Includes MASSIVE SPOILERS for Dune: Prophecy season 1!
Tula Harkonnen lied about having a baby in Bene Gesserit was an extensively powerful organization with deeply rooted influence across the Known Universe, they were the Sisterhood, led by Mother Superior Valya Harkonnen.
Actresses Olivia Williams and Emily Canning play Tula Harkonnen in Dune: Prophecy's cast, allowing audiences to examine Valya's sister at different moments in her life. Tula is committed to the Sisterhood and to her sister's cause, but there's an important conflicted aspect of her that defines much of her arc in season 1. She's committed extreme acts like the atrocity against House Atreides, but she's ultimately less ambitious than Valya, who strives for power and control above all else. This led Tula to keep a major secret from her sister.
Dune: Prophecy has been renewed for a second season by HBO.
Tula Made Valya Believe Her Baby Died In Dune: Prophecy
Tula Gave Away Desmond As A Baby
Desmond Hart is the primary antagonist of Dune: Prophecy season 1, but the HBO series makes it clear from the beginning that there's much more to the character than what meets the eye. Episode 5's ending finally reveals his origin, with Tula using the Sisterhood's banned Thinking Machine technology to access his genetic history, examining his DNA, and connecting him to Houses Harkonnen and Atreides. Tula then realizes that he is her baby whom she conceived with Orry Atreides before ing the Sisterhood decades prior.
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Desmond Hart believes his mother tossed him aside, choosing the Sisterhood over him. However, episode 6's flashbacks reveal that Tula desperately wanted to keep him, but she instead swapped him out with someone else's baby with sca's help. Tula then told Valya that she had lost the child at birth. Valya is sorrowful, though mostly because she was excited by the prospect of a Harkonnen-Atreides child and its genetic potential, which could be used for the Sisterhood's schemes. This is precisely what Tula was apprehensive about.
What Really Happened To Tula's Infant Son After It Was Born
Desmond Lived A Harsh Life And Became A Soldier
Tula Harkonnen's son was swapped to a different family at birth. Tula believed she was giving him off to a kind and loving family so he could have a decent life away from the Sisterhood's politics, but this was the opposite of what happened to Desmond. Desmond Hart lived a terrible life, growing spiteful toward the Sisterhood and his mother for disposing of him and leaving him to fend for himself. He became a survivor, managing to serve twelve tours as a soldier on Arrakis, while most wouldn't even make it through one.
His first action was to kill Pruwet Richese, halting their planned marriage, and killing Sister Kasha, one of Valya's long-time ers.
In Desmond's final tour, he was the sole survivor of a Sisterhood-orchestrated attack and was then swallowed up by a sandworm. His body was recovered by an unknown assailant, and a Thinking Machine was implanted in his eye. With his long-term disgust for the Sisterhood refueled by the recent attack against him and his men, Desmond Hart was the perfect candidate to be used as a weapon against the organization and their plots. His first action was to kill Pruwet Richese, halting their planned marriage, and killing Sister Kasha, one of Valya's long-time ers.
Why Tula Kept Her Son From Valya & The Sisterhood
Tula Didn't Want To Subject Her Son To Valya's Control
It should first be mentioned that Tula Harkonnen is loyal to Valya, as she swore the oath by the ultimatum of the Voice in episode 6's flashbacks. However, there are certain lines even the most dedicated sisters won't cross. Sister sca refuses to kill Javicco Corrino despite Valya's orders, just as Tula hides her son from Valya and sends him away. Tula doesn't want her son to be part of the Sisterhood's plots as she knows it will mean stripping the boy of any autonomy and chance of normalcy.
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As Valya explains to Javicco, the Sisterhood's control runs deep, and the emperor, despite his title, never made a choice of his own in his entire life. Javicco is the prime example of what Desmond Hart's life would have been like had he remained with Tula, never fully in control of his own destiny. Tula believes in the Sisterhood in Dune: Prophecy and is willing to subject her own life to Valya's whims, but she draws the line at subjugating her son to the same fate.
Set in the universe of Frank Herbert's Dune series, Dune: Prophecy, a sci-fi epic, follows the political and spiritual struggles on the desert planet of Arrakis. As factions vie for control of the prized spice melange, a prophesied hero emerges, challenging the balance of power and the fate of the galaxy.
- Cast
- Emily Watson, Jade Anouka, Chris Mason, Sarah-Sofie Boussnina, Shalom Brune-Franklin, Faoileann Cunningham, Aoife Hinds, Chloe Lea, Josh Heuston, Edward Davis, Tabu, Yerin Ha
- Franchise(s)
- Dune
- Seasons
- 1
