WARNING: MAJOR SPOILERS ahead for Dune: Part Two.

Summary

• Paul Atreides and Feyd-Rautha mirror each other as pawns in the Bene Gesserit's game, fighting for power and legacy.
• Dune: Part Two's epic battle enhances Frank Herbert's source material, leading to high praise and a successful box office.
• The fight between Paul and Feyd-Rautha has far-reaching implications for House Harkonnen's future and Paul's path to ultimate power.

The incredible final battle between Paul Atreides and Feyd-Rautha in differences from the book in Dune: Part Two, they notably don't work against Frank Herbert's source material and mostly enhance the pace and balance of the film. Denis Villeneuve's sci-fi masterpiece has still maintained its status as one of the highest-rated blockbusters in recent memory with its current 93% Rotten Tomatoes score. While a third Dune film has yet to be announced, Villeneuve has confirmed that he is nearly done with the Dune: Messiah screenplay.

The major reveal of the crossover between the Dune 2's impressive box office performance has sured the domestic box office total of its predecessor Dune (2021), earning more than $110 million in its first week alone. The current worldwide box office total for Dune: Part Two is just under $211 million as of the time of writing, a number that will surely rise in the coming weeks.

Paul Atreides & Feyd-Rautha Are Mirrors Of Each Other

One of the main truths of both Paul and Feyd-Rautha is that they are essentially pawns in the Bene Gesserit's game, given status, power, and opportunity through their selected genetic developments, noble bloodlines, and abilities to acquire technical and combat skills. This essentially makes the two characters mirrors of one another, since they are very much like two internationally renowned athletes competing for the world championship in any given sport. Feyd-Rautha is clearly the more dark and intense version of Paul, who conversely clings to the role of a natural-born leader.

It's evident as the two of them prepare to fight that Feyd senses a likeness between him and Paul and appears to instantly respect him for being essentially cut from the same cloth.

Despite not knowing each other throughout Dune and Dune: Part Two, Paul discovers that the two of them are actually cousins, sharing the same grandfather in Vladamir Harkonnen. There is a brotherly familiarity and playfulness between them even as they fight to the death. It's evident as the two of them prepare to fight that Feyd senses a likeness between him and Paul and appears to instantly respect him for being essentially cut from the same cloth. In a way, Feyd ires and wants to be like Paul when he is killed with his "you fought well, Atreides" line.

Paul's Fight With Feyd-Rautha Was Foreshadowed In Dune 1 & 2

Paul's showdown with Feyd-Rautha was in many ways foreshadowed in Dune and Dune: Part Two, specifically in the early combat training days with Gurney when the Atreides first arrived on Arrakis. Paul also had visions of his inevitable fight with Feyd-Rautha in the sequel. Paul is clearly training and building towards something, a fateful day that will fully test how prepared he is to fulfill his destiny. His fight with Feyd-Rautha was the culmination of all his training, acting as the endpoint of Paul's ascension to greatness and firmly establishing the arrival of a new era under his reign.

Paul Atreides vs. Feyd-Rautha Is A Fight For House Harkonnen's Future (& Princess Irulan's Hand)

The fight is much more than a cousin-vs-cousin battle under a unified family name since Paul still ostensibly represents House Atreides despite the revelation that he is also a Harkonnen descendent. Whoever ended up winning the fight would technically be the one to take the Harkonnen bloodline forward, even if Paul would continue to go by his father's name, Atreides. By killing Feyd-Rautha, and Grandpa Vladamir, he more formally wipes the Harkonnen bloodline out.

Feyd would have married her if he won, but Paul wins and decides to marry her as a prize.

It also becomes, by nature of its combatants if not its true intent, a fight for Princess Irulan's hand in marriage. Feyd would have married her if he won, but Paul wins and decides to marry her as a prize. Paul sees this as a clear power play and as a way to advance and legitimize his sovereignty, since his heart still clearly belongs to Chani. The implication of being the husband of Princess Irulan would act as a foundational planting of Paul's impending rule as Emperor.

Paul & Feyd-Rautha's Fight Is Ironic Considering The Bene Gesserit's Original Plan

If the Bene Gesserit's original plan had played out as they had intended it to, then there would have been no actual need for the fight between Paul and Feyd-Rautha. If Lady Jessica had a daughter like she was supposed to, then she would have gotten married to Feyd-Rautha but instead, her son kills him. This point is somewhat skewed by Jessica when she tells Reverend Mother Mohiam that she chose the wrong champion and picked the wrong side. Mohiam reminds Mother Reverend Jessica that there were never any sides, as the outcome between Paul and Feyd's fight was relatively inconsequential in the grand scheme of things.

What Paul's "May Thy Knife Chip & Shatter" Line Means & Why Feyd-Rautha Says It Back

Paul appears as one of the most formidable threats to Feyd-Rautha, who appears to be somewhat of a fanboy to Paul's intensity and confidence. Paul says the classic Fremen line "May they knife chip and shatter" to Feyd-Rautha before their fight, which is what the Fremen say as a way to taunt their opponent before combat. When Feyd-Rautha says it back, the saying loses its impact because he seems to be curious about it, as if he heard a superhero say an iconic catchphrase for the first time. Feyd-Rautha's response indicates that there's a palpable mix of mocking, respect, and just simply thinking it's a cool one-liner from Paul.

Paul Doesn't Just Kill Feyd-Rautha In Dune 2's Final Fight

The biggest symbolic impact of Paul defeating Feyd-Rautha is that a part of himself dies alongside his former Harkonnen cousin. The end of Dune (2021) sees Paul reluctantly killing another person for the first time in Jamis, an act that opens the door to the world of the Fremen. Similar to the death of Jamis, the death of Feyd-Rautha opens up another avenue for Paul's ascension to supreme power. While this is exceptional for Paul, House Atredies, the Fremen, and the Bene Gesserit, killing Feyd-Rautha has also killed the boy he once was and now lives with the stresses and pressures of an Emperor in Dune: Part Two.