Dune Prophecy: Why It's a Disappointing Adaptation

[00:12] Carefree she forgot she knows me from that

[00:24] the thing I watched HBO's Dune prophecy just a couple weeks ago I made a video just a couple weeks ago I made a video going over the 10 best TV shows of 2024 and this video was quite surprising for me when making it because most of the

[00:37] shows I was convinced were going to make this list didn't even make it to the honorable mentions and if there is one show I was 100% certain would make the

[00:50] show I was 100% certain would make the top 10 and didn't it was Dune prophecy out of every show that came out in 2024 there isn't a single one I was more there isn't a single one I was more excited for than Dune prophecy I might

[01:04] excited for than Dune prophecy I might even go as far as to say Dune prophecy is one of the shows I've been the most excited for in my entire life I am a huge fan of Dune I'm kind of obsessed with it actually I love the books I love

[01:19] the lore I love the characters the themes everything Dune is without the shadow of a doubt one of my favorite pieces of media ever created I love it

[01:31] pieces of media ever created I love it with a passion so you can only imagine especially in the year where Dune part 2 came out and became an instant classic that the excitement I had for a Dune series made by HBO was through the

[01:47] freaking roof I was shaking in excitement I couldn't wait for this I could think about all year I just wanted this show so damn bad I was ready for it and I was convinced this was going to be the next big thing the next

[02:02] show that puts everybody on the same wavelength the show that everybody talks about the new obsession that dominates pop culture everything was in place for Dune prophecy to be the new Mastadon of

[02:16] Television a Colossus we obsess with collectively week after week after week and it's crazy because apparently in terms of audience numbers like ratings terms of audience numbers like ratings and such Dune prophecy was in incredibly

[02:30] successful it did really well like they renewed it for a second season almost renewed it for a second season almost immediately A lot of people watch this show and yet crickets nobody talked about it in

[02:45] terms of discourse it's been kind of a desert no pun intended like as someone who is chronically online the social media presence of a show with that high of a viewership and based on such a legendary IP that just had an adapt that

[03:00] is already considered to be one of the greatest sci-fi cinematic experiences of greatest sci-fi cinematic experiences of all time it was surprisingly nonexistent all time it was surprisingly nonexistent the show kind of unexpectedly fell flat

[03:12] and didn't really poke people's interest more than that and that is absolutely crazy to me and when I look online to see reviews or to see what the few people that talked about it have to say about it it seems like the general

[03:27] consensus around the show was a resounding me and that's kind of it like overall Dune prophecy was received with a bit of a shrug despite the fact that it was one of the 2024 series with the biggest

[03:40] amount of hype so what happened what went wrong here how did a show with so much promise and so much hype manag to leave people

[03:52] and so much hype manag to leave people feeling so indiff well there's a very simple answer to that it's because it's not that great there end of video see you next month no but really jokes aside I think

[04:06] Dune prophecy is a very unfortunate example of how capitalizing too much on an ipce hype can severely backfire if you can't back it up with actual good [ __ ] and we're going to explore why that is in this video this show made some

[04:22] mistakes that I think put some Nails in the coffin before it even came out and the coffin before it even came out and that all has to do with Dune as an that but first let's take a quick moment to thank today's sponsor rayon I don't

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[06:19] guys are the best and let's get back to the show so Dune prophecy takes place about 10,000 years before the Ascension of Paul of tradies it tells the story of of Paul of tradies it tells the story of Valia harinen the leader of the Ben

[06:33] timeline they're not called the benages yet they're just known as The Sisterhood but it's the Ben jesar Valia is a powerful woman an extremely skilled individual and an absolute political Menace she is carrying the great purpose

[06:48] of The Sisterhood ruthlessly as the Mother Superior and she answers directly to the emperor himself but valia's perfect plans are suddenly threaten

[07:00] as everything takes a turn when a dangerous conspiracy inside of the dangerous conspiracy inside of the Imperium is uncovered a mysterious man named Desmond Hart seemingly returns from the dead after a fatal incident on

[07:12] the planet araus and he returns with an asset that might be tied to the most dangerous threat humankind has ever faced a threat they believe to have been faced a threat they believe to have been defeated and eradicated Generations

[07:27] ago okay let's quick quickly explain something currently at the time of making this video there are about 30 novels in the Dune book series out of those 30 novels only six were written by the original author Frank Herbert those

[07:44] six books are the original six books in the series released between 1965 and 1985 that's Dune Dune Messiah Children of Dune God emperor of Dune Heretics of Dune and Chapter House Dune that's six

