DUNE: Part Two

*CUT TO THE CHASE*

NOTE: This spoiler was submitted by Jeremy

The film starts as Princess Irulan Corrino (Florence Pugh), daughter of Emperor Shaddam IV (Christopher Walken), journals the recent account of the attack on House Atreides by the Harkonnens. She notes that Duke Leto Atreides was viewed by the Emperor as a son, which confuses her as to why her father would order the decimation of the Atreides bloodline, though she believes not all of them are truly gone. Irulan then wonders what the fall of House Atreides means for Arrakis.

Shortly after joining the Fremen in their trek across the desert to Sietch Tabr, Paul Atreides (Timothee Chalamet) and his pregnant mother Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) hide with the warriors as Harkonnen scouts are stalking them. Stilgar (Javier Bardem) leads his troops to evade them before using their own weapons to bring the scouts down. After the scouts are all dead, the Fremen leave their bodies as food for Shai-Hulud.

Upon arriving at the Sietch, Paul and Jessica are met with scorn by the other Fremen, with some seeing them as spies while others are angry with Paul for killing Jamis (Babs Olusanmokun). Stilgar speaks before a council to convince them that they must be helped, and that they can also help the Fremen.

Stilgar privately speaks to Jessica, informing her that their Reverend Mother is dying, and he requests that Jessica take her place. She joins other Bene Gesserit along with the Reverend Mother Ramallo (Giusi Merli), where Jessica is told to drink the Water of Life, which is a poisonous substance lethal to males. Jessica drinks it and begins convulsing, and the other Bene Gesserit start to grow fearful after realizing too late that Jessica is pregnant.

After a little while, Jessica overcomes the poison and inherits the memories of her ancestors, while her daughter also starts to communicate with her. They speak to one another and discuss how they must begin to work in getting others in northern Arrakis to believe in the prophecy, beginning with who they perceive to be weak.

Paul attempts to get closer to Chani (Zendaya) while she is talking with her friend Shishakli (Souhelia Yacoub) about how the prophecy must be false. Later, the Fremen encounter a Harkonnen scouting tank and launch an attack. The warriors kill the scouts until an Ornithopter flies around and begins to fire. Paul helps protect Chani and gives her an opening to break through the Ornithopter’s shield and destroy it. As the Fremen collect the water from the dead scouts, Paul tells Stilgar and the other Fremen that he does not care about being seen as the Lisan al-Gaib, as he only wishes to fight alongside them. They accept this and come to respect him more.

Paul and Chani later sit on a hill, admiring the landscape as the spice flows across the sand. The two grow closer and give into their romantic feelings, sharing a kiss.

Time passes, and Paul starts to train more among the Fremen, becoming a Fedaykin warrior alongside Chani. He becomes more accepted by the Fremen, adopting the fighter name of “Muad’Dib Usul”, name after the kangaroo mice that inhabit the desert, and a famed Fremen warrior. He also finds himself experiencing horrific visions of him following a mysterious figure (later shown to be Jessica) heading south, and the land is scattered with corpses due to the holy war that he feels would happen if he were to become the Lisan al-Gaib.

Paul then proceeds to engage in a major Fremen test, which is to ride a sandworm. He walks to a lower level of the sands as the Fremen gather to watch. He plants the device to summon Shai-Hulud. Paul waits as the worm crosses through a mound, and he seizes his opportunity to jump on. After a brief struggle, Paul manages to hook himself on and successfully ride the sandworm, earning roaring cheers from the Fremen.

Jessica then sets off on a trek to southern Arrakis to spread word of the prophecy to the fundamentalists. While she wants Paul to join her, he feels that they are giving the people false hope and that him joining her would lead to his visions coming true.

On Giedi Prime, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgard) has returned to his homeworld. He attends a celebration for his youngest nephew, Feyd-Rautha (Austin Butler), brother of Rabban (Dave Bautista). Also in attendance are Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling) and fellow Bene Gesserit Lady Margot Fenring (Lea Seydoux). They all gather along with a massive crowd to watch as Feyd enters a tournament where he is put up against three followers of House Atreides. Two of them are drugged, which makes it easy for Feyd to kill them, but the third is lucid and puts up a fight against the young Harkonnen before he kills the man with his blade. Feyd expresses anger toward the Baron for this knowledge, but he later has Feyd succeed him as ruler of Arrakis since Rabban has been failing with keeping up spice production and keeping the Fremen in line.

Mohiam and Margot discuss the possibility of Paul still being alive, as many tales of “Muad’Dib” are spreading across Arrakis. Margot finds Feyd-Rautha and gets him alone. Though he suspects her motives at first, she seduces him after putting him through the same Bene Gesserit test that Mohiam did with Paul. Margot returns to Mohaim and confirms that she is now carrying Feyd’s daughter.

Irulan continues to question the attack on House Atreides. She personally speaks to Mohiam, who is aware of the Emperor’s involvement in the attack and why it was necessary.

A group of smugglers touch down on Arrakis. The Fremen fight them until Paul recognizes one of them as Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin). They have an emotional embrace, and Paul calls the Fremen off the smugglers. Gurney explains how he survived the attack before joining Paul and the others. Feeling that they do not have enough of a fighting chance against the Harkonnens, Gurney leads Paul, Chani, and Stilgar to the House Atreides stash of atomic warheads.

