Children of Dune (2003) s01e03 Episode Script

History is written on the sands of Arrakis where rebellion and civil war continue to breed fed by Alia's brutal tyranny and repression as she sinks deeper into the abomination of her own ghosts unable to recognize the forces conspiring against her unaware of the whirlwind sweeping towards her across the desert.
Well who's gonna explain this to me? Who's gonna tell me why I have rioting in my streets why my name is being used as a curse? You simple fools.
The royal twins are missing from Sietch Tabr.
Lady Jessica has been abducted off-world.
Rebel alliances are being formed by tribes to the south.
And now we have anarchy in the streets of Arakeen! You are to blame.
Go.
Perhaps you should rest, milady.
It's difficult to think clearly when one is exhausted by stress.
Leave me.
I'm fine.
Such a pity, eh? Why did you send that lovely boy away? I'm not in the mood to indulge your lurid perversions tonight.
Are they mine or simply yours in disguise? After all, I'm only enjoying what you started.
Is that so? Don't forget, child.
I'm not really here.
I'm simply the manifestation of what you already are.
Go away! Go away! Who else knows they are requesting sanctuary here? The Spacing Guild, of course.
They would provide transport with Idaho's bribes.
The Bene Gesserit will surely be informed, if they don't know already.
Then Alia will be forced to implicate us in this adventure.
She'll have to make it appear as if we arranged the whole thing.
We should refuse them safe harbor return them to Arrakis and wash our hands of the entire matter.
On the contrary, Tyek.
Perhaps we should think of Lady Jessica's visit as an endowment, not a threat.
The woman has many talents, I've read.
Perhaps they could be of some use to us.
You mean to you.
I see no reason why I shouldn't continue my education by all means necessary.
Any woman who can seduce Duke Leto Atreides and a planet of desert Fremen is not to be trifled with.
Are you suggesting she might try to seduce me? Don't play the fool, Farad'n.
She would be a dangerous guest.
But a grateful one.
He may have a point.
May the wind strip the flesh from your bones.
May Shai-Hulud clear the path before you.
Sachar-Nabai.
When we meet again.
My skin is not my own.
The Golden Path is dangerous, Son.
It's the choice I couldn't take the desert storm that cannot be stopped.
You will become that storm my son the whirlwind.
And nothing will be able to stop you not even yourself.
This is for Leto.
We've confirmed that it was Ghanima's knife that killed Palimbasha.
And the communicator he was wearing? Off-world manufacture for sure.
We found a transceiver implanted in a tiger's neck.
And we also found this in the desert.
Should I arrange transport to the palace? No! Whoever will benefit from the death of these children will not rest until they're sure they've succeeded.
Until the time is right she'll be safer here than anywhere.
Sand trout.
So you know your desert farming, young Atreides.
That's right, Atreides.
Don't be foolish.
We have your water in our cup.
Alive? She's alive? That clever bitch Ghanima survived our tigers.
We must improvise quickly.
Tell our man in the Atreides palace, the priest Javid he must stir Alia's pot some more.
Yes, Princess.
They left our priest's body where we would be sure to find it.
He was assassinated by Fremen rebels from a sietch near Hirbana Erg.
He was traveling with diplomatic immunity when they attacked.
They carved blasphemy into his skin, milady.
Horrible, profane curses about you and your family.
"Cursed be the name Atreides.
Burning be on you for the abomination you have visited on our desert.
You shall have no soul, no spirit.
You shall not be permitted to come up from the depths.
" The obscenities of desert rebels, Holiness.
An example must be made to warn other tribes what happens if they persist in this insurrection.
No mercy.
I want all traces of the rebel sietch wiped out.
You will be Leto son of Muad'Dib.
I am Sabiha.
I am meant to watch over you.
Yes, and no doubt kill me if I try to escape.
That won't happen.
Drink.
I warn you, any attempt at witchery shall result in immediate execution.
We are seeking safe harbor, not an opportunity for treachery.
So you say.