[08:00] Dune and Chapter House Dune that's six novels in 20 years all of the other novels in this series were made after Frank Herbert's passing and were written by his son Brian Herbert and another author called Kevin Anderson now I tried

[08:15] to read some of those later novels but I don't think I finished any of them so I consider that I've only read the first six and I personally consider like many other June Fanatics out there that the Brian and Anderson novels are not canon

[08:31] they negate a lot of things and ideas established by Frank Herbert and they do things with the Deep lore that I find kind of lame now famously Frank Herbert had initially envisioned seven books for the Dune series but he unfortunately

[08:44] passed away before he got a chance to make that seventh book happen so the make that seventh book happen so the main original Dune series is unfinished and it notoriously ends on a very weird game-changing Cliffhanger that has

[08:57] remained unresolved since book 6 was published 40 years ago okay why am I saying all this well it's to give a bit more context about where this show originated from Dune prophecy is adapted from a novel called Sisterhood of Dune

[09:13] from a novel called Sisterhood of Dune published in 2012 that was not written by Frank Herbert this book is the first of a Trilogy called Great Schools of Dune and to be perfectly clear when I say the show is adapted from the book

[09:26] that term is admittedly a bit of a stretch it's not really an adaptation the show takes inspiration from the concept of the book and some of its characters to create a new story that is completely detached from it and that is

[09:41] almost entirely original to the show and that's where the issues start for me the Great Schools of Dune Trilogy on its own was not particularly well received at the time it came out and my personal issue with it is that some bad lore

[09:56] ideas that negate the original series make up a big part of the show's story all right I'm about to dump some dunor on you so listen the [ __ ] up for a second so some 10,000 years before paulat trades the universe was plagued

[10:09] paulat trades the universe was plagued by a historic Intergalactic event known as the butlerian shihad a religious Crusade where humanity went to war with artificial intelligence or as they're referred to in the Dune Universe

[10:23] thinking machines basically humans created Ai and let it evolve for thousands of years to the point where it became way too advanced and where humans became too dependent on them to function as a result of this some ill-intentioned

[10:38] people began to use thinking machines to enslave other humans and it caused a violent Uprising where Humanity realized how dangerous it was to let machines think for them which in turn led to a gigantic war that caused the eradication

[10:53] of thinking machines and a new universal law that forbids their creation that is why in Dune even though it is taking place tens of thousands of years in the future you never see any robots walking around no AI running spaceships no

[11:08] self-run technology no computers technology in this future is extremely Advanced but always directly operated by people now in the books written by Frank Herbert the take is that humans started to use thinking machines to enslave

[11:24] other humans however in the books written by Brian Herbert and Kevin written by Brian Herbert and Kevin Anderson that lore is somewhat redcon to make it something much stupider instead of humans using overly powerful

[11:37] technology to cause harm in this version thinking machines become too advanced and begin to rule humans with an Iron Fist and enslaving them on their own and they have a big machine Overlord called omnus that has evil mustache twirling

[11:53] plans to decimate and enslave Humanity in a big machine Uprising it's kind sket it's a bad ripoff of Skynet and unfortunately this is the lore that the show chooses to follow and that's important because thinking machines have

[12:08] a very big part to play in the story of Dune prophecy but it's based on bad Dune prophecy but it's based on bad lore keep that in mind all right so now before I can talk more about the show and its story we first need to establish

[12:23] more tangible contexts around the Ben jeser who are the Benes Sisterhood that has existed for thousands of years an ancient order with

[12:38] enigmatic motivations and goals they're not quite a secret society because actively participate to the development of the Imperium but while they have been around for Millennia people still don't know much of anything about the Ben

[12:54] jarate they are a complete mystery to the universe nobody really understands where they came from nobody really understands their practices most people just think they're a creepy Cult of weird women but they have power and

[13:08] value so the emperor and other political figures of the universe keep the bened Jared close they have them serve their interests and exploit their abilities to further their own agendas and to keep them under control as political pwns who

[13:22] are loyal to them so on the surface the Ben Jered are a cult of Galactic w witches sort of that assist and serve the great houses of the Imperium to ensure its prosperity and the will of the emperor but in reality below the

[13:38] surface the Ben jerit are secretly running the universe they are the real emperor they shaped most of what civilization is like they're the ones in

[13:50] control they just give everyone else the illusion of control they use their infiltrate and manipul the politics of the Imperium from the Shadows by slowly

[14:02] and carefully steering leaders in calculated directions throughout entire Generations they orchestrate Wars they carry out assassinations they control Bloodlines and influence their trajectories by carefully curating an

[14:15] order of birth through their ability to control their own molecular properties that gets a bit weirder in the lore but simply put the bener are trained to have an almost Divine control of their bodies which allows them to de velop superhuman

