[Ed. note: This post contains spoilers for the end of Dune: Prophecy episode 1.]
In our world, most of the lore of Dune is known. While DuneAs a story, it relies on breaking down the complicated complexities of propaganda and prophecy; we, as readers and watchers of the Dune franchise, know more or less what the world contains (give or take a new entry here or there).
But then in walks this son of a bitch named Desmond Hart. Dune: Prophecy and everything changes.
Desmond, played by Travis Fimmel, is an enigma in the world of Dune: Prophecy: Comes from Arrakis, where he claims his crew was attacked by the Emperor's enemies in an effort to damage his reputation. They invite him to stay, though the Emperor's truth-teller knows he's lying: she sees him in the spice-filled deserts of Arrakis staring at a giant sandworm, though we don't know much else about his vision. He wanders around the palace and eventually burns a child using only his mind. In our world, such pyrokinesis is not a known element in the Dune mythos, making Desmond a very curious specimen.
Like all things ProphecyIt's safe to say that their telekinetic powers are an extension of the book's story, rather than something actually found in them. All of which raises the greatest mysteries of Prophecy after a single episode: Who is he, how did he gain these powers, and how will his life find a place in the annals of history? With Dune 10,000 years after the events here, what could Desmond be here to present the franchise's on-screen history?
This early, there are a few different ways we could take it, so here are some of our best guesses at what Desmond might be here to do (and, ultimately, what that might mean he's capable of doing).
He is the beginning of Sardaukar
Image: Warner Media
A desert-trained warrior who was not born into court life but whose experience and skill earns the respect of those of higher rank, with a name like a normal human person? maybe a little also normal?
That's your guy Duncan Idaho, my friend. A character who began life as a swordmaster for House Atreides eventually became something of a mascot for the broader Dune canon. No matter how many times Idaho dies, Brian Herbert continues to find ways to bring him back and put him back at the center of galactic concerns (usually through cloning).
Which is simply to say: if you're doing a Dune story, you have to have a Duncan Idaho. But what is Desmond Hart really doing in this story? I have no idea, but if I had to pull the bong and guess something, it would be this:
Dune: Prophecy has promised us the rise of the Bene Gesserit order, but there are many other pillars of the Dune setting that have yet to form in its time period. And since the show really leans toward the opposite of expectations (supporting the Harkonnens, making the Atreides a bit shady), what if Duncan Idaho instead befriended the Fremen and Desmond? Will Hart end up becoming a pivotal figure in the creation of the Emperor's infamous Sardaukar army? ? —Susana Polo
He is the Kwisatz Haderach (more or less)
Image: Warner Bros.
With only one episode in, this show already seems very interested in providing the origin story for some of the most important tenets of the Bene Gesserit Brotherhood. With that in mind, I'm going to throw out a wild card thought about Desmond: maybe he's the proto-Kwisatz Haderach.
Not that he is real, or even what the Bene Gesserit would eventually turn the concept into, but rather he is the first indication the Brotherhood has that a man could gain magical powers from strange interactions with Shai-Hulud.
Maybe whatever happens in Dune: Prophecy will lead the Bene Gesserit to decide that pursuing a Desmond Hart of their own, one who has been perfectly and selectively bred so that they can have maximum control over him, might be a mission worth undertaking. On top of that, perhaps the idea of Desmond as a powerful supernatural force could help inspire the Brotherhood to create the Missionaria Protectiva as well, giving them the idea of planting the seeds of supernatural belief throughout the universe, even on Arrakis itself. . —Austen Goslin
Image: Sony Photos
Listen, my equation is simple. Desmond Hart spent crucial time on Arrakis. Arrakis, as is known, is full of desert. Deserts, as is known, are hot. And so is whatever cursed fire magic Desmond used on that poor kid. The desert is hot + the fire is hot = Desmond is using the power of the desert. It's simple mathematics. —Pete Volk