Cinepals - DUNE: PROPHECY Episode 1 Reaction & Discussion! | Emily Watson | Mark Strong | Max

Episode Date: November 18, 2024

Jaby and Achara re-enter the world of Dune with HBO Max's latest offering Dune Prophecy. Dune: Prophecy explores the rise of the Bene Gesserit sisterhood as two Harkonnen sisters confront threats to humanity's future, 10,000 years before the ascension of Paul Atreides, amidst a galaxy of political intrigue and power struggles. The main cast of Dune: Prophecy features Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen (Breaking the Waves, Chernobyl, The Theory of Everything) and Olivia Williams as Tula Harkonnen (The Sixth Sense, Rushmore, An Education). Mark Strong stars as Emperor Javicco Corrino (Kingsman: The Secret Service, Tinker Tailor Soldier Spy, Sherlock Holmes), and Jodhi May plays Empress Natalya (A World Apart, The Last of the Mohicans, The Witcher). Travis Fimmel appears as Desmond Hart (Vikings, Warcraft, Raised by Wolves), and Shalom Brune-Franklin portrays Mikaela (The Tourist, Line of Duty, Roadkill). Other notable cast members include Sarah-Sofie Boussnina as Princess Ynez (The Bridge, Knightfall, Department Q), Chris Mason as Swordmaster Keiran Atreides (Riverdale, Pretty Little Liars: Original Sin, Broadchurch), and Aoife Hinds as Sister Emeline (Derry Girls, Normal People, The Man Who Fell to Earth) You can watch the cut down reaction to this movie (and many others) on our YouTube channel https://www.YouTube.com/@Cinepals and the full length reaction is available on our Patreon page https://www.cinejump.com SOCIAL MEDIA ~ACHARA KIRK~ Twitter & Instagram:  @Acharakirk  YouTube:  @Achara  ~CINEPALS~ YouTube: @CinePals Insta: https://instagram.com/TheCinePals Twitter: https://twitter.com/TheCinePals

Senna. Pals. I never asked you, have you seen any trailers to this? I haven't seen anything to this at all. I did look at the trailer because I knew I wanted to watch this. I love Dune and I'm really excited to dive into the world of Dune again. But from what I understand, I don't think this has any bearing on the movies. This is like its own separate thing.

Okay. What's up y'all? We're watching Dune Prophecy. Here we go. Are you seeing you? I see you. I heard, is he mother, is he? Oh, I see, I see mother. Okay, that's what she said. I think that's what she said.

Because remember, Mother Superior was like, you're going to see. And I think up until now, I wasn't convinced that, you know, she was really seeing, you know, with a capital S. She definitely has the strength and perhaps the vision in a way to carry forward. But there is definitely this feeling of, okay, but do you really know what you should be doing? They've done a really cool job of setting up the premise and the show. Like, I'm very curious.

I'm very invested and interested in what's going to happen next. and I'm kind of sad that we're only getting this as like one episode per week because I just I really want to know more. It's definitely a set up episode. So they're just kind of letting us know exactly what's going on, what the situation is, but there's not too much more. Apart from that, there's definitely a lot of question marks. And I think that's a really great place to end it because now I'm like,

but I want the questions answered. I feel like it's a lot of setup. I feel like it's different from the movies, which is fine. Fine, just fine? No, it's different from the movies in terms of, like, the style. This is not a negative. I'm just pointing out what I'm seeing, okay? Because it sounds like a negative, but when you watch the penguin after watching the Batman,

it feels like very close in terms of, like, the penguin gets more gritty and violent and it has more profanity, but it still feels very much like part of the same thing. Obviously, this is 10,000 years before. the movie but dune feels like something that takes place in a galaxy far far away you know what you mean yeah um with with things that parallel our own world where this feels closer to like game of thrones and star trek where like it's like it feels kind of close to like the club scene for instance and the music and everything like it just felt close to like something down the street in west hollywood i feel like we could actually see that you know sure and so that that was what kind of you know

It's just a different vibe. It's a different feeling. And so I was like, okay, I'm watching and I'm like, okay, who am I rooting for? I don't know yet. That's my feeling. Well, exactly. But I think what's so interesting with the premise of the show is we get a glimpse into the behind the scenes of the sisterhood because we can already see in the movies, right, that they are extremely powerful.