[14:30] abilities that almost feel like witchcraft they notably have the power of the voice which allows them to compel a person to do anything they say for a short moment rendering them completely unable to control their actions you

[14:44] dismiss my mother in her own house come here

[15:00] they also have remarkable perception skills which allows them to read people almost perfectly in other words the Ben jeret are basically human lie detectors they can sense when someone is not being truthful which makes them incredibly

[15:15] valuable to the Imperium many members of The Sisterhood serve authority figures interrogations with their designated Elite to find the truth but most of all highly trained Ben jeser becomes so good at manipulating their own biochemistry

[15:32] that they can not only decide when they get pregnant but during the pregnancy they can also change the gender of the baby at will by doing that they get to choose what kind of Heir is born into a great family and can influence future

[15:46] marriages and secure them more power through strategic alliances it's what they refer to as the breeding program and it is all surgically meticulous planning that takes centuries if not thousands thousands of years to come to

[16:00] fruition the bener are also responsible for creating entire civilizations based around religion over thousands of years they worked to implant ideas and beliefs

[16:12] into the minds of communities to the point where thousands of years later they have become some of the biggest religions in the universe followed religions in the universe followed blindly by entire planets The Sisterhood

[16:25] spread stories of Messiahs and gods and ultimate Sal salvation in order to control people through faith for example the fman from the planet oracus who we meet in Dune are for the most part incredibly devoted to their religion

[16:40] they live by a religious code and are almost entirely defined by their beliefs they fight to protect their planet from people who come to exploit it but also to preserve the Integrity of their culture as they wait for their Messiah

[16:54] to come and bring them to Paradise they call that Messiah the lisan AL G The Voice from the outer world who they believe will save their people and bring water and Greenery back to the harsh desert that is arachis lead them to A

[17:09] Better Tomorrow the fremin's entire religion their culture their way of existing for thousands of years all of it is based on a myth that was invented and carefully implanted by the bened tens of thousands of years ago none of

[17:26] it is real it is a fake prophecy created to control people when the time comes for it you get the idea the Ben jarat rule the universe they are lethal they

[17:38] are the masterminds behind almost everything that makes Humanity what it is in this Galactic Empire but they manipulate everything from the Shadows the reason why they do this is because the bener which is first and foremost a

[17:53] religion believe in something they call the golden path see some beness it have visions of possible versions of the future an Infinity of paths that lead to various outcomes the sisterhood's ultimate goal is to steer the universe

[18:09] into one specific path that will lead them to the birth of their own Messiah them to the birth of their own Messiah who they refer to as the quizat hatok a super being a male born to a great house in a benzar that would be simultaneously

[18:24] a mentat and inherit the powers and memories of all Reverend mothers which would allow him to unlock an ultimate ability to see all of time at once all of the past and all possible versions of the future at the same time a power that

[18:42] would bring him to become the ultimate leader of the Human Race Across the Universe so essentially the bened jeret have been maneuvering to breed a god

[18:54] have been maneuvering to breed a god they can control now there is way more to all this there is way more to the Ben Jared but we could be here for hours and we don't have time but these are basically the cliff

[19:06] basically the cliff notes okay now that everyone has an understanding of the lore let's get back to the context of the show here's why Dune prophecy doesn't work for me the story of the show in concept is actually

[19:22] brilliant a threat emerging from the shadows and possessing technology that humans no longer have access to and and only the Ben jeser can deal with it while preserving the politics of the Imperium absolutely insane genuinely I

[19:35] think it's a genius idea for a show in the universe of Dune where it falters the universe of Dune where it falters though is 100% in execution Dune though is 100% in execution Dune prophecy is a good idea that was

[19:48] executed like [ __ ] my first issue with Dune prophecy is that this show is not trying to be Dune it's trying to be Game of Thrones and I have a problem with that now yes I know Game of Thrones or the books it's adapted from was

[20:01] partially inspired by Dune the politics of Game of Thrones are largely inspired by Dune a lot of people have speculated that book Jon Snow is basically medieval Pol tradies there is a shocking shocking amount of similarities between these two

[20:16] stories I know but what I mean by that is not necessarily on a story scale it's more on a Hollywood being obsessed with recreating the success of Game of Thrones scale and that creates two major issues for me one Dune prophecy is a

[20:30] show that is trying too hard to be accessible to a large public and two in wanting to reach the largest amount of people imaginable the show sacrifices its most important asset the storytelling to make it as clear as

[20:44] possible Dune prophecy is a baffling dumbing down of Dune every concept ideology and piece of lore attached to Dune is stripped of its complexity to

