[This story contains spoilers from the Dune: Prophecy series premiere, as well as House of the Dragon seasons one and two.]
The end of an old war brings about a regime change in a faraway fantasy land. From that moment forward, one organization holds all the cards over the rest of civilization, while others scheme and plot their way toward ultimate power — or die trying.
Sound familiar? That could be because it’s a very vague description of two HBO shows that aired episodes this year: House of the Dragon, which completed its second season over the summer, and the newest arrival, Dune: Prophecy, based on the novel universe created by Frank Herbert and most recently adapted for film by Denis Villeneuve.
Coming hot on the heels of the widely beloved (and fellow Max import) Penguin, the new Dune series aims to capture HBO loyalist’s attention with another epic novel adaptation, not entirely unlike the other epic novel adaptation. Early reviews pegged Dune: Prophecy as a veritable Game of Thrones clone, but is it a fair critique for a series built on the back of a very popular franchise in its own right?
Now that the Dune premiere episode, “The Hidden Hand,” is out, we can take a closer look and judge for ourselves. Let’s lay out a few elements from Dune and House of the Dragon to see just how close they really are.
Emily Watson as Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen in Dune: Prophecy.
Max
° Dune: Prophecy takes place 116 years after a war, and 10,148 years before the birth of Paul Atreides. (No Timothee Chalamet in this show, unfortunately, but perhaps we’ll get a lookalike.) House of the Dragon, on the other hand, takes place 100 years after a war of its own (Aegon’s Conquest), and 172 years before the birth of Daenerys Targaryen. Both shows feature title cards with this information after an opening sequence; a much longer and bloodier one in Dune’s case.
° Both shows have an eye on a throne. In the case of Dune: Prophecy, it’s Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson; Jessica Barden in flashbacks), who wishes to shape the Imperium toward a perfected future. In the case of HOTD, and certainly in Game of Thrones proper, it’s all about the throne and who will take it for their own use. Political intrigue is at the beating heart of both.
° There are some analogous characters drifting between the two shows. Vikings and Raised by Wolves star Travis Fimmel once again commits to the violent bit, this time playing Desmond Hart, a radicalized soldier with schemes of his own. Not terribly far from his HOTD counterpart, Daemon Targaryen. There’s a bit of King Viserys in Mark Strong’s Emperor Corrine, a mild-mannered man making some morally dubious decisions for what he sees as a greater good. Who knows what the future holds, but sisters Valya and Tula (Olivia Williams; Emma Canning in flashbacks) are giving Rhaenyra and Alicent right now.
° In the first episode alone, Dune covers a lot of terrain House of the Dragon needed five episodes to clear. A young princess sleeps with her sworn protector: check with Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) and Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason), and check again with Rhaenyra and Criston Cole. Both hook-ups, by the way, occur either on the other side or in the midst of Ynez and Rhaenyra visiting what amounts for each show’s universe as a nightclub. In both shows, an eventful wedding breaks out in shocking violence; Dune sees a poor little prince meeting his fiery maker after playing with a glorified Transformer action figure, less gruesome but still deadly just like Rhaenyra and Laenor’s midpoint wedding in season one. (And yes, royal childhood betrothals are yet another unfortunate thing both shows share.) The list goes on.
Okay, fair enough: House of the Dragon and Dune: Prophecy map onto each other pretty neatly. Dune even has a prophecy MacGuffin, the Breeding Index, that cannot fall into the wrong hands, just like the Targaryen’s Valyrian dagger and its Song of Ice and Fire prophecy. But as it’s said on another series set in space, gone but not forgotten: “All of this has happened before, all of this will happen again.”
If Dune feels like a Game of Thrones show, it’s because we’ve been asking questions about intricate royal bloodlines and the corrupting power of their authority long before television was a twinkle in the eye. The only thing that really matters here: can Dune: Prophecy do it differently enough to distinguish its place in the pantheon of these kinds of big-swing adventure epics? It’s a bit unclear at the moment, but there are still five episodes left to find out.
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Dune: Prophecy releases new episodes Sundays at 9 p.m. on HBO/Max, streaming on Max.