But why should we risk sheltering fugitives from the Imperium? Who says that we are fugitives? Your confrontation with Alia has already taken on mythic proportions, Lady Jessica.
Several Fremen tribes are known to be in open revolt against the Quizrate.
Civil war seems imminent.
My grandchildren will prevent that.
Not if they're dead.
I'm sorry, Jessica Atreides to be the bearer of bad news, but it seems your grandchildren have been the victims of a well-planned assassination plot.
- Assassination? - Our reports indicate the Atreides twins went missing from Sietch Tabr.
They were attacked in the desert.
Leto was killed.
They're not sure what became of the girl.
We have reason to believe Alia herself may have planned the killings.
- That is impossible.
- Jessica.
It's well known your daughter's on the verge of abomination.
Since Muad'Dib's heirs were of age they were soon to be invested with all the powers of his government.
Alia's role as regent was coming to an end unless unless your grandchildren could be eliminated and the blame laid on her enemies.
On us.
Events on Arrakis are spinning wildly out of control Jessica Atreides.
Now, we can retreat and watch the empire collapse on top of us or we can give each other sanctuary.
I can protect you from Alia's reach and you can protect me from her madness.
And how do I do that? By announcing publicly that we did not kidnap you, as Alia now alleges that you came of your own free will, an emissary of the Bene Gesserit sent to take over the education of my son.
You want me to teach him as the Bene Gesserit are taught? An offer I could not resist.
Your mentat is conspicuous by his silence.
One must be careful to evaluate who has the advantage in such situations.
Perhaps there is mutual advantage all around.
Stilgar refuses to allow Ghanima to travel saying she's not strong enough saying her safety cannot be guaranteed.
- He has offered sanctuary.
- He is naib of the sietch.
- We cannot overrule his wishes.
- We'll see about that.
The activities at Tabr are curious and provocative.
No one is allowed to visit or depart without Stilgar's permission.
They're planning to go over to the rebels.
That's unlikely.
We know Stilgar has initiated dialogue with the insurgent naibs to the south, but only as emissary.
Continue your surveillance of Sietch Tabr.
I want to know who's coming and who's going and where all the communications are directed.
Time to pay Stilgar a visit.
If you hadn't taken them from the city in the first place - this never would have happened.
- I am their guardian, Alia.
Are you suggesting she wouldn't be safe at the palace with me? I am demanding that she not be used as a pawn in a civil war.
You know as well as I that Ghanima must be returned to the court.
She's right, Irulan.
As long as I designate Sietch Tabr neutral territory no violence may be committed by any party to this conflict.
However, holding Ghanima against the imperial regent's will could be considered abduction.
As naib of this sietch I surrender Ghanima to the imperial regent on one condition that the Princess Irulan accompany her.
If any harm comes to either the princess or the royal heir the neutrality of this tribe will be forfeit and allegiance to the imperial throne disavowed.
Agreed.
I want the girl ready.
We leave for Arakeen immediately.
Forgive me, Irulan.
I may have placed you in grave danger.
Keep feeding him more and more.
The more we feed him, the deeper his trance.
The deeper the trance, the more dangerous the trance.
- He's stronger than we thought.
- Then we must increase what we give him.
By the time we're through, he'll be as mad as Alia.
What are you doing to me? That's spice essence! Do you hear them the voices in your head? Are you crazy yet, like your aunt? Does that frighten you? Not as much as it will frighten you, Atreides.
Listen to me, Leto.
Put the weapon away, Cast Out.
That is what you are, isn't it? Adopting the chameleon colors of a smuggler tribe in order to keep your true identity secret.
Allowing us to survive.
Trading spice.
That's not all, is it? You're breeding sand trout.
I've seen the holding pens.
Selling worms off-planet, you hope to break the Atreides monopoly on spice.
It is dangerous for you to know these things.
More dangerous for you.
None of your worms survive long away from Dune.
- Not yet.
- Not ever.
You're already saturated with spice.
And it can no longer harm me.
I have survived the crucible, Sabiha.
I have silenced the voices within who would have possessed me.
Only I remain now to do what I must do.