[20:56] Dune is stripped of its complexity to essentially give us dun Dune for dummies it fundamentally detaches itself from everything that makes Dune so powerful in order to make a more easily digestible show for audiences because we

[21:09] want the success of Game of Thrones but what we end up with is a show that doesn't trust the audience to understand literally anything that's happening and that by default kind of treats the audience like idiots like I said there

[21:24] are very few show in existence I have been more excited for than Dune prophecy describe how excited I was for this thing so you need to know that one

[21:36] making this video really hurts me I am not enjoying making this right now and two when I sat down to watch the first episode you need to know I meant business the hype was through the roof I ordered food I sat on my couch and I

[21:50] pressed play When the episode was done I whipped out my phone and I posted a story on my Instagram because I felt like I had to confirm with people that I wasn't crazy this is my actual in real time reaction

[22:07] to finishing that first episode I just watched the first episode episode I just watched the first episode of June prophecy it's not just me right it's not just me please tell me it's not just me

[22:22] I I just I listen the Aesthetics the show look looks beautiful the acting is good the writing the dialogue and look I know that matching up to Dun part one or two

[22:39] is like an impossible task and also you know my rule I have my rule never judge know my rule I have my rule never judge a show by its pilot I will keep watching

[22:51] however this pilot had a lot of red flags from the first few minutes just hearing the opening narration and seeing the first couple of scenes I immediately felt something was off with the show and from what hundreds of you guys have

[23:05] communicated to me after I posted that story I am far from being the only one there's something I've been talking about a lot on this channel recently something that's been bothering me a lot in recent television a very particular

[23:22] pet peeve of mine and that pet peeve is when TV shows are entirely composed of hyper literal dialogue that has for only function to tell the audience what is

[23:35] happening out loud at all times the dialogue never has anything to do with the characters their arcs their beliefs anything that makes them them it has nothing to do with the themes of the story unless it's to literally say out

[23:48] loud what the themes are there's nothing of substance there it is just an endless series of scenes where characters stand around and vomit Exposition because the

[24:00] people making the show think the audience is stupid and are not going to understand unless they tell them everything out loud every 5 Seconds well

[24:12] I just describe Dune prophecy Dune prophecy thinks you're an idiot there's this one scene that really annoyed me where these two bozos have sex and then sit around and just proceed to explain out loud literally everything Dune is

[24:26] about but to a degree that gets kind of ridiculous see in the universe of Dune thousands of years it spans the most important planet in the universe is araus because araus is the only planet

[24:40] where you can find spice the most important resource of the universe rich and Powerful houses take care of spice Harvest on oracus and a big theme that is often showed in Dune through storytelling is that the most powerful

[24:54] storytelling is that the most powerful house in the Imperium is in the Emperors it's whatever house is in charge of arachis whoever controls spice controls the universe it's a very fitting theme that serves as a metaphor for a number

[25:08] of things notably the United States and the violent history behind oil in the Middle East and all the exploitation and conflict it created that theme is always communicated through strong storylines that make the point clear through

[25:21] certain actions that shift the balance of power in the story now this same theme is also present in Dune prophecy and how does the show address that theme in the story like

[25:34] this the palace is meaningless the real power is whoever meaningless the real power is whoever controls the desert

[25:47] telling you out loud the point of it because you're too stupid to get it so they go the lazy route there's another scene where the young Benny jesset in training are given orders by re mothers and the situation makes some of the

[26:00] young girls feel iffy you see The Sisterhood has this catchphrase that works as a mantra they say Sisterhood above all it's their way of acknowledging their dedication to their peers in that specific scene it's very

[26:12] interesting because the young girls are not really agreeing with what's going on and they start to question the meaning of that phrase It's almost like when they say Sisterhood above all they are reaffirming their loyalty to the

[26:26] sisterhood's agenda and not the actual sisters it's introducing a theme of the sisterhood's duty trumping their loyalty to each other and then Sisterhood above all not sisters they don't care about

[26:43] you not like they care about the order as a whole oh okay never mind I guess we just say that out loud too I mean just we we we got it we you didn't need to say it we got it every time the show introduces an idea according theme a

[26:59] concept to explore it's like the script immediately panics and is like ah [ __ ] spell it out for them let's have a character say it out loud so we make sure they don't miss it but bro we we got it we didn't we got it basically the

[27:13] got it we didn't we got it basically the whole show is a very long series of lazy Exposition dumps and as insane as this is about to sound I have the exact same issues with Dune prophecies tell don't show policy that I did with the Percy

[27:29] Jackson series yeah I've made a very long video about that show to break down how that type of writing completely ruined a show with a colossal amount of potential so you can go watch that if you want a more

