Conflicting loyalties emerge as the story heads toward a show-down between the Sisterhood and Desmond Hart. So far the show has attempted to blend Dune-level intrigue with something understandable enough for mainstream audiences. With so many factions and limited time, this can result in shallow characters and motivations. But this episode tries to deepen characters’ personalities by showing us how they frequently feel pulled in different directions.
Note: This article contains spoilers for events in Dune Prophecy episode 5.
The Imperial Family
The Emperor reveals a chink in his armor with the return of his ex-lover, Francesca, birth mother to their son, Constantine. His stern demeanor seems to melt away in her presence, and he even makes a move to steal a kiss in a hallway. In the wake of his Truthsayer Kasha’s death, he remains vulnerable to the women of the Sisterhood, particularly when Francesca convinces him to elevate their son to commander of the fleet. The possibility of a love triangle also provides justifiable motivation for the Empress to take up with Desmond Hart in retaliation, thus undermining both her and Hart’s loyalty to the Emperor. What began as a united imperial front against their enemies has fractured.
The strained relationship that Ynez and Constantine have with their parents makes more sense in light of Francesca’s return. Mirroring Paul Atreides from the original Dune story, Constantine demands that his mother tell him what her purpose was in bearing him. His party-boy ways seem more understandable once we know that he has felt abandoned. Coming into adulthood, he’s clearly uneasy about which family member to please: his distant father, his absent mother, or his subversive sister. 
As for Ynez, the somewhat uncaring attitude that her mother, the Empress, has toward her desire to train with the Sisterhood looks especially cold compared to Francesca’s kind encouragement of her son. Ynez’s anger at her father also continues to simmer, even while she does her duty in making public appearances. But Ynez is more than a long-suffering princess with no ties or support. Although longing to escape to the Sisterhood as she had originally planned, she finds herself concerned about her brother as well as her treasonous lover, the swordmaster Keiran Atreides. And she still has skills from the Sisterhood that set her apart from just any princess. When she questions Keiran with her nascent Truthsaying ability, she shows her potential to rise above her circumstances if only she can pick a path to follow.
The Fremen
Mikaela’s identity as a Fremen complicates her loyalty to the Sisterhood. Not only do Desmond and Keiran question her allegiances, but Sister Theodosia does as well. Desmond casually accuses her of profiting off of the resources stolen from her own planet, Arrakis, by working with her oppressors. Her response is a Fremen proverb from Dune: “God created Arrakis to train the faithful.” Then, once Keiran sees her knife and discovers she’s a Sister, he questions her about how her people on Arrakis fit into the Sisterhood’s plans and whether she’s willing to let them burn. But it is not until she sheds a tear as Keiran walks away that we can see how closely these accusations hit home, and how burdened she is by her multiple identities. Something in her conscience has awakened.
When Valya instructs her to go to the Sisterhood’s safe house on Arrakis, Mikaela says that she won’t betray her people and responds bitterly to Theodosia’s pointed statement that “The Sisterhood is your people.” Mikaela’s formerly dutiful manner has turned into resentment at being forced to choose whom to serve. These glimpses at the multiple facets of Mikaela’s life provide more depth to this double agent and suggest that the Sisterhood’s hold on her might not endure.
The Harkonnen
Even Harrow manages to play the game of dual loyalties, pretending to plot against his aunt Valya by feeding Desmond Hart information when really it is part of her instructions to him. His character is usually only motivated by the prospect of elevating his station, making him fairly one-dimensional and weak-willed. His ability to pull off this maneuver gives him more credibility as someone who understands how to make a political move.
The Acolyte
Meanwhile, back at the Sisterhood, Lila becomes much more literally pulled in different directions when she becomes possessed by her ancestor Mother Superior Raquella. Sister Avila calls it as she sees it, exclaiming, “What kind of Abomination is this?!” This refers to the problem in the original Dune series of not adequately controlling the ancestral memory and risking a psychic take-over.
We see the previously lifeless pawn Lila spring into action as Raquella, who immediately investigates Kasha’s cause of death and takes a no-nonsense attitude to the Sisterhood’s dire plight. These scenes nicely illustrate this mysterious psychic experience by making a stark distinction between Lila as herself and Lila as Raquella. Whether or not Lila can reassert enough control to successfully subdue Other Memory and reassert her own personality remains to be seen though.
Thanks to Warner Bros. Discovery for providing Dune News Net team members with review screeners for this episode of Dune: Prophecy.