The latest episode of Dune: Prophecy, "Twice Born," climaxes with an exciting scene during a meeting of the Landsraad, the group of great houses who together control the direction of the Imperium. It does not go how we expect. Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), the new attack dog of Emperor Corrino (Mark Strong) makes a public show of using his powers of immolation to execute several people who have broken the sacred prohibition against thinking machines. It's a grisly display of power that will have the great houses thinking twice before they cross the emperor.

Desmond also foils a plot to blow up the whole meeting hatched by a group of rebels, including House Corrino's own swordmaster Kieran Atreides (Chris Mason). And on top of that, the emperor's own daughter Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) calls out her dad in public for being complicit in the death of her fiancée Pruitt Richese back in the premiere episode.