And what is that? Save the desert.
My skin is not my own.
I can't I can't do it.
You can.
You will.
I'm here.
I try to see myself there, but I can't.
- I can't.
- Patience.
Concentrate on visualizing the flow of time.
It must move, not you.
It would have been easier to begin this when you were younger.
I'm surprised you never asked for a Bene Gesserit teacher before.
They'd have leapt at the opportunity to put you in their debt.
My mother had other training in mind for me when I was younger.
- You can still learn.
- If I'm patient? You must learn each and every muscle as if it were a single string on a baliset.
When you learn how to play them individually you'll know how to play them together.
The union of opposites, isn't it, Jessica? Recognizing the essential instability of our universe one must learn to make it one's own creation.
It is the Bene Gesserit way.
So you haven't forgotten everything you were taught.
You need a bath.
We'll continue tomorrow.
He is a slow learner.
On the contrary, he's making more progress than I would have expected in so short a time.
And you? I know what I intend to get out of this relationship, Wencisia.
What is it you expect? Our houses are at their crossroads, Jessica families weakened from within.
You and I both confront the greatest danger from those closest to us.
You have a daughter from whom you are estranged.
I have a son in whom I have little confidence.
What do you expect me to do about that? Simply consider the union of opposites.
We hear rumors of your granddaughter.
- Ghanima? - It seems she has survived.
Alia has taken her from Stilgar, but Irulan is with her.
Get to the point, Wencisia.
An alliance.
Corrino and Atreides.
An alliance through marriage.
Under your tutelage.
Farad'n could be fashioned into an acceptable mate for someone as special as your granddaughter.
He has his talents, and he's a fast learner, as you say.
Worse things could happen than an alliance between old enemies.
Your son was clever enough to see its potential once.
Surely you can see the need for it now.
The idea repulses me.
Surely your mentat reasoning can see the value in it.
That an Atreides would willingly marry into the house that has vowed its destruction it's madness! That's exactly what my son did when he married Irulan.
Politics ruled that decision, and it averted a war.
Do you not see the similarity to our present situation? Do you really think Alia will agree to a marriage between Ghanima and Farad'n? She is the reason you must be the one to deliver this proposal.
She loved you once, Duncan, and there's a part of her that still does.
You're the only one who might reach that part of her that still knows who she is.
She's lost to me now.
You saw the evidence of that yourself.
You could be saving the life of Paul's daughter, Duncan.
As long as Ghani lives, she's a threat to Alia.
If we can make my daughter believe that her niece is the means to eliminating an even greater threat we can save her life and buy precious time.
I assume you see merit to this marriage proposal since you gambled your own safety to deliver it personally.
Merit and risk.
You must decide which bears the greater weight.
My priests object to the idea.
Because they are myopic and parochial interested only in preserving their own power.
Be careful, Duncan.
You're already standing on the precipice.
It is no secret desert rebels probe your defenses with increased success.
Riots here in Arakeen are the subject of much discussion off-world.
Whispers of weakness and disarray are spreading amongst the great houses.
Rumors encouraged by my enemies to spread doubt and fear.
The jackals are gathering, Alia.
An alliance between Corrino and Atreides would serve as reassurance and a warning.
Prepare a formal response to House Corrino.
We will allow negotiations for a union between Ghanima and Prince Farad'n to begin.
But make it clear, Atreides interests will dominate.
Leave me.
Only my husband may remain.
I should have you executed for what you did.
My diplomatic immunity as Corrino envoy would make that an unwise decision.
Why did you come back here? My allegiance to House Atreides would permit nothing less.
I played no part in your decision? I struggled not to allow it.
You can't remain at the keep.
I must banish you for your treachery.
Otherwise, people would question my judgement, my ruthlessness.
A quality you must demonstrate often these days, no doubt.
They're difficult days, Duncan.
Lonely days.
I've missed you.
Where would you have me go? Sietch Tabr.
Neutral territory.
Stilgar is trying to broker a peace between the Quizrate and the rebels.
Perhaps your mentat qualities can be useful.
