Dunes: Prophecy – What's up with the whales?

Key takeaways

• Fur-Whale in Dune: Prophecy hints at Harkonnens' path to restoring their family name.
• The program refers to the exploitation of indigenous peoples in relation to whaling.
• Dune: The Prophecy demonstrates world building through the commodification of exotic creatures.

In its first three episodes, Dunes: Prophecy has already given his audience some compelling visuals, but one image stands out as odd. In the opening credits, between shots of spices, planets and DNA, viewers are treated to an image of a whale-sized corpse lying in an empty field. When they made their first appearance in the new introduction starting in episode two, they seemed almost too random. But from the following episode, their importance becomes clear. So what's the deal with those animals, and how do they fit into the world of the show?

Episode one, “The Hidden Hand”, introduces viewers to the situation of the Harkonnen family, 10,000 years before the birth. of Dune Hero, Paul Atreides. After a war against the “thinking machines” known as the Butlerian Jihad, the once-powerful Harkonnens are forced to live as outcasts after believing they have abandoned the fight. This loss of status motivates of prophecy The protagonists, Valya and Tula Harkonen, to restore their family name by any means necessary. It looks like those whales will, at least in part, have a hand in bringing back some of their influence.

Harkonnens and whales

fans of the dune Novelists know that the “fur-whale” is an established part of the series, and Dunes: Prophecy shows its beginning. During a party scene in episode one, then-Baron Harkonnen tries to engage Emperor Korino in conversation about the lucrative whaling industry, before he sets him aside for more pressing matters. The emperor's presence at this gathering indicates that the Harkonnens had gained at least some degree of status. However, this line seems short on one side, or could be a quick joke at the Harkonnen family's expense. At the time, the audience had no context for this comment.

This changes in episode three, “Sisters Above All.” Viewers are transported 30 years into the past, getting a glimpse of the planet where the Harkonnens were exiled, Lankyville. It's a cold, gray planet, where the main source of industry seems to be catching and processing these beloved whales. One shot shows people systematically removing fur and blubber from a group of whale carcasses, exposing the massive rib cages below.

This image evokes the indigenous peoples of the far northern hemisphere, such as the Inuit and Inupiaq, and their relationship with whales. They hunted animals and used all their parts for food, warmth and tools. Many of these cultures revere the whale as a sacred creature and giver of life, and it is believed that humans cannot exist without it. This approach is a far cry from the commercial whaling industry that arose in Europe and America in the 18th and 19th centuries, which saw whales as a resource to be exploited by the upper classes. Their oil was used to light lamps, and their bones were used for glass.

Dune: of prophecy Rooted in reality

As seen in this flashback, the Harkonnens seem to be outsiders in the world of whales. They live among the people of Lankyville, but many hide their shameful identities from detection. But 30 years later in the series' timeline, the family seems to have figured out how to turn whaling into a major industry. Dealing with the stigma of their family name, is enough to get them a seat at the table again. This is a pattern seen throughout history on planet Earth as well. Colonial powers have often found ways to exploit local populations and transform their livelihoods into big business, while simultaneously disenfranchising those people.

In the United States, local people have hunted buffalo for centuries, using their meat for warmth and their meat for food, but always with a healthy respect for the animal and an eye to preserving its population for future generations. But in the 18th and 19th centuries, a small number of settlers began to discover how to get very rich from the fur trade. They hunted buffalo often to extinction for their hides, often leaving their skinned carcasses to rot. This is an example of how, like most great science fiction, Dunes: Prophecy Rooted in recognizable reality. It draws from a history that hits surprisingly close to home.

Viewers will have to wait and see how the Herkonens return to the upper echelons of society (and inhabit their new homeworld, Gedi Prime). But based on the brief commentary from episode one and the evidence from episode three's flashbacks, it looks like those whales will play a major role. It is already clear that the Harkonnens will stop at nothing to restore their name, so the mass exploitation of animals as a commodity seems within the realm of possibility. This description is also evidence of world creation Dune: of prophecy Creators, where every detail matters. Every strange, exotic creature adds to the story.