First of all, when talking about this series, you have to know that it is not for everyone.
If Villeneuve's films seemed boring to you, this series is not for you; if they seemed slow to you, this series is not for you; if you expect to see a lot of action and effects in battles, in short, this series is not for you.
However, if the lore of Dune makes you curious and/or fascinates you, if you like the palace intrigues of GOT set in a distant future and if you like Travis Fimmel playing Ragnar (again like in Raised by Wolves), this series is definitely for you.
Perhaps a series that nobody asked for but that greatly enriches this universe and makes us think that perhaps there is more future after Dennis Villeneuve.
Dune: Prophecy introduces us to a prequel set 10 thousand years before Paul Atreides and everything we saw in the cinema.
We are 30 years after the Butlerian Jihad and the events of Dune, the Machine Crusade. It is a point where the Bene Gesserit have just begun their large-scale genetic plan and program in search of creating that super-being that would be the Kwisatz Haderach through hybridization and connections of couples with potential.
We have several points of view that are interesting, the Bene Gesserit referred to, the intrigues of Emperor Corrino, the plan of the rebels led by Keiran Atreides.
Although, as I said, the series is slow, it takes its time to develop characters: we understand the motivation of Mother Valya and Tula Harkkonen, we understand Emperor Corrino and how he was manipulated. We are even able to understand Desmond Hart and how he manages to survive the Shai-Hulud.
We have the right and necessary dose of flashbacks, the fights, although few, are well choreographed and credible in the style of the movies.
Clearly, some questions have been answered and many more remain, which I hope will be addressed in the next season.
Great bet by HBO, let's hope they continue down this path and become even more massive in later seasons. I don't think they will become the new television phenomenon like GOT was, but it does have a lot of potential to be a period series.