Harkonnen troops led by Feyd-Rautha attack the Sietch Tabr, killing several Fremen and forcing the others to hide. Shishakli is captured, and when she refuses to talk, Feyd incinerates her. The survivors make their way toward the south, despite Paul’s reluctance.

Paul visits the same temple that Jessica had visited to find where the Water of Life comes from (it is extracted from a baby sandworm). Despite Chani’s protests, Paul drinks it and loses consciousness. He experiences more visions as Jessica did, including one of his sister Alia (Anya Taylor-Joy) talking to him. Everyone gathers to try and help Paul, and Chani is told that he may be revived with Desert Spring tears. Chani wipes her tears and mixes it with the Water of Life before putting it to Paul’s lips. He awakens and speaks to Jessica privately. He reveals that he has learned that she is the Baron’s daughter, which makes them both Harkonnens, and not even Jessica previously knew. This now makes Paul the Kwisatz Haderach (the male with the same capabilities as the Bene Gesserit who have drank the Water of Life).

Other Fremen leaders gather at the temple to discuss Paul’s ascension. They wish to have him challenge Stilgar, for which he himself is ready to go for, but Paul defies them and gives them a big speech in which he now claims to be the Lisan al-Gaib. Chani also argues that the prophecy has been keeping the Fremen enslaved. All the Fremen soon bow to Paul as their messiah.

The Harkonnens return with the Emperor, Irulan, and their Sardaukar forces, leading the Fremen to face off against them once and for all. The Emperor confronts the Harkonnens and has the Baron’s suspensor belts severed to cause him to fall and render him immobile. Paul then has the warheads be launched to breach Arrakeen’s defenses. The Fremen warriors then ride the sandworms to mow down a good chunk of the army. The Baron makes one last desperate crawl toward the Emperor’s throne, but Paul approaches him and addresses him as his grandfather once, shocking the Baron before Paul sticks a knife in his neck, killing him. Outside, the surviving Sardaukar begin to flee, but Gurney catches up to Rabban for a rematch. They briefly duel until Gurney jams his blade into Rabban’s chest.

Paul prepares to confront the Emperor in retaliation for his hand in his father’s death. He threatens to destroy the spice supply unless the Emperor surrenders and allows Paul to take Irulan’s hand in marriage, something that visibly hurts Chani. The Emperor calls upon Feyd-Rautha to be his champion. Paul and Feyd engage in an intense duel, with Feyd managing to pierce Paul in the side, but Paul ultimately gains the upper hand and fatally stabs Feyd in the chest. He tells Paul that he fought well before collapsing dead. Paul prepares to go for the Emperor next, but Irulan steps in to agree to the condition of marrying Paul. Before the Emperor steps down, he tells Paul that he had Leto killed because he was driven by the actions of the heart. Paul takes Irulan’s hand, leading Chani to tearfully walk out.

Paul is later informed that the other Great Houses have not all accepted his ascension. He then proceeds to have the Fremen army move forward to “send them to paradise.” Gurney, Stilgar, and many others agree and march forward. Jessica speaks to Alia one last time, stating that the holy war has now begun.

The film closes as Chani steps out into the sands to summon a sandworm for her to ride to parts unknown.

After escaping the attack on House Atreides, Paul and Lady Jessica join the Fremen through their trek across Arrakis so that Paul may train in the fight against the Harkonnens. A pregnant Jessica drinks the Water of Life after becoming the Fremen's new Reverend Mother, a poisonous substance extracted from baby sandworms that allows her to see the memories of her ancestors. Paul quickly earns the trust and respect of the Fremen after learning to fight and ride a sandworm, earning him the name "Muad'Dib Usul" among the warriors. Meanwhile, Jessica sets out to spread word of the prophecy and convince the Fremen south of Arrakis that Paul is the Lisan al-Gaib, and Paul begins a romance with Chani.

The Harkonnens learn that Paul is still alive and move to finish him and the Fremen off. The Baron has his youngest nephew Feyd-Rautha succeed him, while he demotes Rabban for failing to keep up spice production and keeping the Fremen in line. Paul later reunites with Gurney Halleck, who guides him, Chani, and Stilgar to House Atreides' stash of atomic warheads. The Harkonnens attack, killing many Fremen and forcing the others to move south, which Paul was hoping to avoid because he has seen visions of people dying because of a holy war that will start if people fight in his name.

Paul drinks the Water of Life and survives (it is normally fatal to males and mainly reserved for the Bene Gesserit), allowing him to see visions of his ancestors, as well as his unborn sister Alia. Paul learns that he and Jessica are the Baron's grandson and daughter, making them Harkonnens. Paul now accepts his destiny as Lisan al-Gaib and convinces the other Fremen of who he is.

The Emperor and Harkonnens arrive for a final showdown. The Fremen use the warheads and sandworms to decimate the Sardaukar forces. Paul kills the Baron while Gurney kills Rabban. Feyd-Rautha duels with Paul and is killed before Paul forces the Emperor to surrender. Paul takes the hand of the Emperor's daughter, Princess Irulan, which breaks Chani's heart.

Many of the other Great Houses refuse to accept Paul's ascension, so he begins to lead the Fremen into his fated holy war. Chani then leaves to ride a sandworm to an unknown location.