WARNING: SPOILERS ahead for Dune: Prophecy episode 3.
A flashback scene of Tula Harkonnen’s shocking massacre of dozens of House Atreides members inDune: Prophecyepisode 3 “Sisterhood Above All” ended with the betrayal of her love interest, Orry Atreides.Dune: Prophecyis a six-part series based on the 2012 novelSisterhood of Dune, which was written by originalDuneauthor Frank Herbert’s son, Brian, and Kevin J. Anderson. The story takes place more than10,000 years before the rise of Paul Atreidies, which is chronicled inDenis Villenueve’sDune(2020) andDune: Part Two(2024).Dune: Prophecyreveals theorigins of the powerful shadow sisterhood known as the Bene Gesseritand how they manipulated the fate of humankind.
Dune: Prophecyepisode 1 “The Hidden Hand"introduced Emily Watson’s Valya Harkonnen, a fierce and calculated leader, and her biological sister, Tula Harkonnen.Dune: Prophecyepisode 2 revealswhat happened to Lila and her grandmother, Reverend Mother Dorotea, after Tula and Valya Harkoennen encouraged her to prematurely endure a life-threatening ritual known as The Agony. InDune: Prophecyepisode 3, Tula takes Lila’s life into her own hands aftershe apparently died during The Agony ritualand tries to resurrect her through the use of forbidden technology. Years before,Tula enacted revenge on House Atredies for the death of her brother, Griffin.
New episodes ofDune: Prophecyrelease every Sunday at 9 PM on HBO & MAX.
How Tula Killed The House Atreides Members In Dune: Prophecy Episode 3
Tula poisoned all the Atredies, saving Orry for last
Valya and Tula Harkonnen dedicated their lives to avenging their family name and their brother Griffin’s death, who was presumably killed by Vorian Atredies. This further fueled their hatred for House Atreides and Vorian, who had previously accused a Harkonnen of cowardice after the Battle of Corrin. While Valya went off to train with the Sisterhood, Tula concealed her true identity and “fell in love” with Orry Atreides on the Atriedes' home planet of Caladan. Orry and Tula had met at a market where Orry sparked up a conversation and asked Tula to marry him only months later.Tula seems to accept Orry’s marriage proposal but reveals herself to be a Harkonnen, which devastates Orry.
Orry steps outside to see many members of his family dead before Tula kills him to avenge Griffin’s death based on Valya’s orders. Tula kills Orry with a relatively painless and swift poison after poisoning and killing more than two dozen Atreides members. After Tula kills Orry, she spares a young Atreides boy who could very well be Keiran. She looks up to the top of a cliff and sees a mythical black bull., which is representative of her Harkonnen family name.Tula killed all the Atreides via poison, including Orry.The mythical bull arrives to bear witnessand remind Tula of her family name.
Why Tula Killed Orry & His Family - Did Valya Make Her Do It?
Tula carried out Valya’s vision by killing Atredies members
BeforeGriffin’s death inDune: Prophecyepisode 3, he reveals to his family that he is heading out toZimia. Zimia is the main city of the Corrino home planet of Salusa Secundus. Griffin wanted to visit because Landsraad, or the body that represented all the Great Houses, accepted his petition to secure a better whale fur trade deal on his home planet of Lankiveil. While he’s in Zimia,Griffin sets out to track down and face Vorian Atreides, who Valya blames for dishonoring House Harkonnen. It’s implied that Griffin did face Vorian like Valya wanted him to and died for doing so.
The series implies that Vorian killed Girffin but based on theSisterhood of Dunebook, he actually refused to fight him. Griffin was still killed while in Zimia, which is why Valya blames Vorian. After Tula returns from Caladan, she sends a cryptic message to her sister while she’s training with Mother Reverend Superior Rquella and the Sisterhood. Valya understands its meaning at once and immediately returns home to confirm that news with her sister. While Tula is deeply remorseful, it’s clear thatValya had orchestrated the plot for her to kill the Atredies and trick Orry into falling in love with herso she could get close enough to take them all out.
Was Tula Ever In Love With Orry?
Based on Tula’s deep sense of sorrow for betraying Orry Atreides, it appears that she did start to fall in love with him before she ultimately killed him. Tula was fortunate that all she had to do was win over Orry’s affection to gain access to his private Atreides camp without raising suspicion, making it a relatively easy task for her to poison the entire group and get away unscathed.Tula’s intimate scenes with Orry feel genuine and honest and she truly mourns Orry’s deathafter she takes his life once she reveals her true identity. It seemed like Orry was willing to overlook her Harkonnen background but that didn’t change Tula’s plan.
Tula chose to sacrifice what could have been a loving relationship and future with Orry in the name of avenging her Harkonnen family name. It’s evident that Tula is the favorite child in the eyes of their mother, which places all of the blame for the Atreides massacre on Valya’s scheming even though Tula was the one who did it. It’s easy to blame Valya for seemingly coming up with the idea in the first place but, despite the protective views of her mother, Tula was just as if not more responsible than Valya for Orry’s death and the Atreides massacre.If Tula truly loved Orry she probably would not have been able to go through with itbut they had only known each other for a handful of months.
The Harkonnen Family’s Reaction To Tula’s Massacre Explained
Valya’s family blames her for Tula’s killings and Griffin’s death
Valya is hated by everyone in her family besides Tula because they blame her for Griffin’s death, much like she blames Vorian Atreides for it. Similarly to Tula, who can seemingly do no wrong in her mother’s eyes, Griffin was also believed to be a victim of Valya’s dangerous and aggressive strategies toward revenge against House Atredies. Valya’s mother and family have no desire to avenge the Harkonnen name and legacy as Valya does. They see her obsessive efforts for vengeance as greed and needless ambition. It’s ironic thatValya is only trying to restore the Hakonnen’s status in the Imperium but her family doesn’t seem to careabout that at all.
Griffin and Tula both believed in Valya’s vision and supported her the best that they could. Valya’s family, however, saw Valya as a menace who brought nothing but trouble and misfortune to their family. Even after Valya nearly kills her own mother using The Voice inDune: Prophecyepisode 3, Tula still comes to her aid and joins the Sisterhood with her. In these flashback scenes, Tula is certainly impressionable and eager to make Valya proud, which is a relationship they continue to share during the present-day timeline. It will be interesting to see whether the power dynamic will change between the biological sisters and how Valya plans to use her aging uncle Evengy in future episodes ofDune: Prophecy.
Dune: Prophecy
Cast
Set in the universe of Frank Herbert’s Dune series, Dune: Prophecy, a sci-fi epic, follows the political and spiritual struggles on the desert planet of Arrakis. As factions vie for control of the prized spice melange, a prophesied hero emerges, challenging the balance of power and the fate of the galaxy.
