Prophecy Season 1 Finale Review

The following review contains spoilers for the fifth episode of Dune Prophecy, “The High-Handed Enemy”

Like everything that has come before in Dune: Prophecy, there are a lot of great ideas in the first season finale, “The High-Handed Enemy.” From Tula’s confrontation with her son Desmond and Valya’s revelation of their relationship, to it all leading up to Javvico’s downfall, there’s a good skeleton of drama there. But for every step forward, prophecy always seems to take two steps back. As a fan of the books and movies, it’s almost more frustrating when they succeed when the whole ends up being less than the sum of the parts. The story being told just never finds a way to balance the pacing of the series with all that needs to be explained and explained. And on top of that, “The High-Handed Enemy” leaves Prophecy with nearly every plotline up in the air, looking toward its recently announced second season for any sort of resolution; it causes it to fail on the promise of the premiere, which spelled out the series’ various mysteries.

In many ways, Prophecy is doing the best it can with the time it’s given. This entire first season has bounced back and forth, alternating between feeling too slow and too fast paced for its own good. “The High-Handed Enemy” falls into the latter camp, feeling rushed to get everything out despite the extra 20 minutes it’s given on top of the regular hour-long running time. And it manages to do some good with Tula’s confrontation with Desmond Hart, Valya’s realization of their relationship, and the Emperor’s end, but there’s just an overwhelming sense that things were cut for time. Constantine (Josh Heuston) doesn’t even appear in the finale, and while there are relatively good story reasons for his not being there, it feels like he was unceremoniously pushed out of the story to make room for the others. Just when he got interesting too.

There just wasn’t enough time to fully flesh out the ideas of the prophecy in six episodes. By the end, many of the younger sisters feel underpowered, and with their worlds rocked by the revelations from Mother Dorothea, we don’t really get to see how they react to the information. We just stay standing. Even a few of the main cast, from Desmond Hart to Javvico and Natalya, don’t feel as fully fleshed out as they should be to understand their motivations or connect with them in any meaningful way. It’s one of the many reasons why royal history often feels flat and unexciting.

What makes it worse is that so much of the episode is set up for next season. I’m not cliffhanger-shaming here—every season finale, if the writers know they’re getting another season or at least are sure they will, will tease something to come in the future, leaving us wanting more. But usually there is still a meaningful resolution to the major plot lines and character arcs that have been in focus this season (Ned Stark’s story in Season 1 of Game of Thrones is the classic example) and “The High-Handed Enemy” offers very little in that regard. The return of Mother Dorothea and her influence on the young sisters as she reveals the literal skeletons to them in the Sisterhood closet – back for next season. Tula and Desmond’s fate as power over the Empire shifts due to Javvico’s death – back to next season. And while it makes sense to leave Valya’s quest to rescue Ynez and bring her to Arrakis open, the character arcs of Valya, Ynez, and Keiran are all left unresolved, leaving them for next season as well. It all adds up to an episode – and by extension an entire season – that feels unfinished.