Arguably one of the best movies of 2024, Dune: Part Two astounded audiences and critics with its phenomenal cinematography, score, visual effects, and production design. A follow-up to 2021’s equally memorizing Dune, the films brought Frank Herbert’s 1965 novel to life in a way that had yet to fully be realized on the big screen. Given the movie’s success, it’s no surprise the universe of Dune is set to expand even further on the small screen. Seeing as there are numerous other novels ripe for adaptation, viewers will now be able to witness the beginnings of Dune’s infamous sisterhood and the inception of their prophecy thousands of years in the making.
Set 10,000 years before the events of Denis Villeneuve’s wildly popular epic science fiction films, Dune: Prophecy serves as a prequel series that explores the origins of the Bene Gesserit. At the center of the show are Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula (Olivia Williams), two sisters of House Harkonnen, ultimately responsible for the creation of the fabled matriarchal sect who sow the seeds of their own prophecy across the Imperium. Ambitious and ruthless with their goals, together, the pair confront forces that threaten the future of all humankind. Given their unique complexities, understanding exactly who the Bene Gesserit are and the purpose of their creation within the Dune universe warrants explanation.
Who Are the Bene Gesserit in ‘Dune’?
In the world of Dune, the Bene Gesserit are an exclusive sisterhood and order of powerful women. They act as a social, religious, and political force operating from the shadows to influence the Great Houses across the Imperium by acting as their advisors and, in many cases, as their concubines. Through years of physical and mental conditioning, each member attains certain powers that have helped them influence politics as they see fit. By using what’s known as the Voice, those in the order can manipulate anyone to obey their commands simply by speaking with a specific pitch. Be it a person’s thoughts or physical actions, the Bene Gesserit can essentially control someone’s behavior if they so choose.
Women in the order are trained to be hyperaware and skilled with the nuances of observation, which provide them with secrets others are often unable to see. Furthermore, the Bene Gesserit are disciplined Truthsayers who can determine whether someone is lying by analyzing a person’s speech, body language, heart rate, etc. When combined with the Voice, Truthsay becomes a useful tool for interrogation and even torture.
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Astonishingly, they have the ability to control every individual muscle in their body, a skill known as prana-bindu or the “weirding way,” and they can consciously control their internal organs and body chemistry, including the ability to determine the sex of their children at the moment of conception. As such, for centuries, the Bene Gesserit have been breeding with each of the Great Houses and specifically conceiving more females for their cause. Finally, those within the sect who become Reverend Mothers acquire what’s known as Other Memory, a genetic memory that gives her the combined memories of all her female ancestors, which provides her with an extensive amount of knowledge about the known universe.
What Is the Goal of the Bene Gesserit in ‘Dune’?
The most consequential elements of the Bene Gesserit are that of their breeding program and the Missionaria Protectiva. Through their breeding program, the order works to “preserve the bloodlines” of the Great Houses by procreating with its leaders and heirs to produce only daughters. Those children are then connected to the Houses but are also under the influence of the Bene Gesserit and their bigger plans. By doing this, they set the stage for what the Missionaria Protectiva will ultimately bring to fruition, which aims to spread religious superstitions on primitive worlds about the coming of a messiah that will lead humankind to a better future.
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The myths and prophecies create an opportunity for the Bene Gesserit to ultimately cast its members as guides, protectors, and fulfillers of the prophecy they created in the first place. As a result, their ultimate goal takes shape, which is to create what they call the Kwisatz Haderach, a male Reverend Mother of sorts whose Other Memory allows him access to both his male and female ancestors and essentially every piece of knowledge in the known universe. Through their Missionaria Protectiva, the Bene Gesserit prepare those across the Imperium for their Kwisatz Haderach, a concept they created and have manipulated society into believing.
Why Does the Bene Gesserit Want to Create the Kwisatz Haderach?
By carefully crossing bloodlines in an effort to produce the Kwisatz Haderach, the Bene Gesserit believes they’ll create a mind powerful enough to bridge space and time, the past and future, and ultimately help humankind into a better future. The need for such a plan will take shape as Dune: Prophecy explores the origins of the order and their desire to create the Kwisatz Haderach.
Given the Bene Gesserit were formed in the wake of the Butlerian Jihad, a war between humans and artificially intelligent “thinking machines” that nearly wiped out all humankind, it makes sense that creating such a powerful mind would seem necessary. It also doesn’t hurt to have such a powerful mind under their control. If they control the Kwisatz Haderach, who is said to possess all the knowledge in the known universe, it means they’ll be able to control the Imperium. New episodes of Dune: Prophecy premiere every Sunday on HBO and stream on Max.
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