REVIEW: ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 3 – “Sisterhood Above All”

After a hit-or-miss opening episode and a strong second showing, Dune: Prophecy Episode 3 is finding its footing. The series’ third episode, “Sisterhood Above All”, takes a trip back to the past. While it doesn’t expand much of the ongoing narrative, and House Corrino is left out pretty much entirely, “Sisterhood Above All” is another successful outing for Dune: Prophecy that continues to add texture to the Harkonnen sisters at the center of the narrative.

Briefly checking back in with Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) and Sister Theodosia (Jade Anouka) upon their banishment from the Imperial Palace in Salusa Secundus, “Sisterhood Above All” jumps back to Valya as a young woman (Jessica Barden). Here, we see the Harkonnen home planet of Lankiveil. Director Richard J. Lewis (Westworld) does a better job of showcasing location than the other directors on the series. The imagery of the ice and snow-covered Lankiveil, where citizens earn their keep carving meat out of the giant, hairy beasts that roam the planet, is striking.

On Lankiveil, we get to see more of the dynamics that govern the Harkonnen family. They’re a poor bunch, one where Valya argues vociferously for getting revenge on House Atreides for smearing the Harkonnen name. Her father Vergyl (David Bark-Jones) cruelly shuts her down, yet her brother Griffin (Earl Cave) proposes joining the Landsraad, a council of representation for the Great Houses that could provide the family with privileges to help improve their station. Nearly as soon as Griffin leaves, bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, he’s found dead, allegedly by the hand of the so-far unseen Vorian Atreides.

Griffin’s death acts as the linchpin for the separate journeys Valya and Tula (Emma Canning) are about to undergo, which is a little underwhelming as we don’t truly have a sense of who Griffin was. Not having any real scenes set during the Butlerian Jihad- referred to here as the “Machine Wars”- also leaves us without a deeper understanding of the Harkonnens betraying the Atreides. Therefore, we’re only really getting this conflict second hand several generations down, which makes it a bit hard to connect to. Thankfully, the storylines Valya and Tula go on make up for the shaky groundwork they’re built on.

Valya joins up with the Sisterhood. Richard J. Lewis’ portrayal of Wallach IX is more inspired in Dune: Prophecy Episode 3 than in episodes past, framing it as an arcane fortress of shadow that the sisters learn to become one. Valya is uncomfortable with the machinations of the Sisterhood, openly questioning to Dorotea (Camilla Beeput) the lack of loyalties they hold to any Great House.

Valya’s indignant nature continues in a rainy ceremony where each sister is supposed to announce “Sisterhood Above All” when they are ready to give up everything for their oath. Of course, Valya cannot bring herself to do this, still left standing out in the rain after all her sisters have departed.

She’s invited back into the Sisterhood’s fortress by the arriving Mother Superior Raquella (Cathy Tyson) without having finished her oath. Impressed by Valya’s creation of “The Voice,” Raquella sees something in her. It’s a fascinating wrinkle in Dune: Prophecy Episode 3 that Valya is not the ideal Sisterhood member. Rather, Raquella sees her defiance as useful.

Raquella monitors Valya’s growing power, admiring her and Dorotea’s ability to amass their own disciples through their competing methods. Writers Monica Owusu-Breen and Jordan Goldberg so deftly maneuver the narrative of Valya’s early time in the Sisterhood that it’s clear that this is really what the show should’ve been about.

Furthermore, In Dune: Prophecy Episode 3, Raquella takes such a liking to Valya that she decides to let Valya in on a secret: she’s been building a DNA database to track bloodlines using technology banned in the Buterlian Jihad. The technology is unseen, yet this has tremendous implications for the Dune film/TV franchise, as it reveals that the Bene-Gesserit’s schemes to bring about the Kwisatz-Haderach were based on forbidden tech.

We’ll return to that later, though. For now, Raquella prepares both Dorotea and Valya to undergo “The Agony” ritual seen in last episode to become a Reverend Mother. Valya refuses, with Dorotea sending her back to Lankiveil, demanding she come back a Reverend Mother or not at all.

Dune: Prophecy Episode 3 puts character above all.

When Valya arrives back home, she’s berated by her whole family, most nastily by her own mother (Polly Walker). Not able to contain her contempt much longer, Valya uses The Voice on her mother before fleeing to the top of a cliff.

There, she undergoes The Agony, communing with her ancestors and fully embracing being a Reverend Mother. It’s hard to understate how much Jessica Barden is fleshing out the character of Valya. Her rage transforming into resolve is an excellent arc for a protagonist, never mind an outstanding backstory for the leader of what will eventually be the Bene-Gesserit.

Meanwhile, Tula is on Caladan of all places, participating in the bull hunt with her secret boyfriend Orry Atreides (Milo Callaghan), who does not know she’s a Harkonnen. As the Atreides rage a bonfire, Orry proposes marriage to Tula, which she accepts, only after revealing to him that she’s a Harkonnen, which he seems to have no problem with. They make love, but upon waking up in the morning, Orry finds that all the Atreides have been murdered, with Tula finishing him off.

This is an interesting piece of character development for Tula, bolstered by a fine performance from Emma Canning. She links back up with Valya, and the two go into the Sisterhood together. Meanwhile, back in the present, Valya confronts her father. Tula (Olivia Williams), on Wallach IX, takes the comatose body of Lila (Chloe Lea), unbeknownst to her sisters, to a medical pod in the basement of the sisterhood’s fortress that is powered by forbidden AI technology.

A more fitting name for “Sisterhood Above All” should be “Character Above All.” Coming at a critical juncture make-or-break juncture for Dune: Prophecy at its halfway mark, the third episode makes it clear that this is a journey in the Dune franchise worth taking. Valya and Tula’s intentions are made clear, the specter of banned technology looms large, and things are about to get very exciting.

Dune: Prophecy Episode 3 is streaming now on MAX (formerly HBO Max) with new episodes every Sunday.