Hugo pop! | Game of Thrones (spicy and blue) from space

First item on the agenda. The futuristic miniseries Dune : Prophecywhich comes out Sunday at 9 p.m. on the Crave platform, does not achieve the mastery and beauty of the two films from the Dune universe directed by Denis Villeneuve.

Second thing to clarify. Dune : Prophecy is to the feature films of Denis Villeneuve what House of the Dragon is at Game of Thrones : an ante-episode. An origin story, like superhero universes produce by the ton.

And third point to clarify. Dune : Prophecy still offers quality science fiction, intelligent and rich entertainment which will not disappoint the faithful of the American writer Frank Herbert, creator of this teeming world where religion, science and power collide.

Dune : Prophecywhich is called Dune: The Prophecy in French version, has only six episodes of around sixty minutes each, which will arrive in dribs and drabs on Crave every Sunday evening. Impossible, therefore, to swallow everything in a weekend, unless you accumulate them and wait a month and a half.

If you like complex plots Game of Thronesa series punctuated by political conspiracies and noble families who unite to dominate their world, Dune : Prophecy will fall into your ropes.

This miniseries, adapted from the novel The community of sisters co-written by Brian Herbert (Frank Herbert’s eldest son), resembles Iron Thronebut in space, with beige, gray and black suits that the Zara chain could sell today.

What about the story now? It takes place 10,000 years before the events depicted in the films Dune and focuses on the founding of the powerful female sect that would become the Bene Gesserit, this matriarchal order that operates in the shadows and governs the destiny of humanity, nothing less.

The miniseries focuses on two sisters of House Harkonnen, Valya and Tula, who educate and train their young students in the style of Harry Potter’s Philosopher’s Stone. Guardian of the peace of the galaxy, Mother Superior Valya (excellent Emily Watson) is stern, devoted to her students and driven by an intense thirst for revenge, while her sister Tula (Olivia Williams) seems more gentle and human, which hides some trauma, it’s a classic.

The members of this sorority, ancestor of the Bene Gesserit, then flee to other planets to advise – and influence – the emperors. These strong and gifted women, often veiled, possess supernatural powers and extrasensory faculties which allow them to detect lies even more effectively than Patrice L’Ecuyer in 1992.

They are also called truth tellers, because they decode the slightest imperceptible sign that betrays their interlocutor. Between them, the followers of this mystical order, always dressed in black, speak to each other in code, weave their web in the four corners of the universe and exchange precious information.

In the movies Dunethe mother of Paul Atréides (Timothée Chalamet), Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), was trained in the Bene Gesserit, if that sheds any light on you.

Obviously, whoever talks about the Dune saga also talks about bloody conflicts. The followers of the Bene Gesserit will hit a wall with the arrival of the mysterious and dangerous soldier Desmond Hart, capable of killing his enemies – and even children! – with the strength of his mind.

The soldier Desmond Hart, disembarked from the planet Arrakis, will quickly gain the trust of Emperor Javicco Corrino, who will exclude the women of the Bene Gesserit from his circle of trust. This will displease the austere Mother Superior Valya, who sees her plan to create the superior human derailed.

It is possible to dive into Dune : Prophecy without having seen the films or read the books of Frank Herbert. A few winks will escape you, but the heart of the story remains accessible. Yes, there is a sandworm and blue eyes from the Spice, which are however secondary to the great war brewing in the Imperium.

The first episode, very slow, is quite confusing and it picks up in the second hour, fortunately. There reigns in this series a coldness and an austerity that the films of Denis Villeneuve do not exude. And when characters give in to their sexual urges, we more or less believe it: it looks more like a bad soap opera than good science fiction.

Actually, Dune : Prophecy is exactly like House of the Dragon. Not as good as the original, less scattered, but still catchy. That’s the intoxicating power of the Spice, I guess.