Dune: Prophecy’s Unintentional Nod to Chadwick Boseman’s Iconic Black Panther Scene Will Make MCU Fans Nostalgic
- The second episode of Dune: Prophecy chronicling the origins of Bene Gesserit has dropped recently.
- The episode sees Sister Lila go through the life-threatening Agony trial.
- Black Panther sees T'Challa undergo a ceremony before his coronation that is very similar to the Agony procedure.
When Denis Villeneuve laid the foundations of the Dune franchise for the big screen, no one had imagined that it would get to a point where Dune: Prophecy, a whole series, would be made to adapt one of Frank Herbert’s novels. Not that anyone is complaining about delving into this fascinating part of the universe.
The Dune universe is expanding further on the screens as each new episode of the HBO series gets released. The last thing one would expect is seeing a scene in this show, which reminds them of a very similar one in Black Panther, which is a part of the Marvel Cinematic Universe, an entirely different universe.
Episode 2 of Dune: Prophecy Sees the Youngest Member of the Sisterhood Go Through an Agonizing Trial
Dune: Prophecy serves as a prequel to Denis Villeneuve’s first Dune movie. It explores the origins of the Bene Gesserit, a religious, political and social group who possess superhuman powers and mental abilities.
In the recently released second episode of the show, the youngest member of the Sisterhood, Lila (Chloe Lea) undergoes the Agony, a crucial rite within the Bene Gesserit training which helps a Sister ascend to the Reverend Mother status.
However, there is a catch in this as Lila, an orphan raised by the Sisterhood, is tricked into believing that she can meet mentally her mother among other female ancestors. As the trial begins, Lila is administered with a lethal poison in the form of an eye drop, and she is required to metabolize it on a molecular level to save her own life.
She feels immense physical pain while her body breaks down the poison and mentally meets her ancestors, who use her to get their message across. By the end of the episode, she appears to have died as the spirit of Reverend Mother Dorotea claims her life to avenge her own death at the hands of a young Valya Harkonnen.
Black Panther Features an Eerily Similar Ceremony Before T’Challa’s Formal Coronation as the King of Wakanda
T’Challa undergoes a ritual to access the ancestral plane after he becomes Black Panther in the eponymous film, released in 2018. The movie saw Chadwick Boseman‘s T’Challa crowned as the king of Wakanda after his father, King T’Chaka’s unfortunate death, but not without being challenged by Killmonger, who intends to begin a global revolution.
T’Challa drinks an extract made from the Heart-Shaped Herb, a plant consisting of mystical properties due to its exposure to vibranium. It enhances his physical abilities and connects him to the spiritual plane where the spirits of his ancestors reside. The ceremony proceeds further as he is buried in red sand.
Mentally, he reaches the ancestral plane where he encounters his father and seeks his guidance as he confronts his insecurities. This interaction helps T’Challa reflect on his responsibilities as both a leader and a son, and prepares him emotionally and spiritually. The ritual is followed by a grand celebration during which T’Challa is crowned as King of Wakanda.