But to get to see how they got there is really fascinating. Because what's the scary guy, I don't know his character's name, Desmond Hart. What he was saying about, you know, there is a war going on. Someone is here controlling the situation. They've made themselves indispensable. And that's exactly what the sisterhood has done. They have situated themselves in such a way that they are next to the people who have power and they're feeding them information because ultimately it's about the dissemination of truth and lies.

Right? And my first thought when being shown the truth sayers is like, yeah, when you believe 100% what someone who says they are a truth sayer is telling you, they actually have so much power over you because they tell you what you're supposed to think. How do you know if the person who is supposed to be telling you the truth is actually telling you the truth because they could be feeding you lies? but they've become so indispensable that I don't think like Mark Strong's character he would just believe Kasha because they formed such a relationship and even his wife is distrustful of her because she's like you know you used to listen to me and now you listen to her and but that's the whole point like they've placed her to whisper words into his ear and to make herself indispensable

and to pull the strings and that's exactly what the sisterhood does and what they will do for millennia to come. I do definitely feel a parallel to the movie and to Game of Thrones and I apologize for bringing that up multiple times. It's just that, you know, Game of Thrones, the first show, had a, he wasn't a king,

but he was a, he was supposed to be like in charge of things and he was kind of weaker. Oh, you're talking about Ned Stark? And he got taken out, you know, episode, I forget which episode he was taken out, but it was season one. Season one, like, end of season one. And then House of the Dragon, you had a king who was weak, and then, you know, he got taken out, and then the following is the vacuum of power that's left in his place.

He wasn't a dictator, and he wasn't hard. He wasn't hard. Yeah, exactly. And so he, he passed away, and then there was a vacuum left in his place. And here you have Mark Strong's character who is just trying his best to be even handed on the situation to move things forward in a successful manner. but he's obviously wavering and uncertain and not sure about like what the move is.

He's being manipulated, that's why. Well, yeah, I mean, yes. And then with, I can't remember the actor's name all of a sudden, but he was in Spider-Man. He was in Dune, the first Dune. He was the King in Dune. You're talking about the Duke Atreides. Yes.

Who is played by Oscar Isaac. Thank you. Yeah, I was thinking Oliver. I'm like, that's not the right name. Oscar Isaac, thank you. The whole thing is removing the king so that, you know, Anyway, I don't know. It just feels similar somehow.

And I dig the parallels. I think that's interesting. And you mentioned that Game of Thrones drew a lot of inspiration from Dune. That's what I heard. And so that actually makes so much sense of like the overtones that I'm seeing here. They kind of tricked me with the kid because like because of Game of Thrones, I'm setting myself up for like, okay, what's the following? What's going to happen as we move forward? I thought this kid was going to be a punk like that young guy was in Game of Thrones who ended up becoming a young king.

Joffrey. Joffrey, thank you. I thought he was going to be like a Joffrey, like straight up. Because this is how aggressive he was in that moment. And to know that, to see him just like, first off, with the robot came out and he got scared and became a little boy for a fleeting moment. And then she had his back. I'm like, oh, that's interesting.

And then he goes, thank you. She goes, I will gut you. I was like, whoa, they got me again. And then they took him out. I'm like, damn, they got me again. Like they tricked me a couple of times in this episode alone with that character. But it's all about the manipulation, right? Sure.

Because the emperor is being played by the sisterhood. but then this guy, Desmond Hart, comes along and I don't know exactly what his thing is but he does seem to be some sort of like born again religious zealot perhaps and the emperor If you ever watch a video on Heaven's Gate people he's got the same exact look

It's frightening Like if you don't know about Heaven's Guy I can't talk about it on the channel because talking about anything about it We'll get this video demonetized But just look it up It's like they are creepy ass people that Yep, okay

Yeah So the point being, the emperor said, well, I would believe in God if there was a way for this wedding to be stopped. And he took that seriously. And he took it seriously. And he took the boy out because that's the only way, really, that that was going to happen. And I knew that that was going to be the move if he was truly serious about doing that. And so. He's like, I got you.

He's like, say less. I will do this for you. And so now I feel like. Perhaps this character is going to, you know, take a spot on the other side and try and whisper things into the emperor's ear and make him come towards the other way, you know? So it's really interesting because you're seeing the players on the board now. And it's like, how is this going to go? That actor, Travis Fimmel, I've never heard of him. But like he's another one that just like he seems like a combination of people to me.

