The primary season of “Dune: Prophecy” got here to a detailed on Sunday with a couple of gasp-inducing revelations and much more questions. HBO’s prequel sequence, set 10,000 years earlier than the occasions of Denis Villeneuve’s movies “Dune” and “Dune: Part Two,” wove a posh internet of storylines over six episodes, culminating in a prolonged finale that reunited sisters Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) and Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams).
Within the tumultuous episode, flashbacks reveal that Tula gave delivery to a secret son, who seems to be literal fire-starter Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel). We additionally be taught that Valya earned her management of the Sisterhood, the forebearers of the Bene Gesserit, via mass homicide.
“You want to feel like there were enough answers given,” showrunner Alison Schapker explains of the objectives of the finale. “That you’ve been on a journey in Season 1 and you learned things. Then, by the end, everything has changed and you understand who these characters are, what’s between them, what the stakes are and what the truth is in a new way.”
The finale concludes on Arrakis, the place Valya has escaped with Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) and Keiran Atreides (Chris Mason) after the demise of Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Robust). It’s turn into clear that Desmond’s powers haven’t come from the sandworms, as he claimed, however from one other mysterious drive.
“It felt very fitting that after being haunted by Arrakis that Valya go back to where this started,” Schapker says. “It will be really interesting to see what she’s going to dig up now that she’s going after a hidden hand.”
Alison Schapker, showrunner of HBO’s “Dune: Prophecy.”
(Luke Fontana)
Schapker, who joined the prequel sequence in 2022, drew on her intensive profession engaged on exhibits like “Alias,” “Fringe,” “The Flash” and “Westworld” as she and the writers sculpted the episodes. She admits to feeling some stress in adapting and increasing the beloved materials in Frank Herbert’s “Dune” novels however is pleased with how the solid and crew have introduced the universe to the small display screen.
“It’s a big world to get out on its feet,” Schapker says. “People’s expectations for it were, rightly so, specific and engaged, and I’m so glad we got to tell this story.”
Right here, in a dialog edited for readability and size, Schapker discusses the specifics of the “Dune: Prophecy” finale, in addition to her hopes for what’s to return after HBO introduced on Thursday that it was renewing the present for an additional season.
What’s your response to getting a second season and is there something you’ll be able to tease?
I’m thrilled that “Dune: Prophecy” has gotten a pickup and that we will proceed telling the story of Valya and Tula Harkonnen and the rise of the Bene Gesserit. The chance to delve deeper into these characters and their nook of the “Dune” universe is one which I treasure. I’m grateful to everybody who watched and invested in our sequence and made this Season 2 occur. Our writers room is already up and working, and I couldn’t be extra excited for what’s coming subsequent.
Did your workforce have entry to the designs from the “Dune” movies, for instance, for the sandworm we get to see within the finale?
No. However Denis was very beneficiant. One factor that we felt, and Legendary and HBO agreed, was that we needed to be within the universe of the movies. So with the worms, who’re such previous gods of Arrakis and these historical creatures, we needed to make use of the worm idea that we noticed within the movies. And Denis was very supportive of that call. Nevertheless it’s not that we took his recordsdata and used it. We needed to make it ourselves. We actually needed to be bold within the look of the present, and that simply took such great effort. It’s arduous on a TV price range and a TV schedule, irrespective of how beneficiant and the way supportive the studio is, to do this.
What was most necessary so that you can do thematically within the finale?
We knew we needed to deliver Valya and Tula collectively. They’ve anchored the storyline on two separate planets for the season. Nevertheless it was so necessary that we reunite them in an explosive approach, and I knew the three-act construction we needed to do this in.
Did you all the time plan for Desmond to be Tula’s little one?
Sure, completely.
Within the tumultuous season finale, flashbacks reveal that Tula gave delivery to a secret son, who seems to be fire-starter Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel).
(HBO)
How does Tula know the place her son is and what his title is?
She is aware of he’s on Salusa Secundus. She lands within the house port and hears the whispers of her ancestors telling her Valya is close to and that occurs to be the place he’s. I don’t assume she knew when she landed on the house port or thought, “I’ll meet him at the space port.” It was a little bit of a collision course. She sees Valya with him and I believe she understands.
Desmond isn’t within the books. What did you wish to obtain with that storyline?
It’s very highly effective within the “Dune” universe when a Harkonnen and an Atreides join, and that’s actually a part of the longer story we wish to inform. I don’t wish to communicate an excessive amount of. However you see Valya is saying, “This child has so much potential. He could change worlds.” He has that charismatic potential that makes him a very highly effective determine. Valya needs to harness it, and Tula begins to really feel that nothing good goes to return of their shaping his life. The query turns into: In the event that they’re not the one ones who perceive that about him, who else noticed that and the way and why was he weaponized? That offers us extra inquiries to information us sooner or later.
