Warning: spoilers for Dune: Prophecy Episode 1 - “The Hidden Hand” are in play.
Folks, Dune Prophecy has finally arrived on HBO amid the 2024 TV schedule. Already, viewers have seen two huge deaths, and a huge harbinger of potential reckoning play out - both of which were at the hands of Travis Fimmell’s Desmond Hart, who intrigues me. Now that we’ve seen “The Hidden Hand” at work, I need to tell you how the Vikings vet has described the role to CinemaBlend. That's because based on what we know about Prophecy, he could shift this universe’s power dynamic in some massive ways.
The Mysterious Desmond’s Movitations, According To Travis Fimmell
Ahead of this weekend’s Dune: Prophecy premiere, I chatted with some of its creative team at New York Comic Con. I specifically had the honor of sitting down with several of the cast members, as well as the shows EPs, and there was a lot to talk about. Although, when it came to Travis Fimmell, that may have been an understatement as, again, his character doesn't hail from either Frank Herbert original texts or Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson’s continuation stories.
At the same time, that unknown nature puts him on the board alongside Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) and his family's dynasty. Which usually means danger in the Dune world.
While this universe is accustomed to change, as we saw with Dune's most substantial changes through recent cinematic history, this is still something worth keeping in mind down the line. That sentiment hits harder after the following answer regarding how Travis Fimmell even began to prep for such a role:
My prep for the job was mainly ‘I’ve gotta make people feel something.’ And the most common feelings that everybody has is sort of hatred or like anger, sexuality, a lot of heart, and people want to be loved. And a lot of relationships in any job, I think. And I think a lot of actors do it where it's just you try to make people love you, you know? And even if you’re maybe wanting revenge, you make them want to love you, so you can hurt 'em.
Travis Fimmell, CinemaBlend
Reading a description like that, you probably wouldn’t be surprised that EPs Allison Schapker and Jordan Goldberg have likened Desmond Hart’s ultimate wild card status to the likes of Rasputin. That exact historical figure was name checked during their interview on the official Dune: Prophecy podcast for HBO.
I see the comparison even more after recalling Travis Fimmell’s remarks above, and it sends my head spinning with possibilities. Which means we need to talk about the crimes committed by this miraculously saved soldier, who may or may not be a precursor to some other figures we haven’t seen on Prophecy just yet.
Why Desmond’s Dune: Prophecy’s Plot Arc Is So Intriguing
Through the power of telekinesis, Desmond Hart actually made two huge kills during “The Hidden Hand”: Reverend Mother Kasha Jinjo (Jihae) and the young Lord Pruwet Richese (Charlie Hodson-Prior). Speaking with Pruwet moments before his death, Desmond tells the young boy that his death is more of a sacrifice than a murder…right before burning both him and Kasha to a crisp from the inside out.
That’s one of those moments that Travis Fimmell described as getting someone to love him, only to hurt ‘em later on; especially through his defense of the young Lord’s possession of outlawed technology. Both parties murdered are connected to Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina), the woman who through her marriage to Lord Pruwet Richese is supposed to guarantee the rule of the Corrino family for centuries - at least according to The Sisterhood at the heart of Dune: Prophecy.
Here we begin to see a puzzle forming, as the Dune series has always been about the two forces Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) warns us about in a portion of her voice over: history and prophecy. Desmond’s place in that dynamic was further fleshed out during my New York Comic Con roundtable, as Dune: Prophecy EP Jordan Goldberg was on hand to say the following:
I mean the archetype that we're playing with is that in the Dune lore in the universe, I think Frank Herbert talks about this a lot, [is] the universe is a very complex thing and there's uncertainty. And people want to kind of make that uncertainty secure or certain, because it's extremely scary. So you have a lot of characters throughout Dune, and in our show in particular, trying to see the future, or say they're seeing the future. And the question is, are they really seeing this reality, or are they creating this reality? Are you doing it on purpose or not? And Desmond is sort of emblematic of that kind of thing.
Jordan Goldberg, CinemaBlend
Desmond has already shown himself to be very anti-Sisterhood in this first chapter of the six-episode arc that's just started. So he definitely feels more like the champion for “History,” while Valya Harkonnen and the Sisterhood are all about “Prophecy.”
To have such a battle in a franchise that has already put two huge sign posts up for what will happen 10,148 years into the future is exciting on a storytelling level; especially with a fresh wildcard being an agent of chaos. Of course, one of the threads that links both of those things together is uncertainty.
And, with that in mind, Travis Fimmell’s other remark during the portion of this conversation just makes Dune: Prophecy even more of a draw for fans versed in the source material or those who have just jumped on board. So take this last teas as something to deal you in for the next seven episodes:
I think that throughout the whole show, if you like riddles, the show is just one big riddle [you’re] trying to work it out. You, I think that's very intriguing for the audience.
Travis Fimmell, CinemaBlend
As someone who's being drawn deeper into this universe with each passing moment, I cannot wait to see how Desmond Hart plays out in the world of Dune. A picture is forming what's truly taking place, and it connects to the Paul Atreides era in a rather interesting way, if my hunches are correct. But, even if they aren't, it'll be fun to see Travis Fimmell's methodical madman continue to do his work during whatever comes next.
Trust that will keep the spice flowing on HBO, and it’s easy to learn how to watch Dune: Prophecy to stay in the know of what’s to come in the distant past. New episodes debut at 9 PM ET on HBO’s Sunday night lineup, but don’t forget that if you have a Max subscription, you can catch each episode on the same night it airs on broadcast. No need for any sacrifices here, unless you consider a monthly fee such a thing.