[27:43] in-depth view of this writing flaw but just know Dune prophecy is the exact same and here's why that bothers me so much beyond the standard of it just being a pet peeve of mine Dune as an entity is a story that thrives in

[28:01] subtext it's very complex it's weird it's out there but it trusts the audience with all of its intricacies it never feels the need to hold you by the you're a toddler with no reading comprehension skills or no sense of

[28:16] critical thinking a lot of dune's core themes are never explicitly discussed in the books it is all up to the person experiencing the story to peel its layers off that type of story storytelling is a deliberate choice that

[28:30] promotes thoughtful writing because then it becomes the responsibility of the writer to make those messages clear through the story and not through lazy dialogue and Exposition Dune is about a lot of things most people will tell you

[28:44] Dune is a warning against the dangers of blindly following charismatic leaders which is probably its biggest Endeavor as a story but it's also about oppression about religion about greed capitalism it deconstruct RS the very

[28:59] concept of power and the idea of Love versus Duty there are so many themes attached to Dune and most of those themes are explored through subtext it's

[29:11] a story that requires you to read between the lines and to make up your own opinions about the things these people are doing the choices they're making and the reasons why they make those choices it's very rare for Dune to

[29:24] point at someone and explicitly say this person is right this this person is wrong it's always up to the person experiencing the story to figure out for themselves where they stand on those issues most of the time those reasons

[29:38] are not communicated to you but you learn to understand these characters and learn to understand these characters and their motivations so you just get it why because the story gives you the elements and trusts you with them now don't get

[29:51] me wrong I'm not delusional either I love the dude movies absolutely obsessed with them but for a number of reasons mostly cinematic purposes and time constraints the movies had to simplify certain aspects of the book The D novels

[30:05] are really long really complex and really bizarre it's a weird story a weird world and Frank Herbert writes in a very weird way and for the longest a very weird way and for the longest time a lot of people believed Dune as

[30:18] influential as it is as a piece of literature was simply unadaptable and literature was simply unadaptable and yet D Nev pulled it off but he had to make sacrifice vies he had to make hard choices to adapt that story and to this

[30:32] day I fundamentally believe that these movies work because despite all of the changes it had to make from the book those changes were made by someone who

[30:44] fundamentally understands Dune DV understood where to cut Corners where to make concessions to shape the story into cohesive movies without compromising the Integrity of the lore and its themes he never compromises the story's trust in

[31:00] the audience he simplifies aspects of the book but he never Dums it down he makes the choice to communicate certain things in a clearer way but he never condescends the audience he knows that preserving this complexity is what makes

[31:15] this story special and through all the changes whether it be removing the whole part about Paul being a mad to focus on the Ben jeret or the entire transformation of Chie who has a completely different story in the movies

[31:27] all all the changes around lady Jessica and her pregnancy all of it retains the core themes of Dune and lets them exist while fully trusting the audience to make sense of it Dune prophecy is the opposite of that while this show is

[31:44] visually an impressive rendition of the universe of Dune like seriously the show looks amazing it's crazy storywise this is a show that fundamentally misunderstands the point of Dune and fundamentally misunderstands

[31:58] the ways that story was purposefully presented Dune prophecy was created by Allison shaper who is also the showrunner Allison has a pretty solid resume she was a writer and producer on Alias a writer and producer on charm she

[32:13] also worked on lost on Fringe on Scandal on the flash she was the showrunner of the series altered Carbon on Netflix and she was an executive producer and writer on the final season of Westworld like bro she's been out out there okay this

[32:29] woman has worked on some stuff and given the project she has gravitated towards in recent years it makes sense that she was picked for something like was picked for something like Dune now the thing is initially Dune

[32:41] prophecy was announced back in 2019 and it was announced as Doom The Sisterhood and the big point of note from this earlier announcement was that the show was going to be produced by D VV himself

[32:56] and he was also set to direct its first episode John spites who co-wrote Dune Parts one and two with DV was tapped to write the scripts of the series Dana calvo a writer and producer of the series narcos joined the project as

[33:11] showrunner so basically originally Deni and John the duo that were the architects of the masterpieces that were the Dune movies and Dana calvo an extremely respected writer and producer behind one of the coolest shows to ever

[33:24] be on Netflix were supposed to be making the show together which was great news that Trinity was going to rock this [ __ ] I was

[33:36] pumped but Warner Brothers was reportedly unhappy with how the show was turning out so they put themselves in the middle of it and things started to get messy and things started to get delayed they

