DUNE PART 2 Explained: The Biggest Questions Answered

After releasing my full movie breakdown for Denis Villeneuve's Dune Part 2, there were still many questions and plot points to address towards the world that the director adapted for the big screen. From the ending, to the Bene Gesserit plan, to the adaptation of Alia Atreides and the interesting details on Geidi Prime, I'm going to be answering some of the biggest questions from Dune Part 2 in the aim to help the non-reader discover things they missed and also aid those who are familiar with th

e novel to compare the events that took place. This analysis will contain spoilers, so if you do happen to be someone who hasn't seen the film yet, then I would recommend watching this video after you've seen it. Also, a lot of things I discuss continue from what I explained in my breakdown the other day, so I would definitely suggest checking out that video first, which is linked in the description. Before I get into it though, if you want to keep up to date on any of my upcoming content on Dun

e Part 2 and beyond, then don't forget to support this upload by giving it a like rating, subscribing to the channel and turning on your notifications. But without further a do, lets dive into some of the biggest questions from Dune Part 2 explained. Starting with the ending section of Dune Part 2, there will be many who come out the film and see those final scenes, asking, what's next? And it will be both the book readers who recognise changes from Frank Herbert's book as well as non-book reade

rs who want a better idea of where this might be going. Well, Paul's harsh decision to initiate conflict against the Great Houses who reject his claim to the throne, aims to showcase the depth of his transformation throughout the film. By rallying the Fremen to partake in a brutal crusade on his behalf, Paul is fulfilling the prophecy unveiled in his visions, a prophecy that predicted widespread devastation throughout the galaxy. Following the ingestion of the Water of Life, Paul's dedication to

achieving triumph through the 'narrow path', intensified his desire to seize control of the Empire. So despite the losses suffered by the Fremen, Paul remains steadfast in his quest for power. We get a short final battle, that just like the book, is done this way to showcase the destructive potential of the fremen, wiping out the sardaukar army and coming face to face with the true oppresors of this story. And when we reach those fateful last scenes, there becomes a slight deviation from the la

st pages of the novel. That's because in the film adaptation, Paul is portrayed as embracing the Fremen's participation in their violent holy war. In the book, he faces down the guild, who aren't shown, and it ends with him ascending and being in full control, while knowing that he's powerless to prevent the bloody jihad. That holy war itself occurs between the events of the novels Dune and Dune Messiah, and it seems that by ending the movie with a more direct acknowledgment of going to war, tha

t it adheres to that extended timeline. And yet with part 2 closing on Paul overtly unleashing the war, it still gets to the heart of the book's ending by conveying that there is a significant price that comes with his victory. Another aspect to this ending that many readers will question, is how the final moments depict the character alteration of Chani. At the very end we see that Chani leaves Paul's side and embarks on a solitary journey into the expansive desert by calling a sandworm. She sh

ows her preparedness to confront the forthcoming challenges and it becomes evident that for the time being, she is rejecting Paul's reckless pursuit of power. Earlier in the film, Jessica expresses her sympathy towards Paul as Chani chooses to distance herself. This decision is a result of Paul's actions to embrace a path of religious extremism, which strongly contradicts Chani's fremen beliefs in the film. However, in a poignant moment, Paul assures his mother by saying, "She'll come to underst

and... I've seen it". This statement alludes to the future events portrayed in Dune Messiah, the second novel, which again unfolds many years later, where complications unfold between Chani and Princess Irulan. So director Denis Villeneuve is essentially setting this in motion, with the drama of the Messiah storyline set to be a big driving force in that adaptation. At the end of the first book, it doesn't show us Chani leaving Paul, rather, she's upset that he will marry Irulan. Jessica then co

mforts her by saying that while the two of them are just concubines, History will remember them as wives. So with Messiah in mind, he did make alterations, but you could also argue that those changes were made because the director wanted more of an emotional anchor in Part 2. Paul's rise must be depicted as a struggle, not a cause for rejoicing, and the most effective approach to engage the audience is by utilizing Chani. If she simply agrees with everything, she becomes less compelling as a cha

racter and it results in a lack of tension onscreen. As the emotional core of the film, Chani must be the character who perceives situations realistically, mirroring the audience's perspective towards a messiah like Paul. The Fremen prepare to launch their holy war against the great houses, and this creates further anticipation for the next film's exploration of forceful messiahs. The impending conflict sets the tone for that story and adds more depth to the storyline. A more optimistic conclusi

on with Paul and Chani's embrace would have felt insincere as his army gears up for violence. The first book left it ambiguous, and until we got to Messiah, we weren't able to fully appreciate the story the Herbert had in mind. So really, it's a good move on the director's part to tap into the tragic nature of the next part. The next question that many had towards the events of Part 2 was the depiction of both the Fremen in this adaptation and their disbutes surrounding the prophesy of the Arrak

