Valya's refusal to give House Harkonnen a Truthsayer in 'Dune: Prophecy' foreshadows major plan
'Dune: Prophecy' Episode 1 left fans with mixed emotions and several questions. Set 10,000 years before the events of Denis Villeneuve's film 'Dune', the HBO series offers a fresh take on Frank Herbert's 'Dune' universe. Among many debate worthy moments, one thing that stood out in the premiere episode was when Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson), the Mother Superior of the Sisterhood, denied House Harkonnen a Truthsayer for the fourth time.
This was a surprising move, especially since she’s a Harkonnen herself. This left many viewers wondering why she turned her back on her own house. Let's explore in detail before Episode 2 premieres:
Decoding Valya Harkonnen's smart move in 'Dune: Prophecy'
There exists a major reason behind Valya’s decision of saying no. House Harkonnen doesn’t have a great reputation at this moment in history. Following the Machine War, they were labeled cowards while House Atreides was celebrated as heroes.
Truthsayers play a huge role in keeping peace among the Great Houses. They can sniff out lies and ensure that humanity follows the Sisterhood’s bigger plan. But the Sisterhood also has to seem neutral, like they don’t play favorites. By denying their request, Valya shows the other houses that her loyalty to the Sisterhood comes first. Even with her being as Mother Superior, the Sisterhood won’t bend the rules for anyone. Meanwhile, we also come to know that she is keen to fix the damaged reputation of her house. Now when she is in charge of Sisterhood, she can't openly support House Harkonnen without jeopardizing her position.
By denying a Truthsayer to her house, she kills two birds with one stone. Not only she is able to establish that she operates fairly, she pushes her house to rebuild on their own terms. How, you may ask? Well, if Sisterhood provided a Truthsayer, House Harkonnen would have to play by their rules, giving up some independence. Her decision ultimately gives her house more freedom to grow stronger without being tied to the Sisterhood’s plans. Isn't that smart?
Here's what fans think about Valya's decision in 'Dune: Prophecy'
Valya's seemingly confusing decision has fans exploring several possibilities. One of the users on Reddit, shared similar theory as explained above as he wrote, "Valya is actually most motivated by the idea of reshaping House Harkonnen, even if she's lying to herself about it. One of the core ideas in the Dune series is that hardship makes you stronger and to her denying them a Truthsayer now is part of their conditioning. It's not even about the Truthsayer per se, it's about telling them "No" over and over again."
He further explained, "She is basically bootstrapping her plans to reshape House Harkonnen to the Kwisatz Haderach plot. I suspect that this show is going to have the central thesis that Jessica isn't the one who derailed the plan at the last minute so much as the plan was always flawed. From the day Valya took on the project, it was never really about creating the perfect candidate, it was using the idea as a ruse to build up House Harkonnen. And technically she sort of did it - but in the process she destroyed the house name and made the Atreides into gods."
A simplified fan theory says, "I assume that she and her sister were placed there by the Harkonnens against their wishes and she's just getting back at her family." Another fan added, "My guess is being selective about who is granted a truthsayer is about control. Yes, the sisterhood is still young but I doubt it's a scarcity issue. It seems more of a move to create an air of exclusivity to the organization and flex muscles of control on the Imperium that no one is really noticing at the moment."
Valya's actions could now shape her house's future in ways they don't even realise yet. Let's wait and see how things unfold for House Harkonnen in upcoming episodes.
'Dune: Prophecy' Episode 2 arrives on Max on Sunday, November 24