Quick Links
Denis Villeneuve’sDunemovies have been a resounding success. The director, who’s claimed his throne as the current king of sci-fi cinema, showed us a much more somber take on the book than what we saw from David Lynch back in 1984.
The movies are long and sometimes slow, dripping with atmosphere and boasting some of the most impressive special effects available in cinema nowadays. Despite the two lengthy parts, a lot of corners had to be cut when it comes to the plot, and both movies can be a bit hard to digest for people unfamiliar with the original Frank Herbert novel. In this piece, we’ll go over Dune: Part 2’s ending, and what you might’ve missed.
What Happens At The End Of Dune: Part 2?
The ending of the second Dune movie directed by Villeneuve differs slightly from the book, but leaves us at a very similar point. Both movies prepare us for what is to come in the future:the Holy War. Paul Atreides is fulfilling the prophecy, which he rejected as a fabrication made by the Bene Gessirit, willingly. After drinking the water of life, and consequently achieving seemingly complete prescience, Paul describes the road he is taking as the narrow one that is available to him.
Despite opposing his mother and the Mother Superior throughout the two movies,he becomes the Lisan Al-Gaib, the Kwisatz Haderach, and becomes the catalyst for the holy war. As the leader of the Fremen rebellion, Paul took down the Harkonnen and became theruler of Arrakis.With the monopoly of the spice on the tips of his fingers, and the betrayal of the Padisha Emperor clear for anyone to see, he uses the opportunity tobecome Emperor himself.
The other great houses of the Lansraad refuse to acknowledge him as emperor and, before the screen fades to black, we see spaceships leaving the planet, as the Holy War begins. Paul Atreides marries Princess Irulan and Chani is seen roaming the desert on top of a Shai’Hulud.
How Did We Get Here?
Dune’s main plot is aprophecy. Both the book and the movies essentially tell us where we’re headed, giving us the general destination. What’s left to discover by both reading the book and watching the two Villeneuve movies is how we get to that destination.
That might be a bit reductive of the plot, though. Paul Atreides becomes the Kwisatz Haderach and the Lisan Al-Gaib, buthe wasn’t meant to be the prophecy’s chosen one. According to the Bene Gesserit plan, Lady Jessica should’ve mothered a daughter, who would then marryFeyd-Rautha. These two would have a son, who would be the secret organization’s most likely candidate to become the chosen one.
Jessica’s defiance of the institution serves as the catalyst for everything that happens, and she is thekey piece in the entire puzzle. The Harkonnen do not outright kill Paul and Jessica because she is Bene Gesserit, and no great house is free of their influence. She is the reason why Paul is alive for long enough to see the Fremen.
When he starts becoming one with the people of the desert, Jessica keeps pulling the strings behind the scenes, conditioning the people to more easilyaccept her son as the Lisan Al-Gaib.
Jessica is a very interesting character, and one that Villeneuve portrays with an undertone of villainy. She seems ruthless and appears to have a complete disregard for any loss of life that might happen as the prophecy unfolds. It isn’t clear how muchAlia, her unborn daughter, influences her throughout the movie.
Drinking the water of life while being pregnant shocks even the previous reverend mother that was with the Fremen, implying thatthey’d done something horrible. How much of the knowledge of the previous reverend mother went to Alia? And how much of it went to Jessica? Do they both share the same amount of knowledge?
The transformation in Paul after drinking the water of life was clear, but much better understood than his mother’s. He doesn’t become a fanatic dedicated to making the prophecy come true, he simply seems to surrender to it being the only path that he can follow.He knows how many people will diewhen he starts the Holy War, yet, after supposedly seeing all possible paths to the future, it is the best choice, or perhaps the only choice he has.
Predestination
The main theme of Dune: Part 2, and the one that brings us to the ending that we witness,is Predestination. The Merriam-Webster dictionary defines predestination as “the doctrine that God in consequence of his foreknowledge of all events infallibly guides those who are destined for salvation”. Predestination here, then, serves two purposes.
Paul Atreides' path was predetermined. As soon as Jessica made the decision to have a son instead of a daughter,Paul was destinedto become the Kwisatz Haderach, the chosen one.Providence and thousands of years of Bene Gessirit influence guided his steps, while her mother gave him the final nudges he might’ve needed.
Dune gives us the impression thatthis destiny, the Holy War prophecy, is unavoidable. It is the will of something stronger than any of the characters, even the ascended Paul, and one that cannot be fought back against.
If this is anything more than an impression, we can’t answer yet. We’ll leave that for the adaptation of Dune: Messiah, if Denis Villeneuve gets the chance to tackle it.
The only character who seems determined to fight the prophecy,even after Paul surrenders to it, isChani. The protagonist of most of Paul’s vision, and, at least apparently, the onlyFremen in the movie who doesn’t accept himas the Lisan Al-Gaib. Given how much the director changed the character’s role from what we read in the books, we’re not sure where he is going with this. She is perhaps the most crucial character in Paul’s story heading forward, so we will definitely see more from her.
The second purpose of Predestination in Dune: Part 2 isPaul Atreide’sascension to a sort of godhood. He is seen by the Fremen as a prophet and ends the movie acting like one.
Going back to the Merriam-Webster definition of the word, after drinking the water of life, Paul attained “foreknowledge of all events”. This, theoretically, allows him to see the only path forward. With this knowledge in hand, he"infallibly guides those who are destined for salvation".
Before the credits roll, we take one last look at the young prophet, with a bloodied head and a new-found stoicism. As he stares at the floor, blank-eyed, he gives his followers their orders:“Lead them to paradise”.