Did you all the time plan to string flashbacks via the complete season?
Yeah, and it’s robust with six [episodes]. The prologue was a flashback, and I needed to nearly come full circle. I used to be excited to begin the finale in the best way the prologue began however then add a brand new layer to it and proceed the story so you actually understood the previous. It felt necessary to know the circumstances of Desmond’s conception and what he was born out of, so Episode 3 was a deep dive with the youthful time interval to set that desk so the finale would hopefully land. You additionally wanted to know that there was a secret between the Sisterhood this entire time.
It’s very surprising to seek out out that younger Valya and her followers killed so many members of the Sisterhood to get into energy.
There may be blood on her arms. The issues Desmond stated to Valya all season grow to be very true. She rose to energy in a violent approach. Valya would clarify why that was mandatory and I’ve empathy for her choices. The center of the present is debating what lengths we might go to within the current if we actually believed we had been defending the longer term. I don’t assume Valya killed them for pleasure. I believe she felt pushed to in opposition to the wall by Dorotea and her followers.
Valya (Emily Watson) “rose to power in a violent way,” says Schapker.
(HBO)
Why do you assume the acolytes are so fast to observe Dorotea as she reemerges in Lila?
It’s a horrifying revelation that there’s a mass grave on the coronary heart of the Sisterhood, they usually haven’t any context to know it proper now apart from what Dorotea is telling them. You see Jen wrestling a bit [with] the way to course of this. I don’t assume it’s throughout, by any means, however Dorotea picks up the place she left off. And she or he was a zealot. “Dune” is a very massive world. It has loads of gamers and there are characters that I really feel like I’ve massive plans for who simply received a desk set in Season 1. Like all of these acolytes. We’re specializing in them for a motive, proper? The journey they’re on may be very important to the story.
Total, how a lot did you find yourself pulling from the books and the way a lot did you invent?
The characters and situations are within the books, so we had been positively impressed by the books and in locations we tailored and extrapolated in another way, however tried to maintain within the spirit of what was specified by the books. A whole lot of the Tula and Desmond and Valya stuff within the current is stuff we’ve been creating together with the Herbert property. I’m actually pleased with the story between Valya and Tula and the place it goes. I used to be actually moved by the place we received to with them, and I believe there’s loads of risk to proceed.
How was the Herbert property concerned?
They learn the scripts. We may ask them questions. They may ask us questions. They had been dialed in to what we had been doing. We all the time appreciated their enter. It was a supportive working relationship. What I cherished about it was it didn’t preclude us from creating. I felt like we had been in a position to do the work of adaptation and to translate the story to a medium in a approach that we had been enthusiastic about doing, however all the time from a spot of deep respect. Probably the most daunting, but in addition essentially the most thrilling a part of the gig, was attending to be within the “Dune” sandbox, so to talk.
Has Denis seen the present?
I don’t know. I believe Denis may be very a lot targeted on what he’s doing for the films. However I do know he intends to, and I hope to have a dialog about it sooner or later.
You’ve labored on loads of exhibits within the sci-fi and fantasy world. What do you want about that form of storytelling?
I really like the creativeness of it. I really like the world constructing of it. I really like having to consider all these particulars. There’s a lot room for creativity and surprise and scope if you will get the human story working, which is a very powerful factor to me.
Earlier than “Dune: Prophecy,” you labored on the ultimate season of “Westworld.” Had been there plans for extra episodes had it not been canceled?
I positively really feel like Jonathan [Nolan] and Lisa [Joy] have an finish to the story that has but to be instructed. The world works in mysterious methods and if sometime I ever received to see that finish, I might be so thrilled. Engaged on “Westworld,” to me, was one other formative expertise and a narrative that I believe solely is turning into increasingly more comprehensible and current.
You additionally labored on “Alias,” one other present with robust girls on the forefront and large scope.
What a present that was early in my profession. I’m all the time grateful to have come up within the community age since you received to essentially dwell in exhibits for a protracted time period. I did three years on “Alias.” It was a lot enjoyable. I cherished the story, too. J.J. [Abrams] had a really dynamic and artistic room. It was a present that was reaching to do extra with the small display screen than had been accomplished, and J.J. actually didn’t restrict us.
Do you see a commonality via the entire exhibits you’ve labored on?
One thing I completely try for is to discover a approach to floor issues in character in order that emotionally you are feeling such as you’ve watched one thing that is sensible to you on a human degree, however on the identical time, I prefer to go to work and take into consideration issues which can be advanced and attention-grabbing. I discover that working in science fiction has allowed me to not simply take into consideration folks, which I completely love doing, but in addition take into consideration a few of these extra summary concepts, like what’s the creation of synthetic intelligence going to do? That’s been actually gratifying in loads of the initiatives that I’ve accomplished.
