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.
