Dune: Prophecy Using Succession’s Risky Formula Could Lead the Show to Its Demise For 1 Sole Reason
- Dune: Prophecy explores the origin of the powerful sect, Bene Gesserit.
- Just like Succession, there are no main characters to root for in Dune: Prophecy.
- Fans have begun catching on the shortcomings of the sci-fi show.
The HBO show Dune: Prophecy notably explored the origins of one of the most intriguing elements of the Dune movies, the Bene Gesserit, a fabled sect that seems to possess powers far from human. Fans are well aware that Lady Jessica is a Reverend Mother; by that measure, even her son Paul Atreides is a part of the sect.
As excited as fans have been about this new project that takes a deep dive into the history of the Sisterhood, it is quite likely that they will lose interest soon considering they are trying to implement the formula that another HBO show Succession used. However, history might not be able to repeat itself with this new show following the somewhat same format.
Dune: Prophecy Is Similar to Succession in This One Way and It Is Not Necessarily Good
Succession is one of the most beloved TV shows of this decade, but it is unique in the fact that the characters are irredeemable and fans do not seem to mind that. As the story progresses, the biggest villain of the show turns out to be Logan Roy, the founder of Waystar RoyCo.
Logan makes his own children compete and then punishes them in his own way. Even so, the children never get better which is probably because they do not need to. Considering they are related to one of the biggest media companies in the world, there is hardly anything that they cannot get which makes hard work not look rewarding at all. Moreover, characters outside the Roy family suffer from a severe lack of empathy.
At its core, Dune: Prophecy is essentially a revenge saga set 10,000 years before the events of the Dune movies. It has a female-driven narrative which is quite appreciable, but what is not worth appreciating here is the fact that none of these lead characters really have the audience rooting for them. Both the Harkonnen sisters have done things that are far from noble so far and half of the show (three out of six episodes) is already out.
The irredeemable characters trope worked well for Succession. However, that might not be the case for this sci-fi show because, in the three episodes released so far, nothing game-changing or major has happened so far. Not to mention that the recently released third episode served as a flashback one. At this rate, since fans are still getting used to Dune as a media franchise, they could easily lose their interest and might not ask for a second season at all.
Fans Have Begun to Notice That Dune: Prophecy Is Not That Good After All
Part of the reason behind all the hype Dune: Prophecy has is the success of Denis Villeneuve‘s movies. The movies built the tone for the show. However, there is only so far the movies’ success can carry the show on its back. Even the show’s Rotten Tomatoes ratings are starting to show signs of public dismay.
Now that the initial excitement for it has waned, some fans have begun noticing the faults. Here is what some of them have to say:
That said, the show is not completely in vain and perhaps the first season is just being used as a buildup for the second one. Maybe something game-changing will happen in the next three episodes. Not to mention that the show is a visual treat and the actors are giving phenomenal performances.
Dune: Prophecy is available for streaming on Max.
