REVIEW: ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 2 — “Two Wolves”

After a hit or miss first episode, the Dune franchise prequel Dune: Prophecy makes a noticeable improvement in its follow-up episode, “Two Wolves”. Elaborating on the intriguing developments from the end of “The Hidden Hand,” Dune: Prophecy Episode 2 ups the tension while giving the small-screen version of Frank Herbert’s space opera more texture. Without further ado, let’s break down this week’s episode of Dune: Prophecy.

Picking right up from where “The Hidden Hand” ended, the sisterhood stands in shock over the charred corpse of Revered Mother Kasha (Jinhae). A visit from a doctor of the Suk School, the same institution that conditioned Dune: Part One’s Dr. Yeuh (Chang Chen), confirms that her injuries were internal. As she ponders what that could mean, Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) discovers that the same fate has befell Lord Pruwet Richese (Charlie Hodson-Prior) on Salusa Secundus. Taking Sister Theodosia (Jade Anouka) with her, Valya departs from Wallach IX to go investigate what exactly occurred at the palace.

At the Imperial palace, Duke Richese (Brendan Cowell) chews out Empress Natalya (Jodhi May) for perceived inaction on his son’s death, bemoaning that the Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) isn’t attending to this matter personally. Corrino is confronting Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), who immediately admits to the killing of Pruwet, although he claims he did it out of duty to the Imperium. Javicco has him quietly put away, not wanting to overplay his hand.

The writing on Dune: Prophecy has seen a massive improvement. Episode writers Elizabeth Padden and Kor Adana have moved past these characters as exposition machines to a more captivating portrayal of people with power who are scrambling at their loosening grasp. The heavy dialogue scenes in indoor settings necessitated by a lower budget than the films become a boon, with Dune: Prophecy leaning into a Game of Thrones vibe of political intrigue over action.

Speaking of Game of Thrones, Dune: Prophecy earns its second sex scene, between the Javicco’s son Constantine (Josh Heutson) and Duke Richese’s daughter Lady Shannon (Tessa Bonham Jones). Episode director John Cameron cleverly turns the beautiful sequence in a bedroom inside a hollowed-out tree into an exchange of information. The two’s steamy relations are a way for them to figure out what the other knows. Turns out, not much, as both are aimlessly trying to find their place in their respective families. Fingers crossed that showrunner Alison Schapker continues to zero in on this saucy dynamic.

In less fun dynamics, Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussina) and swordmaster Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason) continue their “will they, won’t they” routine. Alison Schapker just can’t get a handle on these two characters, at least together. Thankfully, Keiran gets something interesting to do when he plants a bug in the walls of the Imperium palace.

Returning to the cyberpunk-esque The Lowers, Keiran reveals to his cohorts Harrow (Edward Davis) and fremen Mikaela (Shalom Brune-Franklin) that he has created a full map of the palace, and that all three are part of a rebellion against the Great Houses. That’s an ingenious wrinkle that makes the revolving door of plotlines feel all the more connected, especially when later in the episode it’s briefly revealed that Valya is in cahoots with them.

Jumping back to Valya, she and Theodosia arrive at Selusa Seccundus. The space travel method they use, going through a tunnel that appears to fold space and time, is remarkably consistent with the portrayal in Denis Villeneuve’s first film. Dune: Prophecy gets to add a bit of visual flavor of its own when the two touch down in Salusa Seccundus.

Our first time truly seeing the planet, in macro and on a street level, adds great character to the location. Featuring sprawling cities, a presence of vegetation, and exploding with color, it’s immediately easier to care about this location now that we’ve, well, really seen it. As Valya and Theodosia navigate the environment, unlike Wallach IX, the Emperor and Empress meet with Desmond. He reveals that he’s gained his strange mental powers from being swallowed alive by Shai-Halud, the sandworm of Arrakis. The Empress decides it’s a good idea to keep Desmond close to the chest for now.

Valya arrives at the palace, demanding to speak to Desmond. In the visually striking suspension cell, bathed in reds and yellows, that Desmond resides in, Valya uses her truth-saying abilities on him, only to discover that he truly serves the Emperor, or at least believes he does. The Corrinos decide not to execute Desmond, leading to fury from Duke Richese, who Javicco then orders Desmond to use his ability on. As Duke Richese is about to burn to death from the inside, Javicco tells Desmond to loosen his grip, sparing Richese in agreement for him to still follow through on ceding his fighter ships to House Corrino.

It’s a jaw-dropping moment that indicates the kind of “fall from grace”, or submission to violence, arc we’ll witness with Javicco and the Empress. It’s one of three huge shocking moments in the episode. The next comes when Valya confronts Desmond once again. She tries to use her ability of the “The Voice” to get Desmond to slit his own throat a la Sister Dorotea (Camilla Beeput). He resists, holstering the blade and telling Valya her services will no longer be required from House Corrino. This is a game changer, establishing Desmond as the true big bad we’ll have to contend with.

That isn’t all, as Dune: Prophecy‘s best moment yet happens in a subplot. Valya’s sister, Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams), invites young Sister Lila (Chloe Lea) to undergo a difficult process: swallowing a poison known as Russak. The process of coming close to death and then transmuting the poison out of one’s body will apparently awaken their ability to talk to their ancestors. Tula wants Lila to commune with her grandmother, the original Mother Superior Raquella (Cathy Tyson). Fans of Dune: Part Two will recognize this as a similar scenario to Paul taking the water of life.

Eventually, Lila agrees to the process. The way Dune: Prophecy visualizes this is stellar. Lila, whose body is failing her, awakens in a shadowy realm where faceless people in robes gather around her. She talks to Raquella, who reveals that Desmond will play a massive part in the coming reckoning. Before she can get more information, Dorotea, who resides in the ancestral realm, grabs her. She and the other residents of this realm pin Lila down, causing Lila to be unable to wake up back in her body.

Now, that’s how you end an episode. Dune: Prophecy Episode 2 steps its game up in a big way. The plot developments keep coming, the visuals are shaping into something with more personality, and the scheming has taken center stage. Dune: Prophecy is moving towards what’s made the franchise so beloved for decades. I’m eager to see if it can keep this up.

New episodes of Dune: Prophecy arrive weekly on Sunday nights at 9 p.m. ET/PT on HBO and streaming on Max.