is paradise. When we get to Sietch Tabr near the beginning of the film, just like in the book we learn just how precious water is to the fremen, but also, how for this particular adaptation, Denis has heightened the idea of dispute within the tribe. When Paul and his mother arrive, we learn that the southern fremen believe that he is the prophesised Lisan Al Gaib, while the other more northern tribes don't believe in that. Stilgar tries to get the council at the sietch to have faith in the proph

esy after describing to them what happened to Jamis at the end of part one and detailing that Paul already knows a fair bit of their customs. But Stilgar struggles to get anyone to believe in what he's saying. Paul also tells his mother during the opening that this is her doing because the Bene Gesserit have planted this prophesised story. But in the moments after between Jessica and Stilgar, we come to learn about the importance of water and how that connects to the Fremen's prophesy. As the wa

ter in Jamis's body is extracted and added to an entire lake of water in the cave, Stilgar explains the importance of these lakes to Jessica. Jessica learns from him that this is one of thousands of water caches carefully created by the Fremen to help terraform the planet and that the fremen have calculated exactly how much water they need to change the face of Arrakis and bring back a great paradise. Liet-Kynes from the first film, also known in the book as being Chani's parent, was one who hel

ped imbue the Fremen with the ultimate dream of turning Arrakis into a garden world. And thus, Stilgar and half of the Fremen believe that the Lisan Al Gaib could make this dream a reality. When they see the signs and when they see that everything is going as the prophesies predicted, the southern fremen become more convinced that Paul is the Lisan Al Gaib. And the Fremen from the north who don't believe, see it all as lies and fake prophesies. The idea of the north and southern fremen wasn't in

Frank Herbert's book, and rather, certain fremen didn't agree with certain aspects of the prophesy and Paul's introduction with them. But alligning these varying perspectives with different fremen tribes, I think Villeneuve has done so for multiple reasons. One is to make the ending with Chani and the Fremen scenes much more dramatic, and the other is connected to delivering on the major theme of the book, the idea of being skeptical towards charismatic leaders. And this brings us to how the Be

ne Gesserit's plan connects to this and what central figures of the order do to keep power in this adaptation. The Lisan Al Gaib prophecy, although a tool employed by the Bene Gesserit for manipulation, pales in comparison to the genuine power possessed by the Kwisatz Haderach, which explains Paul's remarkable success in converting others into believers. So the line between propaganda and authentic prophecy becomes increasingly blurred. This was not limited to the planet Arrakis, and the Bene Ge

sserit did not specifically intend for Paul to fulfill this prophecy. Their objective was to create a Messiah-like figure whom they could manipulate and exert their influence over. Both Paul Atreides and Feyd Rautha were intended to play a role in this creation, but as depicted in the film, events unfold beyond the control of the Bene Gesserit. A great example of how the Bene Gesserit operates is shown through the events that take place between Austin Butler's Feyd Rautha and Lea Seydoux's Margo

t Fenring. After the Reverend Mother Helen Mohaim states to Princess Irulan on Planet Kaitain that they have other prospects for the Kwisatz Haderach, we learn that one of those is Feyd Rautha on Geidi prime. He does show potential and impresses Margot Fenring during a gladiatorial fight, but it's stated in the book that the Bene Gesserit wish he was more of a force for good like an Atreides figure. Still, with things worsening on Arrakis for the emperor, they chose to seek out Feyd as a potenti

al prospect. Margot seduces Feyd soon after his birthday fight, puts him through the gom jabbar test and describes soon after to Mohiam and Irulan on Kaitain that his bloodline is now secured. And that's because she has become pregnant with Feyd's child. She informs the Reverend Mother that he can be controlled because he's sexually vulnerable, giving us a good idea of exactly how the Bene Gesserit operate and control those that are apart of their plan. More than that, it helped to communicate t

he hold that the Bene Gesserit have on powerful people, depicting the sexual control they possess, a strong part of their identity. It explains how the breeding plan works and why they’re not freaking out over losing Paul as they have more candidates. It also helps to explain how Feyd is a dark mirror to Paul, and while he and the Harkonnens are described as animals, they are seen as human to the Bene Gesserit standard. Speaking of Geidi Prime, there is an excellent black and white, or infrared

sequence in the mid part of the film, where a few questions come to mind for both book readers and those not familiar with the material. Beginning with the black and white footage, it's worth noting that the outdoor scenery on Geidi Prime is influenced by an infrared color scheme. As explained in the film during the introduction of the gladiatorial fight, this is attributed to the presence of a black sun orbiting the planet. I found this to be a clever detail that accentuated the harsh and merci