[33:50] first decided to remove John spites from the project because they didn't like his work on the show then because of the delays that pushed the show back several years D was forced to leave the project because he had to go make Dune part two

[34:04] on both things at the same time so he couldn't produce and he couldn't direct the pilot Dana calvo also stepped down as showrunner and was replaced by one of the writers and producers of The Originals Diana dejon but she also

[34:18] stepped down after production began and that's when Allison shaper came in and became showrunner I okay and to make matters worse the director that was hired to replace the quit a few weeks into production which caused even more

[34:34] delays he was eventually replaced by Anna Forster who is mostly known for Anna Forster who is mostly known for having directed underworld blood wars in the and a couple episodes of Outlander long story super [ __ ] short Dune

[34:49] prophecy was a bit of a mess behind the scenes with everything shifting around where all of the people who made the Fantastic dude movies were being forced out of this project only to be replaced by other filmmakers who didn't share a

[35:04] vision consistent with what the movie started so Dune prophecy was made by the last minute Replacements of the previous last minute Replacements of the previous first Replacements after the people who initially conceptualized the show as a

[35:19] companion piece to the movies were kicked out or had to leave and while none of the people behind the final product seemed like bad filmmakers it's also important to point out that Dune prophecy doesn't work because it was

[35:32] made by people who don't understand Dune I think they understand what the lore is but they don't understand how carefully that lore is presented presentation is everything in Dune it is the main ingredient that makes this story so

[35:46] great and you can tell they're missing the point from every choice that was made to tell the story of the show this show takes Dune and robs it of all forms of complexity it kills its clever presentation of conflicts and again it

[36:01] presentation of conflicts and again it dumbs everything down to an insane degree and because it strips the story and the concepts of any complexity or layers the show has a really big problem that really messes it up from its first

[36:15] that really messes it up from its first few minutes Dune prophecy is really really really boring this show is kind of a snoozefest and it's mostly because there is no real place for Discovery here there's no place for exploration

[36:30] and not only does that make the story boring it makes the characters boring Valia harinen is the main character of this show and she's supposed to be this morally slanted leader of The Sisterhood whose real interests are a bit foggy

[36:45] elusive but I think the show completely fails at bringing this character to life why because the show feels the need to overe explain like you don't get to discover value hekinan because everything there is to know about her is

[37:00] exposited to you out loud in the first half of the pilot you don't get the opportunity to uncover her to get to know her how she functions the intricate way she manipulates people the way her pride of being a hekinan who are looked

[37:15] down on by the Imperium is in direct conflict with the very foundation and the values of The Sisterhood the way that same Pride makes her power hungry and the fact that she may be using The Sisterhood to satisfy that hunger for

[37:28] power and control you don't get to uncover any of this you don't get to peel off the layers as the audience because everything is just spelled out because everything is just spelled out for you out loud as soon as the show

[37:43] Begins by the time episode one ends you know absolutely everything there is to know about Valia and it renders her character unbearably boring she's so

[37:55] flat and uninteresting despite the fact that the idea of the character is that the idea of the character is amazing again fantastic concept terrible execution Emily Watson is incredible in the role and Jessica bradden who plays a

[38:10] young version of Valia and flashbacks is even better Emily Watson plays a more mature Valia who has sort of mastered her craft she's more stoic more in control of herself but Jessica Braden plays a young Untamed Valia who above

[38:25] all else is extremely emotional she's driven by anger and a desire for revenge for the Injustice that the Harkin faced and for the death of her brother she has trouble controlling her emotions and she scares people and the Ben Jared doubt

[38:40] her when she arrives and trains with them on the surface it's a good idea but in execution it is really [ __ ] boring and if we want to talk about the dumbing and if we want to talk about the dumbing down of concepts of Dune look no further

[38:55] than the emperor played by by Mark Strong a character that annoyed me so [ __ ] much and that to me fully represents everything wrong with this show it's very common in the Dune Universe to have a theme about how the

[39:09] person on the throne of the universe is actually quite powerless it's a theme that is rampant in every different era of the story and it's always treated with a lot of intelligence but here in favor of a very Hollywood message of

[39:25] [ __ ] the patriarchy they don't B this character down so [ __ ] much that he essentially turns into a parody he is cartoonishly clueless like to the point

[39:37] where it's just a little cringe to watch I get that the point they're trying to make is that the emperor is dumb and that the Imperium would fall apart if it wasn't for the women around him pulling the strings the entire show the emperor

[39:49] is a bumbling idiot who never knows what to do and his wife and The Sisterhood tell him what to do but make it seem like it was his idea to protect his fragile masculinity sure okay cool message I'm not against it being there

