by The Empire has just collided with the world of Westeros, with two Game of Thrones stars playing key roles in Dune: Prophecy Episode 3.
Dune: Prophecy clearly follows the Game of Thrones (and House of the Dragon) blueprint: everyone is vying for control of the Duniverse, whether that means invading Salusa Secundus and taking Javicco Corrino’s throne, or allying with him and slowly undermine his power. current. Oh, and there was a big sex scene in episode 2 too.
Whether it goes as far as HBO’s flagship series remains to be seen. After last week’s terrifying ending, the third episode focuses on the past, exploring Valya’s early days in the Sisterhood and Tula’s harrowing pursuit of House Atreides off-world.
This paves the way for a number of new characters played by familiar faces, some of whom we will never see again.
Welcome back, Robert Baratheon and Oscar Tully
Mark Addy, who famously played Robert Baratheon in the first season of Game of Thrones, plays Valya’s uncle Evgeny, a once-powerful member of the Harkonnen family.
HBOHe appears briefly in episode 3, dealing with Valya’s apparently hastily gathered flesh and berating her for convincing Tula to kill Orry Atreides and his entire family. Although it is believed that he died, he makes a surprise appearance at the end alongside Harrow, the current Barron Harkonnen, but is clearly in poor health; like Stellan Skarsgård, he must use oxygen to breathe.
And then there’s Archie Barnes, the star who played Ser Oscar Tully (the fan favorite who became quite brave against Daemon towards the end of his interminable stay in Harrenhal), who plays – or, I should say played – Albert Atreides.
HBOWhen episode 3 doesn’t follow Valya, we see Tula ingratiate herself with her boyfriend’s family. It’s all harmless stuff, and Tula quickly makes herself useful by preparing food and helping to humanely kill a self-injuring horse.
Albert only appears briefly when Tula lets him help prepare bait for bulls and explains how to trick them with a powerful poison. “True strength is not always something you see from the outside,” she says.
Unfortunately, it was likely a one-off role for Barnes. Tula uses the same poison to kill everyone in the clan and successfully avenges Griffin’s death at the hands of Vorian Atreides.
In the meantime, learn more about the controversial book Dune: Prophecy is based on, find out what’s happening with Dune 3, and watch the best TV shows of 2024.
