One day on Arrakis the Kwisatz Haderach will become more powerful than any member of the Bene Gesserit who worked for millennia to create him. But Dune: Prophecy has shown that ten thousand years before the rise of Paul Atreides another man threatened the Sisterhood’s very existence. Why is Desmond Hart, soldier of the Imperium and self-proclaimed enemy of “the witches,” so dangerous? His “great power” comes from the most important creature in the galaxy. And no one, not even Valya Harkonnen, knows what he’s fully capable.
How Did Desmond Hart Gain His “Great Power” on Dune: Prophecy?
Desmond Hart was clearly an outstanding, special soldier even before his life-altering event on Arrakis. He survived a dozen missions to the deadly planet “when few last more than one.” But his last visit definitely should have killed him. After a surprise attack (secretly engineered by the Sisterhood to weaken the Emperor) Desmond found himself standing alone in the desert waiting for death at the hands of an arriving sandworm. As the Emperor saw on security footage, Shai-Hulud did eat Desmond. Yet, somehow, it didn’t kill him. Hart survived and emerged from the sand “reborn.”
His (possibly metaphorical, possibly literally, possibly both) rebirth granted him more than just a new perspective or purpose in life. It gave him a terrifying “great power.” In Dune: Prophecy‘s premiere he used his mind to burn young Pruwet Richese from the inside out. He also killed Mother Kasha at the same way, at the same time, even though she was halfway across the galaxy on a different planet.
How can Hart use telekinesis to kill? It’s not an entirely new power in the galaxy. The Sorceresses of Rossak, the group that served as the precursor to Raquella Berto-Anirul’s own Sisterhood, had telekinetic powers. But Desmond Hart’s miraculous survival from a sandworm’s stomach seems to hold the key to understanding his.
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What Did the Sandworm Do to Desmond Hart on Dune: Prophecy?
Sandworm secretions are responsible for the creation of spice melange, which can greatly enhance human abilities. Spice can extend life, grant psychotropic abilities, and give some prescience or the ability to see across time. Being inside a sandworm might have been equivalent to ingesting a lifetime (or more) of spice in a single moment, unlocking previously unimagined powers with Desmond Hart.
Young sandworms are also the source of the Water of Life. Drinking that otherwise deadly liquid and successfully converting it within your body turns it into an awareness spectrum narcotic. The Water of Life is how Bene Gesserit sisters on Arrakis become Reverend Mothers who can then access the memory of all the Reverend Mothers who came before them. Lady Jessica underwent this transformation in Dune. As did her son Paul, the first man to ever survive drinking the Water of Life. It unlocked his full potential, making him the Kwisatz Haderach.
Desmond Hart is not Muad’dib, but he does possess other powers of the mind reminiscent of Paul Atreides. They are powers that make him especially dangerous to the Sisterhood.
What Other Powers Does Desmond Hart Have on Dune: Prophecy?
Valya Harkonnen arrived on Salusa Secundus in Dune: Prophecy‘s second episode to ensure the royal union of House Corrino and House Richese. Instead she encountered the first and only person who has every posed a real challenge to her life’s work. When the skilled Truthsayer interrogated Desmond Hart she could see he was, at least, partially immune to her skills.
That was nothing compared to what he did at episode’s end. With Desmond convincing the Emperor to shut the Sisterhood out of the royal palace, Valya used the Voice to make Desmond kill himself, just as she had with her sister Dorotea years earlier. It didn’t work. Desmond resisted the Voice after taunting Valya by making her think it was working.
What Do Desmond Hart’s Powers Cost Him to Use?
Desmond Hart, the man who survived being eaten by Shai-Hulud, can now use his mind to kill people. His new skills also allow him to resist the Sisterhood’s greatest power. And he hates Valya Harkonnen and everything her group is trying to do. And yet, his power comes at a personal cost. Every time he uses his mind to burn his enemies his back cracks and bleeds, leaving him deeply scarred. The whole Imperium saw what Hart can do and what it takes for him to kill, but only the Emperor saw the full toll telekinesis takes on his most loyal and deadly soldier.
Desmond Hart doesn’t like the pain, but he won’t let it stop him from fighting back against the women he believe are the Emperor’s true enemies.
How Will Desmond Hart Change the Known Universe?
We know Desmond Hart won’t stop the Sisterhood. It will become even more powerful as the Bene Gesserit. That shadowy sect will spend ten thousand years working towards creating the Kwisatz Haderach. And yet, we also know it will fail in its mission. Paul Atreides reign will lead to the death and destruction of billions.
Will Desmond Hart ultimately be the reason why the Kwisatz Haderach won’t be what the Bene Gesserit hopes? Will Desmond’s powers and goals—or how the Sisterhood responds to them—put the Sisterhood on a path of ultimate failure?
Maybe Desmond already knows. He might have even more powers than we realize.
Editor’s Note: Dune: Prophecy is a Legendary Entertainment production. Nerdist is a subsidiary of Legendary Digital Networks.
Mikey Walsh is a staff writer at Nerdist and #TeamDesmondHart. You can follow him on Bluesky at @burgermike. And also anywhere someone is ranking the Targaryen kings.
