Dune Every Hint Paul Will Become A Villain

Dune: Every Hint Paul Will Become A Villain

Contents

Paul Atreides is pitched as the hero of Dune, but there are several hints throughout the film that the character could become the villain later on.

You Are Reading :[thien_display_title]

Dune Every Hint Paul Will Become A Villain

Warning: Contains SPOILERS for Dune.

Paul Atreides is pitched as the hero of Dune, but there are several hints throughout the film that he could become the villain later on. The storyline of Frank Herbert’s Dune novels is a sweeping epic that spans thousands of years, twisting the traditional hero’s journey narrative in some interesting ways. Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movie doesn’t show as much of Paul’s interiority as the books do, but there are still plenty of clues throughout that he could eventually turn to the dark side.

While it is science fiction, Dune is less interested in issues of technological development than it is with more human issues of political trends, religious beliefs, and morality. There are no supercomputers or robots in Dune’s future, but there are loads of prophecies and lots of political intrigue. Paul Atreides is at the center of both of those, putting him in a clear position to fulfill the classic “Chosen One” story seen time and again in the realm of fantasy. However, Paul’s hero’s journey isn’t exactly what it might seem at first glance.

Though Paul generally fights for what’s right in Villeneuve’s Dune, his repeated visions and the greater context of the novels suggest he’s far from pure of heart. Paul sees some truly frightening things through the use of his prescient powers, forcing him to make impossible decisions later on. Here are all the clues that Paul could turn into a villain, and what they mean for the Dune 2 story.

Paul Is Prone To Angry Outbursts

Dune Every Hint Paul Will Become A Villain

From the very beginning of Dune, Paul exhibits a range of less than admiral personal qualities. Most of the time he’s quiet, thoughtful, kind, and caring, but there are hints that a darker, more self-righteous persona lurks just beneath the surface. This can be seen early on when Paul addresses the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother with contempt for speaking poorly to his mom, and later on in the film when he shouts at Jessica for turning him into a freak. Admittedly, these are both very high-stress situations, but it’s revealing that, in times of desperation, Paul instinctively resorts to tactics of demand and condemnation. In part, this may be a result of his upbringing, which was largely solitary. His closest friends amongst the cast of Dune characters are all adults in the service of his father, and his vulnerability as a royal means he’s been trained since birth to constantly watch for betrayals and methods of assassination. All that combined inevitably leads to a wary and distrustful young man.

See also  Oscars 2018 How Inclusion Riders Could Change Hollywood

Jessica Is Warned That Paul Is Dangerous

Dune Every Hint Paul Will Become A Villain

Near the beginning of Dune, Jessica is reprimanded by the Bene Gesserit Reverend Mother for training Paul in the ways of their order, with an implication that she’s created a potentially dangerous person in her son. This idea is fleshed out and explained more deeply in the novel. The women of the Bene Gesserit order have a prophecy that one day, a man will be born who can see into the future. It’s alluded to from the beginning to the ending of Dune that Paul is that person, but the Reverend Mother fears him because he exists sooner than she believed the prophecy would be fulfilled. Generally in the world of Dune, men are not allowed to learn Bene Gesserit powers like The Voice and, so the idea of teaching a boy how to use those abilities without certainty that he is the Kwisatz Haderach is seen as incredibly dangerous.

Paul’s Dune Powers Could Be Used For Evil

Dune Every Hint Paul Will Become A Villain

Part of why it’s seen as dangerous for a person who isn’t a Bene Gesserit to train in the order’s powers is that their abilities are incredibly powerful if wielded properly. In the Dune novel, Paul’s powers are twofold, as he also trains as a Mentat – the hyper-intelligent humans who play the role of supercomputers in Herbert’s universe. While the Dune movie doesn’t mention Paul having Mentat training, it could still be part of his story, as the training is generally administered without the knowledge of the subject until they come of age. All of that is to say that Paul possesses a truly frightening level of superhuman power, including the ability to control others with only his voice, cognitive functioning far beyond the ordinary human level, and of course, the future sight of his prescient visions.

Out of all his powers, Paul’s dreams and visions in Dune are possibly his most dangerous, and the ones that could most easily turn him to the dark side. In the novel, it’s explained that, even after his awakening from spice exposure, Paul’s ability to understand the future is limited. He can see likely outcomes to certain decisions, but there’s a lot that’s still inaccessible to him. That means that Paul has to use his own intuition and reasoning to decipher his visions and the best course of action to realize an optimal outcome – or at least, one that’s optimal for him.

See also  Exclusive Donny Cates The One You Feed Trailer Unleashes The Wolves

Paul’s Vision Of Jihad Explained

Dune Every Hint Paul Will Become A Villain

After barely escaping from the deadly and villainous plot of House Harkonnen and fleeing with his mother into the desert, Paul has his awakening. His exposure to the spice Melange on Arrakis triggers his true prescient powers, giving a huge and terrifying vision of the future. He tells Jessica that he sees legions of soldiers bearing the Atreides family banner as they sweep across the universe in a murderous holy war, killing in his name. This, Paul believes, is the inevitable future if he follows the path toward vengeance on the Harkonnens – a jihad of galactic proportions. The vision frightens him in the moment, but Paul quickly seems to get over it, accepting the violence as an inevitable part of what he believes he must do. The morality of his decision, given the knowledge and foresight available to him, is questionable. If others see Paul as Dune’s messiah and chosen one, they will willingly commit atrocities in his name. If he denies the prophecies and avoids their implications, however, he will die.

Paul Believes He Is Superior To Everyone

Paul Atreides is given every reason possible to believe that he is the chosen one – that he alone is destined for great things. He’s granted powers generally reserved for members of the Bene Gesserit order. He is given Mentat training to achieve brain function higher than any normal human. He is the potential subject of multiple prophecies – the Kwisatz Haderach in Bene Gesserit belief, and the Lisan al Gaib in the beliefs of the Fremen. Lastly, he’s the son of a duke of one of the galaxy’s great houses, and by the end of Dune, he’s technically the duke himself. Dune 2 will answer many questions surrounding Paul’s future and fate, but even in the first film, he clearly believes himself to be superior to nearly everyone around him – a fact that is far more evident in the novel, where Paul’s thoughts are more readily visible.

The combination of immense power, angry tendencies, warnings against his very existence, beliefs of self-importance, and visions of actual jihad in his name all point in a pretty dark direction. For most of Dune, Paul behaves admirably, morally, and justly, but so many of the circumstances around him pave the way for a more villainous turn down the line. It should be interesting to see what Villeneuve does with Dune 2, and whether or not the sequel stays as true to the story of the books as the original.

Link Source : https://screenrant.com/dune-paul-not-hero-villain-become-hint-every/

Movies -