Yes. And it's so bizarre. because he reminds me of brawn from Game of Thrones Oh, okay, Ron. He also, but combined with Charlie Hunnam. Yes, I kept thinking he was Charlie Hunnam, and then I was like,

no, that's not Charlie Hunnam, but it looks very similar. But then like a little dash of Tom Hardy. It's just like all three of them combined. Just like, you know, Momoa Leno. Everybody's got like this combo. And so the woman I thought was from

House of the Dragon, her name is A. Off Hins, she was actually in Dairy Girls, apparently. Okay. Yeah, that's not how you pronounce that name, but I don't actually know how you pronounce that name because that's definitely an Irish name. Yeah. And then, I mean, this is just like, this is very, very, this is the infancy of the show, right? Like, this is setting up the next five episodes. So I'm kind of just, I'm still getting my groundings, you know what I mean? Yeah. My sea legs with what's happening here? Because, like, I love Dune. But admittedly, like, there are things. things that do go over my head, I'm like, okay, this is just cool. I don't know why it's cool, but it's cool. Is that kind of feeling half the time? And I'm just kind of like along for the

roller coaster, if that makes any sense. Sure, sure, sure. And so, um, the Chris Mason, uh, or Kieran Atreides. Uh-huh. The sword master. Yeah, I was just getting, um, Sir Kristen vibes from him because it's like, he's got this job he's supposed to be doing, but he's clearly in love with this girl who's like, well, yeah, I mean, I don't know about love. There's definitely an infatuation. a lust going on but I don't know what his deal is with that girl who's clearly from Iraqis

I can easily see it ending with him and this princess it could easily end up just like the end of part two of Dune where it's like yo he's like in love with her but she's got to go off and do this royal marriage well not anymore

because he's dead yeah but then you just just have something else replace him yeah yeah he's a replaceable part yeah I mean certainly there's going to be fallout in the several episodes from what just happened here. Well, yeah, especially because the sisterhood has been doing the research into the lineage. And so this was supposed to be a union that would like... The union of all unions.

Well, yeah, it would create more stability for the Carino family line. And so, you know, now what? It's like your best laid plans have been screwed up. Now what are you going to do, sisterhood? Figure that one out. But I'm really enjoying the dynamic as well. between Valia and Tula, the two sisters in the sisterhood. I think I'm leaning definitely more towards Tula

just because I gravitate more towards people who seem to have more compassion and empathy and who are maybe a little bit softer. But I think it is an interesting dynamic to have the older sister who's like really hard and very certain about her mission and what she needs to do and to have the younger one who's there, you know, she's there to support her sister,

but also is the voice of maybe slight disagreement and giving the other side of the story. And so actually even thinking about, you know, how in the beginning I was like, what is this obsession that they have with the reflections that they keep showing? I was like, oh, maybe it's to do with just the nature of truth, you know, there's like two sides to every story or something like that I don't know when it comes to truth

it's like there's my version of the truth is your version and there's the truth what's in the middle sure you know but yes there's two sides to every story is two sides to the coin yeah it's like duality yeah yes I've been covering so much in arcane sorry

I'm loving the world that they're building I think it's really cool I just I'm having a difficult time with the fact that I have no one to root for yet that is my one area of concern because even with the penguin where I was dealing strictly with bad guys it was like am I rooting for penguin am I rooting for Sophia and I enjoyed that process of like who am I rooting for in this here I'm just like it feels it feels a little bit like a history lesson in a way you know like a

cool history lesson that's remarkable and awesome but I'm just like okay I'm not sure like who I'm you know what I mean like even in Dune immediately I'm like okay I want Paul to succeed even though yeah i mean clearly in in june it's set up where it's like the atreides are the good guys and we want the atreides to win yeah but so far it seems like at least as far as the great houses go and what we see now it doesn't seem like a tradies is quite up there yet i mean our young guy is just a swordmaster but who knows where it's going to go and i i completely understand your feeling but I think it's so vast

Like you need to set it out You need to set up the law properly And like set up all of the different players In the game And then once that's set up We can go forward So hopefully the next episode Will you know give us more of that

Oh I'm sure it will It just is starting kind of fractured And so there's like a lot of stuff That you have to keep up with And so if I had to pick one person right now That I'm just And this is complete and total bias is just like I'm hoping

Mark Strong doesn't die in the next episode because like he strikes me as the kind of character that's going to get dead in the next episode or two. I could be way off but it's like just because of what happened to Oscar Isaac I'm like I feel like he going to die