[40:03] I'm just mad that it's presented that stupidly why are you dumbing this down so much this isn't groundbreaking this has been a theme attached to the Ben has been a theme attached to the Ben Jaret from day one but they Che it in a

[40:16] way that's like subtle and like not stupid you have so much incredible Source material to take that theme and adapt it in a way that is actually me meaningful and that doesn't treat the audience like morons in Dune in the

[40:31] polres era the emperor is also kind of Clueless and his power is an illusion he's also controlled by the Ben jarate but he's a more believable character he's clueless but he's not an incompetent bumbling idiot right out of

[40:46] a sitcom we're talking about [ __ ] Dune here have a little respect for your audience's intelligence because yes by the way again the show thinks you're stupid so in the finale there is a very long scene where Valia harinen the

[41:01] [ __ ] Mother Superior of the Ben jarate explains out loud every bit of power dynamics between her and the emperor in a speech that is just so badly written and so embarrassingly on

[41:17] the nose and so unbelievably condescending to the audience just yet another display of the hyper literal dialogue that doesn't trust you to understand what's happening so they spell it all out for you the truth is

[41:32] Emperor you are a weak man you've always needed someone else to hold the strings you simply traded one Puppet Master for another we've been shaping your path since before you were

[41:46] born every decision you've ever made we made it for you oh my God you got to be [ __ ] kidding me you're just going to explain all of it right there like it's a Disney Channel show is this what we're doing really the woman emasculating the

[42:02] man in power Hollywood girl boss content that's what we're doing with Dune the Benny jesser in the source material do not give a [ __ ] about emasculating men and humiliating people by being like ahaha it was us all along bro they're

[42:19] ahaha it was us all along bro they're building a universe they're building a God they're covert as [ __ ] they're busy they have [ __ ] to do they don't have time for that the story makes that theme clear for you not the characters what is

[42:34] the purpose of that scene what is the point of Valia doing this how does that further her agenda in any capacity we were the ones who made sure your father took the throne so that it would fall to you we bought the unallied worlds under

[42:50] you we bought the unallied worlds under your banner we sent you Francesca to keep your attention you were only ever an assignment one of many I don't believe you your wife doesn't respect you your daughter's lost faith in you

[43:02] your Bashar is simply using you for his own ends you didn't really think Franchesca loved you did you bro I'm going to fall asleep this is so lame this is so regressive to the Benny Jared and

[43:14] everything they stand for I [ __ ] hate this bro we know that Emperor Kino sits on the throne because other people allow it you don't need to dumb it down this this much just for the sake of a

[43:28] disingenuous girl power moment brought to you by Warner Brothers stop treating the audience like [ __ ] morons this is Dune not a soap opera step your [ __ ] game of for God's sake I cannot believe I am watching a dune story with the

[43:44] dialogue level of a CW Show Dune has never been a stranger to commentary about the patriarchy it's something that's present all throughout the books that's present all throughout the books but just not like this not in this

[43:56] contrived condescending my numbingly literal way step your [ __ ] game up and that's what annoys me so much with the dialogue dumbing everything down for the audience I'm not talking about one scene here I'm talking about the entire

[44:11] show the main plot and all the shitty story lines with boring Ben jessar and the other subplot with the atres dude bro and then after like episode 4 the show just gets kind of silly so first of all there's this character in the show

[44:24] called Desmond Hart he's supposed to be a weirdo he's a mysterious character a devoted Warrior who had something really strange happened to him on a rockus basically he was swallowed up by a sorm but then by some complete Miracle the

[44:38] sorm spit him back out and he returned with some new found abilities that defy everything we know on paper that's an intriguing guy intriguing character give me more but just like the emperor Desmond Hart is accidentally really

[44:52] [ __ ] silly he's also like a cartoon character he feels really out of place in this show like he's a weird Bland somewhere between Charlie hunam and Jack Sparrow I he's just weird I don't like him and that's before we get to the ray

[45:07] Palpatine ass Twist of his identity that genuinely made me roll my eyes so hard I'm pretty sure the sun started orbiting me the twist is that Desmond is out of nowhere revealed to be the Secret Lost son of Tula harinen valia's sister who

[45:26] had to give him up at Birth he is the first Offspring of a hekinan and an at trates two houses who are mortal enemies and his genome has a potential that could make him the quizat hok which is not really a thing that exists yet for

[45:41] the Benny jesser it whatever that is such a convenient stupid [ __ ] twist I could not believe what I was watching anyway he has an eye that was probably given to him by iians who briefly appear in the show that eye is not organic but

[45:55] mechanical and it gives him the ability to spread a machine virus that attacks to spread a machine virus that attacks people's brains by feeding onto their

