The Wallach IX scene

The sisters wonder who or what caused Kasha’s death, but Mother Superior Valya keeps her cool. Nazir, a Suk doctor (who happens to be a former sister), claims that Kasha was killed by an internal heat source and “an acute imbalance in her meridian network”, which Valya interprets as proof that the prophecy of Raquella on “the burning “truth” comes to fruition.

Valya decides to go to Salusa Secundus to investigate the death of 9-year-old Pruwet Richese. In his absence, she wants her sister, Tula, to take charge, but she has a specific request. Valya wants Tula to put Lila through something called agony, which she believes will help them get answers about the mysterious burns. Tula is hesitant, both because she doesn’t think Lila is ready and because she thinks the process will put the entire Brotherhood in danger. “There are secrets that we have gone to great lengths to keep. You, me, Francesca, Kasha,” Tula said to her sister, impassive. (We haven’t met Francesca yet, but she will be featured in an upcoming episode.)

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Return to Salusa Secundus

House Corrino desperately tries to make things right with House Richese after Pruwet’s death, but it doesn’t work. The Emperor and his wife appear to have claimed that Pruwet was killed by his intelligent toy machine, but Duke Richese doesn’t buy it. He threatens to gather his fleet and leave, and maybe even attack with said fleet while he’s at it.

Privately, Desmond confesses to the Emperor that he killed Pruwet because he thought it was what he wanted, and he says he would do it again for any enemy of House Corrino. Instead of accepting his offer, the Emperor has Desmond arrested.

Constantine, ever the himbo, decides it’s the perfect time to meet Pruwet’s older sister, Lady Shannon. In the grip of passion, he tells her that his father knows who killed Pruwet and that he places the suspect, originally from Arrakis, in custody.

As Valya arrives on the scene, Duke Richese is busy confronting the Emperor with Shannon’s sexual information, demanding to question Desmond himself. Valya fixes things via hand signals with the Richese Truthsayer and informs the Emperor that Kasha died during her trip to Wallach IX. She also questions Desmond, who tells her that he serves the Imperium and was given a “gift” when he was swallowed by a sandworm. This gift told him that Kasha was not fit to serve the emperor and therefore must die. Valya determines that Desmond is saying what he believes to be the truth, but she says his claims are lies.

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A new conspiracy

Everyone kind of forgot about this once Desmond started burning people alive, but the original reason for him coming to the palace was because he was the only survivor of an attack on one of the Gatherers. spices of the emperor in Arrakis. Desmond said the attack came from allied worlds, and he was right: it was orchestrated by the mysterious Fremen woman from episode 1 and a new guy named Horace. Another accomplice? Swordmaster Keiran, who has always been a spy! He has mapped the palace for Horace, who is clearly planning something nefarious. The Fremen woman, meanwhile, tells Keiran that she knows about his little romance with Princess Ynez, warning him to keep it together for the sake of the rebellion.

But surprise: the Fremen woman is not a rebel at all. This is Sister Mikaela and she works for Valya. She orchestrated the entire attack against look as a rebellion, as a means of controlling the power of the emperor. Valya congratulates her on “a great manipulation” but asks for other names of rebels, and Mikaela tells her about Keiran. (Also, this seems to be why Kasha and Valya stated that Desmond’s version of events wasn’t the whole story. He believed he saw allied worlds attack the Reaper, and he did, but the Brotherhood was behind it all along.)

The agony

Back on Wallach IX, Tula and the gang prepare Lila for agony. In real Dune fashion, the Agony is not explained in detail, but the gist is this: Lila will take a poison that will cause her to have visions of her ancestors, who may or may not answer questions about the future of the Brotherhood. She may die because she is so young and inexperienced, but if she survives, she will earn the title of Reverend Mother. (They don’t call it that in the show, but movie fans will notice that the bright blue poison looks a lot like the Water of Life.)

At first, the Agony goes as planned. Lila, hallucinating a terrifying spiritual world, sees her great-great-grandmother Raquella, who provides more opaque details about Tiran-Arafel: “The key to calculation is the one who is born twice. Once in the blood, once in the spices. A ghost full of scars. A weapon born of war on too short a path.

But things go wrong with the arrival of Dorotea (the young woman Valya murdered via the Voice in the first), who is Lila’s grandmother. Dorotea is not interested in helping Lila because she is still angry about being forced to stab herself, so she sends a message to Tula: “Harkonnen, you stole my future. Now I take your hope. Lila then dies, much to the horror and sorrow of Tula and all the younger sisters who watch her.

What’s Desmond’s problem?

The episode ends on Salusa Secundus, where Desmond has managed to convince the Emperor and his wife that he could be an asset to them. By the time Valya returns from her conversation with Mikaela, Desmond is at large in the palace. He tells her that his palace privileges have been revoked, although it is unclear whether he made this up or whether the Emperor really told him to send it. Regardless, he says his plan is to eliminate all traces of the Brotherhood, which naturally alarms Valya. She tries to use the Voice on him to get him to stab himself, and even though he pulls out his knife and holds it to her throat, he doesn’t follow through with the stab, meaning he’s in danger. somehow resisting the Voice.

So, what exactly is going on here? Was he really swallowed by a sandworm and lived to tell the tale? Or is he some kind of con artist who trained to build vocal resistance and is now trying to convince everyone that he possesses mystical powers? It’s unclear, but even the ever-stoic Valya is shaken by this turn of events, walking away after reading him for dirt.

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