At least you'll be safe there.
There is no one to restrain Alia.
Her forces are probing deeper and deeper into the southern regions attacking rebel sietches wherever she thinks they are.
And still, there are riots in the streets of Arakeen itself.
And what of the boy Leto? What do they say about him? If he survived the assassin, he did not survive the desert.
Worms, storms There won't be a body.
Where are you going? - To look for the boy.
- That cannot be permitted.
We never had any intention of helping someone like you, enemy of ours.
Cursed be your name, Atreides.
Burning be on you for the abomination you have visited on our desert.
You shall have no soul, no spirit.
You shall not be permitted to come up from the depths.
The only thing that doesn't fear an Arrakis storm is the worm.
I will not fear.
Fear is the mind killer.
I will face my fear.
I will let it pass through me.
I will not fear.
Fear is the mind killer.
I will face my fear.
I will let it pass through me.
I will not fear! Fear is the mind killer! I will face my fear! I will let it pass through me! I will not fear! I could have killed you.
It wouldn't have been that easy.
I wanted to believe you.
I wanted to believe that I could do it, but I didn't.
I couldn't.
I didn't truly think it was possible.
And then my mind melted away.
I gave up fighting you, and it happened.
It wasn't me you were fighting.
It was myself.
All that I've learned all the nonsense I've imprisoned myself with I feel I feel like I'm being reborn like I'm standing on the threshold of something extraordinary.
Para-Bindu balance, Farad'n.
But only on the threshold.
- Patience? - Yes, patience.
Remember it's one thing to gain control of your perceptions quite another to gain control of your desires.
And if I succeed? You'll find reality to be quite a bit different than you thought.
My skin is not my own.
Must you insist on sneaking away like this? I still feel him, Irulan.
His presence.
Sometimes I even think I can hear his laughter in the wind.
Mocking your decision to marry Farad'n, I hope.
Why should he mock it? I cannot stand by and let you be used as a pawn in Alia's schemes.
Is that what you think, that I'm being used? That I've agreed to this marriage as part of some conspiracy with Alia? No.
But I know you, Ghani.
There is more to your decision than anyone else believes.
Alia wants my grandmother back.
Farad'n is simply the means.
But what do you want? Farad'n's blood on the wedding sheets, not mine.
You cannot remain neutral any longer, Stilgar.
You must ally your tribe with the rebel forces.
Never! Rebellion against the sister of Muad'Dib would bring the greatest dishonor I could imagine.
There is no more sister of Muad'Dib.
She's gone lost to the evil that possesses her.
And as long as you refuse to believe it, you wear its collar.
Enough! You are the guest of my tribe.
I have given you my countenance.
But I swear, if you provoke me further with talk of insurrection I will have your water! What is it, Tariq? - Why have we stopped? - Desert demon.
In human form.
There are no such things.
Your guide has released the worm.
We have a little time before he returns.
You made it stop.
The worm obeyed your command.
Yes.
They say Leto Atreides is dead killed by Corrino treachery.
A myth I have allowed to persist until I am ready.
For what? To undo what's been done in your name Father.
You have no idea who I am.
This is your ring, Father.
Passed from Duke Leto to you, and then unto me.
How far has it gone this thing you've done to yourself? I am a desert creature.
Was there no other way? There was only one way to bring about The Golden Path.
You cannot control the future.
A man named Muad'Dib should have heeded that advice.
Do you think Muad'Dib couldn't see the thing that you want to do? Do you think he didn't confront the possibility? Muad'Dib was afraid.
He was trapped by his own prophecy a victim of what he knew he could not choose.
So I have chosen to make a world where humankind can create its own future from moment to moment free of one man's vision free from the perversion of the prophet's words and free of future pre-determined.
This does not belong to me.
How many nights I have sat on a dune just like this imagining a night just like this with my father.
Just the two of us talking and and laughing.
And how many nights I have gone to sleep on the cold floor of the sietch dreaming of his arms around me sheltering me from everything I was afraid of everything I could not understand.
Are you still a good Fremen? Yes.