less nature of Geidi Prime and the Harkonnens. Consider this perspective, the infrared sunlight could account for why the people of Geidi Prime predominantly wear black and white attire, as well as their brutal behavior. Besides the influence of corporate greed, it's possible that this peculiar sun affects the behavior of all creatures on the planet. Similar to how a lack of vitamin D in certain regions can impact one's mood or lead to depression. In Frank Herbert's Dune, everything is interconn

ected with ecology, therefore the planets shape the characteristics and culture, as exemplified by the contrasting traits of the Fremen and Sardaukar. Hence, I found it ingenious that they utilized this visual storytelling technique to convey that Geidi Prime possesses an infrared spectrum sun. I also enjoyed observing subtle visual elements, such as the Bene Gesserit's robes turning pure white under the Infrared light, and the abstract appearance of fireworks following Feyd's celebration. The o

verall aesthetic of their planet was reminiscent of H.R. Giger's style, effectively highlighting the contrast between Geidi Prime, Arrakis, Selusa Secundus and the emperor's planet. But moving on, there are other inquiries that book enthusiasts might have post the scenes on Geidi Prime, with a significant one revolving around the alterations in the poison scenario and whether Feyd's blades possessed the same attributes as depicted in the book. Similar to the final gladiator he confronts in the m

ovie, in the novel, that gladiator is an apprehended Atreides soldier. The gladiators are meant to be under the influence of drugs, yet the audience can discern from his actions that this is not the case. In Herbert's narrative, this scheme is a collaborative effort between both Feyd and Thufir Hawat to enhance Feyd's triumph. We discover that this mentioned gladiator almost kills Feyd, and at a crucial moment, Feyd utters the word "Scum". Only Feyd and Hawat know that the slave has been conditi

oned to weaken upon hearing that specific word. And seizing the opportunity, Feyd eliminates the gladiator with a poisoned blade, a move that showcases Feyd's manipulation as he chose to poison the long blade instead of the smaller one. The smaller blade is typically poisoned according to Harkonnen tradition. However, in the film adaptation, the focus was not on the poisoned blade element of the scene. They focussed on the administered posion before hand, and even that was altered significantly.

The responsibility for the Atreides opposition not being poisoned fell on the Baron, and instead of enhancing Feyd's comfort by poisoning the opposing blade, this aspect was completely removed. In my view, this change contributed to making Feyd's victory appear more deserved to the audience, and in the following moments, it highlighted the conflict between the Baron and Feyd in a different manner than seen in the book. I believe this alteration was a positive one, as it raises the greater possi

bility that Feyd could be the prophesied figure. A question that comes up surrounding the opposite side of that prophecy, involves the reason for Paul's transformation into the Kwisatz Haderach, as well as significant details we learn in the Water of Life scenes. In the film, we learn that the Water of Life is created by submerging a small sandworm in water. In order for the Bene Gesserit and the Kwisatz Haderach to access their "other memory," they must endure the agony. They consume a poison a

nd must then regulate their own internal body chemistry to neutralize it. The level of control, the agony, and the stress caused by the "worm juice" all contribute to unlocking their genetic memory. However, with Paul it goes a step further because as a man, this process essentially opens his "inner eye," allowing him to gain the ability to see the future in its entirety. As a result, Paul's attitude undergoes a change because he now possesses clear foresight. Suddenly, he is able to envision al

l possible future scenarios with clarity. As we discover later in the film, Paul realizes that he must consume the Water of Life in order to fully embrace the Lisan al Gaib prophecy and ultimately gain the loyalty of the fremen. Jessica, who previously consumed the water and experienced heightened awareness, discloses this fact to him earlier in the movie. And when Paul drinks the water, he gains full access to his prescience, but foresees that various paths lead to their enemies' victory. Never

theless, there is a narrow path that offers a way through, forcing him to decide between annihilation or following this specific route. Given all the events leading up to that moment, Paul naturally opts for the latter. And it's crucial to note that a pivotal narrative point that compels Paul to drink the water and undergo his transformation is Feyd's destruction of Sietch Tabr, along with the implication that the southern sietches are the next likely targets. This accelerates Paul's decision re

garding the water intake and after consuming it, Paul comes to the realization that the Holy War will persist regardless of his actions. It's not that he desires to become a villain, but rather he succumbs to the inevitable path. It's important to highlight that Paul undergoes a similar profound change in the concluding chapters of the book, albeit with slight variations in the sequence of events. In the book, the revelation of his and Chani's child being killed by the Sauderkor during a raid on