I don't feel like he's going to make it does it feel more modern to you than the films? Because like we kind of just brush past that when I mentioned it. No, not really but I can I think what's maybe kind of informing that is the music choice. And in the film, obviously, they had the Hans Zimmer score and it was grand and majestic

and ethereal and just like a character of its own. Whereas here, like you said in the beginning, it's kind of trying to emulate that, but not quite. And it doesn't really have that like sense of majesty that Hans Zimmer's score had. And so it kind of feels like the music is making it seem like dune light, which I can forgive because this is a TV show. And I understand that, you know, perhaps they don't have the big budget of the movie to kind of pour into this. Well, they spent their money on those openings. Yeah, I mean, like they spent the money on the visuals, which I think if I were to choose between visuals and the music for this, I would say they.

they made the right choice of going with the visuals. Well, just even the way it's shot is different. I mean, if you watch Dune, it's a lot of just big shots of just like, whoa. Well, because Denevinov knew that he wanted people to go watch it in IMAX and to watch it in the theaters. This is made specifically for the small screen. We have a lot, 80-inch TVs are so much more affordable today

than they were 20 years ago. I know, but what's the reality? see how many people, you can sound off in the comments, how many of you watch this on your TV and how many of you watched it on your phone or a tablet? This is not second screenable enough, okay? It's true. This is not second screenable.

You have to pay attention to this one. No, I think that even with what you said in mind, I think that you can still approach it the way Denev Venev would have a, he approached due, and I think you can still approach the show the same way. Because like I said, sorry to compare it again, but like Penguin and Batman feel very similar. They feel very much like companions.

Sure, sure. This is its own thing, like you mentioned at the top. And that's a fair way to go. That's a valid direction to take it. I can't help the part of me that goes, oh, but I kind of like the way it did in the movie better. And I wish that they followed that a little bit closer. Sure.

The moment that I realized, like, this is definitely different, and I wish it was closer to the film, was the scene with the princess and her mom. That whole dialogue and the way it was shot, I'm like, this is so TV. Yeah. You know, the performances and everything. Everything about that scene was just like, this feels like television right now.

And that's fine. It's fine, because it is television. Yeah. It's just that having just come off the penguin, you know, literally like last week. Yeah. Like, okay. You know, I really like this universe. And so my hopes are quite high.

And I'm looking forward to seeing where we go from here. And I really hope that by the end of episode two, I've got a character I'm really rooting for, even if it is only six episodes long. I really like what Mark Strong is doing here. It's that difficult, a tight rope walk, I believe him, you know? It's like, it's very, it's very difficult to be heavy lies the crown, right?

Yes. Yeah, it's like, I feel that fresh, that energy and the complexities of his job. And then not only that, he's dealing with his wife who seems to be drinking a lot. What? She doesn't bite her tongue. She will let you know.

No, what's up? Yeah. She will tell you exactly how she feels. And I'm basing this off one scene where she was drinking. I'm sorry. Yeah, I was like, but she was the only one I saw drinking. It was a party. It was a party.

What are you supposed to do? No, she was drinking on the balcony. Oh, okay. She was the only one I saw drinking in the whole show. In the beginning of that scene with Mark Strong and her, I pointed out the fact that I didn't know she was upset because I wasn't getting that vibe from her at all. And I don't know how I feel about that.

How do you feel about it? Because she's made a remark about that. something I forgot what exactly what it was and they goes honey I know you're upset with me I'm like oh she is that completely changed the direction of the scene for me I'm like oh okay that's what's happening I didn't mind that because I took that as she's been upset with him okay she's been upset with him for a while now okay she's been upset with how things are going she's been upset with how she's been treated okay that is just the basis she feels powerless yeah that's the basis of their relationship currently she feels powerless because

because her daughter is probably closer to Kasha at this point. And so she's losing her daughter to the sisterhood and she feels helpless. Yeah, and like she has no influence at all. And so she's frustrated. Okay. That's what I took it as.

That colors my impression of her character and her performance is differently now and I appreciate that. Thank you. My favorite part of that scene was the very end of it where she's like, remember when you used to listen to me and like things were better and he's like I remember this shit differently exactly exactly I thought that was such a great and poignant way to end the scene and then you have the shot of her hand pulling away from his I'm like whoa this well this is

deep drama here yeah yeah so all fascinating stuff yeah anyway uh yeah I'm happy to watch mark strong some more you guys thanks so much for hanging out I'm jabby koi this is achara cook peace out