Dune: Prophecy Season 1

Following on from Dune: Part Two is no easy feat, and so I don't envy the people creating Dune: Prophecy. Denis Villeneuve's excellent adaptation of the second half of Frank Herbert's genre-defining novel was only released this year, too. It's fresh in the mind, creating even more pressure for this spin-off series.

It is probably for the best, then, that Dune: Prophecy seeks to distance itself from the films. Set 10,000 years before the birth of Paul Atreides, Dune: Prophecy follows Valya Harkonnen as she seeks to establish the Bene Gesserit as the power we know it to be by the time of the movies. In the series, we follow Valya (played by Emily Watson and Jessica Barden as the old and young version of the character), her sister Tula (Olivia Williams), and the rest of the Truthsayers as they seek to prove themselves as the most powerful and trustworthy advisors to the leaders of the Great Houses. At the same time, we also follow the training of some younger sisters, as well as the members of House Corrino as they keep their tenuous hold on the Imperial Throne. This all takes place under the events of the Butlerian Jihad, which over a century ago rid humanity of "thinking machines."

This can be a lot to take in, and it does feel as if it's more than Dune: Prophecy can keep on its plate. The show has great ambition. Akin to how Game of Thrones saw us span the entire continent of Westeros in an episode, we hop from planet to planet for each plot occurring in Dune: Prophecy, but unlike that introductory series of Game of Thrones, which holds its center well, I would compare Dune: Prophecy more to a lava cake, holding a gooey, melted inside. The show dazzles with its impressive visual effects, which might not be as breath-taking as seeing the Villeneuve films, but feel worthy of the Dune label, and yet they can't mask what flaws the series holds.

We'll get to those flaws in a moment, as I'd rather not start this review on such a negative note. Dune: Prophecy is an enjoyable series, and a fine bit of TV if you're looking to spend a night by the sofa this winter. As mentioned, the visuals are impressive, both in a practical sense and in terms of what the VFX pulls off. The costuming and set design really help bring the series to life and make it feel premium in a way you'd expect from the network that brings you House of the Dragon. The school for training Truthsayers on Wallach IX is often a lovely treat for the eyes. If I had to detract from the visuals, I would say that often the lighting and camerawork make the show feel like any other. In the Dune movies, I can recall certain shots, how they made moments, whereas Dune: Prophecy often feels shot like another show. Then again, there are a few stand-out bits of work, such as when a young trainee at the school must meet with her ancestors, and Dune: Prophecy suddenly gets rather unnerving, bordering on horror.

The use of the Voice in the show is also very well-handled, making it feel like an otherworldly and terrifying power. The tone and pitch used by Valya is also much more severe than a lot of the characters in the movies, showing how raw and untrained it is in these early years of the Bene Gesserit. It's little details like this that help hold the show in a more positive light for me.

The acting, particularly from Emily Watson, Mark Strong (Javicco Corrino) and the ever-underrated Travis Fimmel (Desmond Hart) is mostly spot-on, and while there are a few characters that feel a bit underwhelming, everyone is putting a shift in to bring this story to life. It's just a shame that the story feels largely like a B-plot in the BBC series Merlin, or any other sci-fi or fantasy series for that matter. I won't spoil the plot details, but it largely revolves around Fimmel's character, and certain powers he has. There's some political machinations going on, but largely they're thrown to the side rather early on so we can see voice wizards versus Fimmel in a clash that feels perfectly suited to a Saturday morning cartoon.

The problem that's glaring with Dune: Prophecy is that it doesn't particularly feel like Dune. If anything, it's closer to fanfiction, which makes sense considering it's an adaptation of a Brian Herbert book. The original works have an almost mythological quality to them. They leave many questions unanswered, many things left to say, but you know as you're reading that if those details were unveiled, it would largely spoil the value the mystery held. Dune: Prophecy shows much more of the universe than we've seen, and yet half the planets we're taken to feel like Earth with perhaps a bit of a futuristic twist. The subheading refers specifically to one egregious moment where we enter a club in the Dune world with Javicco's daughter Ynez. There's thumping music, people huffing on what I can only describe as evil vape, the works. Exactly how you'd imagine a club in Mass Effect, Star Wars, but with even less identity. I'm not saying the Dune universe doesn't have a club, but perhaps it could feel a tad less like someone just wrote down the idea of a club scene and failed to think of how it would work.

Dune: Prophecy also feels like despite being set 10,000 years before Paul Atreides, that it must lean heavily on the storylines of the movies and books. Arrakis is a main feature of Desmond Hart's character. Sandworms are here again, even if they're away in the distance, and you can't help but feel like the shadow of a better product lingers far too heavily on this series. It's a problem with the franchising of any IP, as if you don't relate it to what people know, they'll apparently never be able to understand or enjoy it.

I had some higher hopes for Dune: Prophecy. After Warner Bros. managed a successful jump from movies to TV with The Penguin, I thought the formula may have been cracked. Unfortunately, despite this still being a mostly good series, it can't quite reach the heights that we've seen from Dune in recent years. Here's hoping there are other chances for a great Dune series down the line, but Dune: Prophecy will have to settle for being just good.