Sietch Tabr occurs just before Paul decides to attack Arrakeen. Denis Villeneuve's adaptation alters the events so that Tabr is destroyed first, leading to Paul taking the water of life and the process of his transformation. Both examples are effective in their own right, and while the death of their child may have had a stronger impact, the removal of the two-year time skip before that meant that other aspects needed changing and somewhat enhancing. The removal of Paul and Chani's child was ye

s unfortunate, but his significance to this part of the story was mainly surrounding its death, and yet there were still other ways to highlight this grief. The change was necessary to ensure coherence in the adaptation and the other required alterations. I will be delving deeper into this topic in my upcoming video on the major differences but as I said, I think most of the changes worked. Regarding Paul's water of life scene, one question that also arised was how Chani was able to bring Paul b

ack from his trance during his Water of Life intake. Lady Jessica summons Chani to visit Paul, unaware that he has consumed the water and is unconscious. Paul's life signs are barely detectable, and Chani realizes his attempt to consume the Water of Life. This angers her, and Lady Jessica employs the voice to compel Chani to help him. And during this event, Stilgar recites a prophecy stating that the Lisan Al Gaib will be revived using Desert Spring tears, which we learn is Chani's fremen name.

Under the control of the voice, Chani combines her tear with a small amount of the water of life, touches his lips, and it instantly revives him. This alteration in the film serves to emphasize the tragedy of Chani and Paul. Chani possessed a secret name that aligned with the prophecy, and her tears have the power to awaken the Kwisatz Haderach after consuming the Water of Life. However, this does not necessarily imply that she had a predetermined role to fulfill, as it simply reflects the hope

of her helping if the Kwisatz Haderach emerged. Despite Chani's opposition to the prophecy, she is ultimately compelled to participate in its fulfillment. Both Paul and Chani find themselves coerced by their respective communities and even family members to assume roles they do not desire. Coming to one of the last questions, many who have read the book were stunned to see how Denis Villeneuve tackled Alia Atreides and what thet meant for the structure of the film. It's important to highlight th

at Lady Jessica plays a more significant role in this adaptation, with Alia still in the womb. Jessica takes the lead in advocating for Paul as the lisan al gaib. And despite this, her relationship with Alia remains impactful. The alteration of Paul's sister effectively maintains the character's strangeness and sense of power from the novel. Both Paul and Jessica interact with Alia, yet in the book, Alia is born, she possesses adult-like communication skills, and plays a crucial role in the clim

ax by killing Paul's grandfather, the Baron Vladimir Harkonnen. Villeneuve retains the eerie essence of Alia's character in this new form, as she can communicate like an adult from the womb. Yet the film hints also hints at more developments to come, as Paul envisions his unborn sister in the future, portrayed by Anya Taylor Joy. She reveals family truths and expresses her love for him, while gazing over ocens of water on a future Arrakis. This alteration appears to have been motivated by variou

s factors, including the desire to present a more serious depiction of the character compared to silly one in a previous adaptation. By doing so, it made it easier to convey her power, her uniqueness, and hint at her significant role in the future. This change also led to a major adjustment in the timeline of events, as Alia being unborn resulted in the conclusion of the story unfolding over a shorter period of time. This alteration had a ripple effect, impacting other elements such as the absen

ce of Paul and Chani's child and the portrayal of Paul's training prior to his ultimate test. The scene where Rabban visits the Baron, expressing concern over their harvesting operations, now serves as the replacement point for the two-year time skip. This change in the film to a shorter time frame allows for the development of Paul and Chani's relationship and the destruction of Harkonnen harvesters by the fremen over the subsequent months. I am aware that some didn't like this alteration, as t

hey desired a more natural portrayal of Paul's training and the handling of characters like Alia, as depicted in the book. However, in my opinion, the time jump was executed exceptionally well, and while watching the movie, I never questioned the progression of Paul and Chani during that period because each scene surrounding the smaller time jump felt authentic. It did not feel forced to me. Nevertheless, I do acknowledge that a two-year jump would likely have enhanced the effectiveness of this

aspect too. So ultimately, changes had to be made to ensure a more organic representation of the conclusion, and I believe Denis Villeneuve did that. In my upcoming video on the major differences, I will delve deeper into these changes and explain why Denis made them. This will include the removal of characters such as Thufir Hawat and Count Fenring, as well as alterations to the role of the Guild Navigators, among other story points. But that was my video discussing some of the questions that a

rose from Dune Part 2. I'm sure there will be many other things that pop up on rewatch and other examples which you guys may have picked out, so don't forget to let me know down below in the comments section. For much more videos and news on Denis Villeneuve's Dune universe, then subscribe to the channel and turn on your notifications. Also if you enjoyed this video remember to leave a like rating and follow me on social media via the links in the description. But anyway, I hope you guys enjoyed

it, I've been Cortex and as always make some noise.