Dune: Prophecy is the first spinoff in the ongoing cinematic Dune universe, which began with Denis Villeneuve’s award-winning adaptation in 2021. The show takes place 10,000 years before the birth of those movies’ protagonist, Paul Atreides, instead following the mysterious order of physically-powered women known as the Bene Gesserit. Dune: Prophecy has many characters who are related to Dune movie characters, but otherwise it’s a completely separate story that thrives on its own merits with an engaging story of politics, betrayal, and bloodshed.

One of the major families in Dune: Prophecy is House Richese, a powerful noble house whom the Bene Gesserit have arranged to marry into the Imperium through House Corrino’s eldest daughter, Princess Ynez. This alliance is supposed to further the sisterhood’s plans to place a member of the Bene Gesserit on the throne someday, but things quickly take a turn in the show’s first...