HBO’s ‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 4 Review - Nightmares and Immolation

I have heard many people complain that they are unable to complete the Dune novels. They give up early, thanks to the dry prose that puts them into a coma. I have never picked up a Frank Herbert book, but the Dune movies and the HBO TV show have given me some idea regarding what people mean when they moan about the novels. The dry prose becomes a dull cinematic experience. The literal-minded images arouse neither curiosity nor a sense of wonder within the audience. For the past few weeks, I have been waking up early on Mondays for Dune: Prophecy (it releases in India at 7:30 am), and the show merely tells me that I should have remained in my bed under warm blankets. What a waste of time - and sleep. It has become a chore to sit through the episodes of Dune: Prophecy. I mostly end up thinking, "How did we get here? When did the science fiction genre turn so solemn, so bleak, so gloomy, so uninteresting?" We used to be thrilled by elements like otherworldly creatures, alien planets, and magic. Now, the same things give rise to indifference and monotony. Filmmakers with small ideas and big budgets have forgotten the art of entertainment.

So here I was, watching the fourth episode of Dune: Prophecy and wondering, "Why should I care what's happening to the characters?" The main problem, however, comes when I sit down to write a review of an episode. I have, in the past, expressed my contempt for episodic recaps. It turns out I don't have any other option. After the first two or sometimes three episodes, you cannot do a review but a recap, especially when writing about something like Dune: Prophecy, whose quality, every week, remains almost the same. Even after four episodes, its characters look flat. The narrative details are dispensed casually without vigor, so even the little juice in the political shenanigans is rendered ineffectual. If Dune: Prophecy were a person, her voice (the women here are more prominent) would have been uninflected. You would have struggled to distinguish between gossip, jabbering, and facts. Characters in Episode 4 ask each other who stirred up all the noise regarding Pruwet's murder. The revelation arrives so plainly that it doesn't look like a revelation - you dismiss it with a shrug.

The Sisters, on the other hand, experience a nightmare. Tula asks them to draw what they saw in their dreams, and everybody sketches that same dark circle, who, we are told, is Shai-Hulud. We often get glimpses of a sandworm on his way to cause destruction. How exactly is Desmond Hart connected to this threat? I am not too eager for an answer because Dune: Prophecy saps your excitement and strength. There is one moment that momentarily piques your interest, and it involves the display of Javicco's influence over Constantine, his illegitimate son who seeks his approval. When Constantine, like Ynez, tries to walk away from the breakfast table, Javicco orders him to return to his chair and he, like a machine, obeys. The rest of the episode is devoid of dramatic strength. The "traitors" are immolated, and Sister Lila wakes up from the coma, but these events strangely feel muted. But hey, now we know that Dune not only puts people into a coma; it also brings some of them out of this condition. You can ask Lila for her testimonial.

Final Score – [4/10]