Dune: Prophecy episode four delivered quite possibly its best episode yet, giving us an episode intently focused on the shadowy webs of politics woven across the Imperium by the Great Houses, the Sisterhood, and other factions. There were many twists and turns, some truly horrifying moments, and yet again, a huge ending twists that we’ll break down. Here’s our recap of Dune: Prophecy episode four, “Twice Born.”
Dune: Prophecy Episode 4 Delivers Some Major Political Machinations as Many Players Collide
After an episode of flashbacks that recapped the past of the Harkonnen sisters, we return to present day in Dune: Prophecy episode four, “Twice Born.”
Valya Harkonnen
Valya Harkonnen has been ousted from the Emporer’s court (and his good graces) thanks to Desmond Hart. But you can’t count Valya out. Down but not defeated, Valya sets up a new ruse with the help of the Sisterhood. She intends to enact a rebel attack on Emperor Corrino when he speaks at the upcoming Landsraad (or high council of the Imperium). Knowing, of course, it is coming, Valya will be there to stop the attack, unmask a rebel spy in the palace (Keiran Atreides), and overall save the day—forcing the Emporer to bow to the Sisterhood once more.
To get into the Landsraad after her disgrace, Valya Harkonnen makes good use of the grasping nature of all her contemporaries in Dune: Prophecy episode four. She manipulates all the other houses into believing that they must bring an inquiry against House Corrino in order to check the strength of the Emperor after the death of Pruewt Richese. This is a foolish thing to do, as it could bring the Emperor’s wrath down on them. But Valya and the sisters induce the other Houses to finally invite House Harkonnen to the council in order to have a patsy do it for them. She convinces her grasping nephew, Harrow Harkonnen, that this will bring glory to the house. And all of them fall into line. Valya names herself House Harkonnen’s truthsayer, and thus gains access to the Landsraad.
Princess Ynez and the Rebellion
Princess Ynez, meanwhile, truly believes that her father has done a great wrong in allowing Desmond Hart into his confidences. She decides to speak against him at the Landsraad. The evening before, she seeks comfort in Keiran Atreides, not knowing that the rebellion is planning on setting a bomb off during the Landsraad that they imagine will incite great revolution and drag the Imperium back into the hands of the people.
As a note: we seem to learn in Dune: Prophecy episode four that Keiran Atreides is the son of the boy Tula did not kill during her massacre in episode three.
Desmond Hart, Emporer Corinno, and Empress Natalya Corinno
Although Emporer Corinno wants to be conservative in using the new powers at his disposal, thanks to Desmond Hart, Empress Natalya Corinno has other plans. She leaked the rumors that Desmond Hart had killed Pruewt Richese so that all would know what might befall them if they stepped out of line, and especially if they used thinking machines. In Dune: Prophecy episode four, “Twice Born,” Empress Natalya Corinno, it seems is ready for her husband to assume complete power.
What Happened at the Landsraad During Dune: Prophecy Episode 4?
During the Landsraad, all the power players converged in one place. But, alas, very little went to plan. In the end, Desmond Hart knew about the rebel’s plan to blow up a bomb in the Landsraad, and he was the one who seemingly prevented it from happening. Valya Harkonnen never even got the chance to prevent a bomb from exploding, ending her plan to “save the emperor.” Desmond Hart also took the time to terrorize the Great Houses gathered, purportedly for their uses of thinking machines. Desmond burns many of the nobles for this crime, but in truth, it feels that he really does it to cement the Emporer’s absolute power.
Valya doesn’t get much out of this endeavor in Dune: Prophecy episode four, but she does get some of Desmond Hart’s blood, which she intends to use to figure out his genetic history and true identity.
It’s worth noting that Harrow Harkonnen did accuse House Corinno of killing Pruewt Richese in “Twice Born,” and Princess Ynez appeared to back him up. It was Ynez’s appearance that delayed Kieran Atreides’ from setting off the bomb in the palace. Desmond Hart didn’t burn any of these characters, so we’ll have to wait and see what happens to them.
Dune: Prophecy Turns Horror Series as Prophetic Nightmares Engulf The Sisterhood
Meanwhile, back at the Sisterhood, nightmares are taking over. All the Sisterhood acolytes share the same powerfully prophetic and chilling set of dreams. When Tula tries to walk them through the nightmare to understand more about it, the sisters end up almost possessed by the dream. In it, much like the prophecies we’ve seen so far in Dune: Prophecy sand and sandworms, a.k.a Shai-Hulud, play a mysterious role, as do the unexplained spacecraft lights which seem to haunt the end of every vision of doom. There also seems to be an elemental violence to the prophecies; they hurt the sisters and almost induce one to kill herself.
Later, Tula herself suffers from a prophetic nightmare dream as well; in it, she dreams all her secrets will be exposed, including the death of Dorotea and her massacre of the Atreides family. When she awakens, she discovers something less dark: that Lila has awakened from her coma, healed by Spice. But is Sister Lila the same as she once was? And is Tula correct that she is key to the reckoning they’re all facing? Only more episodes of Dune: Prophecy will tell.
That Dune: Prophecy Episode 4 Ending, Explained
Dune: Prophecy episode four ends with a bang. We discover Sister Theodosia has mysterious shapeshifting powers that we had no idea about before this moment. Theo turns into Valya Harkonnen’s dead brother Griffin and agrees to do whatever it is needs to be done. Uh oh… But where did Theo get these powers from, and what does Dune lore tell us about them? We get more into Dune‘s Face Dancers and Theo’s connection to them, in our full breakdown, here.
Join us next week as we recap Dune: Prophecy episode four. Dune: Prophecy airs Sundays on Max.
Check out: our Dune: Prophecy Episode One Recap, Dune: Prophecy Episode Two Recap, Dune: Prophecy Episode Three.
All Dune: Prophecy recaps can be found here.
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