Sisterhood Above All

What an episode! We get to see the lethal and cunning nature of both Harkonen sisters. We already knew Valia was a wolf, but Tula . . .

They are a formidable and dangerous duo, capable of manipulating situations to their advantage with deadly precision. As for Tula, she is the embodiment of Lady Macbeth, "Look like the innocent flower but be the serpent under it. "

I am thoroughly enjoying the series. It's refreshing to see a show that isn't based on any existing books, allowing for original and innovative ideas. The writing is top-notch, and the acting and cinematography are equally impressive. I hope this series continues to deliver such high-quality content for many years to come.

Again, the creative team poured their soul into this episode, sooo many great details that book fans will enjoy! The first Gom Jabbar! Gel-circuit computer! The first step toward spice agony! Salusan bull! The then-Tula Fjord! And hot damn, I absolutely LOVED the setpieces with the fur whales!

And again, the writing was soo sub-par that it hurts. Especially the opening on Lankiveil, the family dinner. Exposition dump, "tell, don't show", spelling out a character's motivations and traits instead of just... You know, showing us, perhaps?

Imagine an everyday conversation like this:

• Hello my second daughter.

• Hello my father of great social and economic status.

• How was your 25th week in the school we are paying you from our offshore investments?

• Most pleasant, but not so much for my second sister who was born exactly 10 years ago.

Felt natural? No? Well, neither the dinner talk in the Harkonnen family. All the accolade for Jessica Barden who tried to bring the most out of that garbage of a script.

And yeah, why would we EVER want to see the scene about Vayla finding out the use of the Voice, when you can literally make Griffin tell us the story, and spoon-feed us about her awesomeness.

Also, Tula, if you're trying to lay low for your secret plan, the worst possible answer for the "when can we see your family" question is what you gave. Literally, anything else would've raised way less red-flags... But I guess Orry and his people are just that gullible. That scene was mildly enjoyable, although the outcome had been telegraphed from miles away.

This episode was better than the previous two, but it irks me to no end to see yet another good source material being wasted in the hands of mediocre writers and show runners.

When the show sticks with the Sisterhood and the main characters within their order, it truly shines. The focus on the Bene Gesserit's inner workings, and the relationships between the sisters especially the two main Harkonnen Reverend Mothers is interesting to watch as they unfold.

However, when the narrative shifts to the palace intrigue and the broader politics of the noble houses, the show loses some of its focus and momentum. While these aspects provide necessary world-building, they lack the emotional resonance and intensity found in the Sisterhood-centric plots. Some have also mentioned a lack of chemistry between the Princes and her combat trainer.

I hope the future episodes focus deeper into what makes the show compelling: the machinations, rivalries, and growth of the sisters themselves. The Bene Gesserit's philosophy, their training techniques, and their strategic influence on the universe, and the great houses. Elements like the Agony and the use of the Voice.

Man oh man, this is really bad. Herbert wrote one good and short sci-fi novel with a lot of great world-building (I was never really interested in what he wrote after and surely not what his son wrote). The writing on this is third rate fan fiction that could have been latched onto any generic sci-fi world, this specific episode leans heavily into Game of Thrones aesthetics and plotting. Three episodes in and I thought the previous one couldn't be worse but than they hit you with this arrant nonsense of an episode. You think you're getting prestige TV but what you're getting is a 90's fantasy sci-fi low-budget production without the charm and humor. This has nothing on the (good) Villeneuve movies, it doesn't feel it's set in the same fantasy world. No coherent and convincing vision of this world; truly miserable casting with a distracting melange of accents, extremely poor costume design that looks very unflattering on some of the actresses, it looks cheap, the dialogue is bad. Just a dispiriting production all-around. Considering quitting watching like I did after the first episode of the second season of the Rings of Power.

This one's a challenging episode to either like or dislike. After a while, we return to watching the lives of young Valya and Tula Harkonnen, and the events that preceded the beginning of the first episode. I'm okay with this approach, although it came surprisingly late in the season. What's frustrating, though, is how unclear it sometimes was whether the events I was watching took place in the past or present-the boundary wasn't always explicit. Overall, this episode focused heavily on the sisterhood. While some interesting revelations came to light for the first time, it felt, to be honest, like an overly heavy focus. But the most surprising aspect-and the light in the dark, awkward as it is to say in this context-was what Tula did. And I thought Valya was the heartless one...