‘Dune: Prophecy’ Episode 4 “Twice Born” Review: One Explosion After Another

Dune: Prophecy keeps delivering with promising developments in its lore and worldbuilding as well as a treacherous cast dynamic that will have any sci-fan teetering at the edge of their seat. Read our Dune: Prophecy episode 4 review.

This review contains spoilers for the fourth episode of Dune: Prophecy. 

Last week’s episode was jam-packed with worldbuilding, exploring the past of our shady protagonists in their journey to absolute power at the wheel of the Empire. This week takes an opposite approach, developing the future of the series with a number of surprise reveals and outrageous developments. 

Dune: Prophecy follows the creation of the fabled prophetic sect known as the Bene Gesserit, as seen in Denis Villeneuve’s hit Dune duology. The show follows sisters Valya (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams), as they grapple with a unique threat in the form of Travis Fimmel’s Desmond Hart, who aims to protect the Emperor (Mark Strong) from the conniving sisterhood. 

Up to this point, the show has made a big point about the dangers of thinking machines, something that mirrors the outside world today with the creation of artificial intelligence. It’s something that got a continued focus in the episode and honestly was one of the more interesting theological points the show concerns itself with in its fourth instalment. That being said, as the show concerns itself more with the politics of the world originally envisioned by scribe Frank Herbert, the more I become intrigued. I’m left questioning how the Harkonnens transform from their current rundown and disenfranchised house into the warped and devoid powerhouse from the future Villeneuve instalments. 

Performances in the show continue to be captivating, with Olivia Williams and Travis Fimmel being the continuous highlights in my eyes. Visually, the show takes a bit of a backseat in this episode, but still is entirely serviceable in the eyes of the audience becoming more than engrossed. 

Perhaps most crazily this week was the absolute train of reveals that occurred within the final half of the episode. From the explosive betrayal of Princess Ynez, to Desmond Hart slaughtering countless people in front of the Landsraad, in addition to the reveal of Sister Theodosia as a Face Dancer. As much as this stimulated my brain at time of viewing, in retrospect it became a bit much, even feeling reactionary as the show passed the two-thirds mark of the series. 

That being said, the reveals left my mind racing and eager to find out where the show goes next. I look forward to the next instalment of Dune: Prophecy and continue to wonder how the series will wrap up ahead of Denis Villeneuve’s Dune: Messiah. 

Dune: Prophecy episode 4 stars Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen, Olivia Williams as Tula Harkonnen, Mark Strong as Javicco Corrino, Travis Fimmel as Desmond Hart, and more. The episode was directed by Richard J. Lewis, and written by Kevin Lau & Suzanne Wrubel. The episode is now streaming on HBO and Max.

Up Next On ‘Dune: Prophecy’

With the number of reveals at the end of the episode, the audience is left with many questions. Where will the Harkonnens go from here? And when will the Bene Gesserit be formed? We are sure to find out in the next two episodes of Dune: Prophecy. 

Dune: Prophecy episode 5 debuted seven days after the release of the first episode, on Sunday, December 15th, 2024, at 9 PM Eastern Time (ET). It is titled “In Blood, Truth”, written by Kevin Lau and Suzanne Wrubel, and has a runtime of 57 minutes.

Thanks for reading this Dune: Prophecy episode 4 review. Stay tuned here at Feature First, for the rest of our coverage of the six-episode miniseries.