 TMDB User Rating 0 .0 Cast Emily Watson , Olivia Williams , Jodhi May , Travis Fimmel , Mark Strong , Jade Anouka , Chris Mason , Sarah-Sofie Boussnina , Shalom Brune-Franklin , Faoileann Cunningham , Aoife Hinds , Chloe Lea , Josh Heuston , Edward Davis , Tabu , Yerin Ha Main Genre Sci-Fi Seasons 1 Writers Diane Ademu-John , Kevin J. Anderson , Brian Herbert , Frank Herbert Directors Anna Foerster Expand

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