HBO's Valya's plan to prevent "a reckoning" and implements themes similar to one of the best HBO shows created to do it.

HBO's 2019 limited series Chernobyl received high praise and earned many accolades for its depiction of the Chornobyl nuclear disaster in the U.S.S.R in 1986. In Watson's first run with HBO, she portrayed Ulana Khomyuk, a conglomeration of all the scientists who assisted nuclear scientist Valery Legasov (Jared Harris) in uncovering what exactly happened at Chornobyl. The base concept of the series is how lies and deceit can lead to disaster, proving to be a favorite discourse of HBO.

Dune: Prophecy Shares Similar Themes With HBO's Chernobyl

Dune: Prophecy & Chernobyl Both Deal With Truth & Lies

Dune: Prophecy's first episode contains messaging about how humanity survives on truths and lies. During a scene, Reverand Mother, Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams) teaches a class to future truthsayers on the human mind. She claims: "Humanity's greatest weapon is the lie." She also tells the class that humanity uses lies as a survival mechanism. This lecture is designed to explain to the young truthsayers that they will learn to spot signs of someone telling a lie. The foreshadowing in this scene also indicates that lying will be a central part of this series through various angles and characters.

"Human Beings rely on lies to survive... Lying is among the most sophisticated task a brain can perform." — Tula Harkonen, Dune: Prophecy

Chernobyl demonstrates the same theme concerning lying but in a different way. In this series, lies were used by the Soviets as a measure to control the outlook of the disaster. The Soviets lied to their people that everything was fine until they were forced to compel them to evacuate the city of Pripyat. The scientists work to uncover the truth behind the secrets and lies, which leads to the discovery of a faulty design that contributed to the nuclear disaster. The lies that persisted before, during, and after the explosion of the Chernobyl power plants drive the plot forward.

How Emily Watson's Dune: Prophecy Character Is Different (& Similar) To Her Chornobyl Role

Valya Is Attempting To Manipulate Events While Teaching Her Disciples To Spot Lies

Watson's characters in the two shows are drastically different but revolve around the same sun. Khomyuk is a kind, caring woman who will assist anyone she can. She feels the world's weight on her shoulders after she researches and interviews all the engineers responsible for the explosion to discover how an RBMK reactor explodes. She is persistent in her efforts, which helps convince Legasov to speak the truth publicly.

Watson's character in Dune: Prophecy is a cold, calculated thinker who believes it is her destiny to grow what will be the Bene Gesserit Order sect. Her visions have driven her to take drastic actions to ensure their order controls the gene line. She aims to influence politics to ensure the future avoids the devastation she has seen in her visions. The common element behind the two characters is her dealing with the concept of the truth. In Dune, Watson's character manipulates the truth; In Chernobyl, she works to uncover lies.

Chernobyl holds impressive Rotten Tomatoes scores of 95% for critics and 97% for audiences. The same cannot be said for Dune: Prophecy, which debuted lukewarm Rotten Tomatoes scores. Hopefully, Dune: Prophecy will improve upon its initial reception, but it seems unlikely that the series will reach the heights of its predecessor.