[46:11] Mantra fear is the mind killer comes from a literal virus that literally kills literal people by literally infecting their literal brains through

[46:23] literal fear way to go so guys let's just make everything about Dune as [ __ ] literal as possible woo [ __ ] who dude the series ends with a bunch of twists that really are not that surprising because

[46:37] again most of it has already been exposited in the pilot a big surprise of the finale is that Valia is evil and manipulated everyone to become leader of The Sisterhood she went as far as killing other sisters who refused to

[46:50] killing other sisters who refused to follow her cause she's evil yeah we we we knew that already killing her peers and us The Sisterhood to satisfy her own desire for power is literally the first thing we see her do in this show there's

[47:03] never any reason for us to think otherwise there's never a reason to make us doubt what her real intentions are or whatever that's literally all they talk about with Valia for their first like four episodes we know this isn't a

[47:16] surprise this isn't impactful and it's not like it's full of bad ideas the fact that the end of the season comes down to the sisters and their difficult bond is really interesting I was really into that idea I think it's really fitting

[47:29] but one dialogue sucks so their confrontation is boring as hell and two I think the show does a terrible job at fully exploring the two different Dynamics Valia and Tula have both as sisters by Blood but also as sisters

[47:44] Through The Sisterhood once again an interesting idea executed like [ __ ] there is one really good scene where Tula is reunited with Desmond and there is a very long emotional shift and that scene was amazing to me for a very

[47:59] simple reason it's like the only scene of the show that is not ruined with Hyper literal dialogue they go through an entire emotional journey together for over a minute without saying a single word and so much is communicated in that

[48:15] conflicting feelings of a son who was abandoned by his mother and a mother who sees the sun she had to let go but none sees the sun she had to let go but none of it is said out loud that scene

[48:27] of it is said out loud that scene thrives in subtext would you believe that and then the show ends with Valia arriving on arus beginning an alliance with a harinen and a trades and a Corino which I'm guessing is going to serve as

[48:40] like a big origin story for all of the status quo in status quo in Dune Yay see you in season 2 I guess the entire show and its story and its characters because if I decide to go

[48:53] deep on dun lore this video would be 10 hours long I really just needed to communicate that I felt a bit betrayed by this show I really wanted to love it I was certain this was going to be in my top 10 shows of the year and let me tell

[49:05] you in my head it wasn't going to be number 10 I wish I had footage of the disappointment on my face after watching the first episode I wish I could have showed you that I was sitting on my couch in Silence by myself at 2: in the

[49:20] morning just completely discouraged completely baffled and confused as to how the show could have ended up this way I looked like a sad puppy because I swear I wanted this show to be a [ __ ] home run but guys I I got to be honest

[49:36] home run but guys I I got to be honest here as a gigantic dun shell they really missed the Mark here it's not an abomination of a show like it didn't make the top 10 worst list either but at the end of the day Dune prophecy is one

[49:48] of the biggest disappointments I've had with television in a really long time it's a mediocre series with Incredible visuals and cast that is way too good for how little they have to work with it's a show based on Dune that doesn't

[50:02] understand what makes Dune great and overall it just comes off as yet another attemp by HBO to get their next Game of Thrones is it the worst show ever no it's well acted for the most part it's well directed it is visually gorgeous

[50:16] the music is good every issue I have with this show comes down to the writing the dumbing down of every concept of Dune the constant handhold the bafflingly stupid dialogue this show

[50:31] was entirely failed by its writers the writing drags it down significantly the show is uneven needlessly convoluted it's bloated and unfortunately it's very

[50:43] the characters are for the most part painfully forgettable and the story overall is a gigantic let down I was expecting so much out of this especially considering that this came out on the same year as Dune part two this should

[50:58] have been the biggest show of the year but nope a lot of people watch this show completely failed to have the same impact as the movies and that's a shame genuinely if it wasn't part of my job to keep up with new television I don't even

[51:14] think I would have noticed this show was out That's how little noise it made anyways the show was renewed for a second season pretty quickly because it did have solid ratings and I will probably watch it because I'm obsessed

[51:26] with Dune and I have this misguided hope that it will get better not a lot of Hope cuz I'm probably being delusional but still some hope but as of right now yes Dune for dummies is the most disappointing show I've seen in years

[51:41] disappointing show I've seen in years [Music]

[51:56] [Music] baby baby she's a queen be she thinks she's so Carefree she forgot she knows me from that night at Vol it's okay though doesn't Bruce my ego she's moving like re eyes right like

[52:18] Ki she's dancing in real my song on the real my song on the radio she's dancing in r my song on the radio [Music]