Then will you permit a blind man to go out into the desert and find peace on his own terms? Not yet.
Cursed be the name Atreides.
Body shield.
Armed.
Eight of nine new settlements have been abandoned.
Many of the old sietch communities are becoming overrun with refugees.
The holy regent demands that you abandon your pledge of neutrality.
Ally your forces with hers and put an end to this damnable rebellion.
Alia is Fremen.
She knows she cannot make such a demand on me or on any other naib! You can no longer remain above the fight, Stilgar.
Your feeble attempts to mediate have accomplished nothing.
It is time for you to choose.
Are you with the empire or against it? It is not a choice I will make because some fop of a priest demands it.
Well, perhaps the royal consort can talk some sense into this obstinate fool.
I can do better than that.
The "royal cuckold" thanks you for this opportunity.
Stilgar will now make his choice.
You have violated sanctuary.
You have defiled the honor of my people.
No, Stil.
I have just cut the collar from around your neck.
That was the right choice, Stil.
Two deaths for the Atreides the second one for no better reason than the first.
It was a sign.
He forced our hand.
Now Alia will be forced to move against us.
He has taken the tribe into the desert.
No one knows where but his only refuge will be with the rebels.
Idaho acted impulsively, milady.
He was Was my husband! Kanly vendetta on Stilgar and all of his tribe that joined him.
Let them be hunted down like desert rabbits.
Yes, yes.
Kill them.
I want their skins when they're caught.
Nice touch, yes.
Very creative.
This is the one we took on the south face.
He came across the bled from the south wall.
So, they say you rode a worm here.
A 20-thumper ride.
- And yet, you are not Fremen.
- They taught me well.
Rumors across the desert say you're dead, Gurney Halleck.
There are many who wished it were true.
The sons of Esmar Tuek are not among them, old friend.
We've been waiting on you, Gurney Halleck.
- How did you know I'd come here? - My father told me.
Your father? Well, in the desert, sheltered once is sheltered always.
After the Harkonnen invasion, these were the men who protected you before you were finally reunited with Muad'Dib.
A reunion which allowed me to join his rebellion against Shaddam and the imperial forces.
Another rebellion awaits you, Gurney Halleck.
My loyalty is to House Atreides.
I am House Atreides.
And what of your aunt? My aunt is lost lost to forces she could not control to forces who want to destroy House Atreides.
What have you done to yourself? I have made a choice accepted a destiny, nothing more.
My eyes can see it but my mind refuses to believe it.
Believe it, Gurney.
Remember the words of my father and my grandfather, your duke.
They spoke to you of desert power.
I am desert power and nothing can stop what is going to happen.
We are here to honor the throne of Muad'Dib and his sister, the holy regent.
We are here to honor his esteemed daughter with the presentation of our son, Prince Farad'n heir to the throne of House Corrino.
We offer our deepest condolences on the loss of your brother.
Perhaps the union of our houses can put an end to the treachery that took his life treachery that was bred on Salusa Secundus.
What did you say? I am ashamed to say that the animals that killed Leto, son of Muad'Dib were created and trained on my planet.
And the regent of House Corrino knew of this? - She planned it.
- How dare you! I'll dare quite a few things from now on, Mother.
You've been quite adept at making decisions in my name decisions which I've found extremely distasteful.
You insolent bastard.
Let's not discuss your weaknesses now, Mother.
I forbid you to say another word.
You forbid nothing.
As heir to the throne of House Corrino, I am now the author of my own decisions.
My mother is stripped of all accounts and privileges of the House Corrino.
She is no longer sovereign regent of this family.
She is, from this moment forward, banished.
You're more of a man than I'd ever thought possible.
And you can spend the rest of your days pondering that in utter darkness.
Patience is a virtue I have in abundance, if you haven't noticed.
Hold.
Did you have anything to do with the death of my brother? I knew nothing of the plot against him until it was too late.
Forgive me.
I am at your mercy.
This is my wedding present to you.
I have nothing else.
No dowry.
Only the truth.
I believe him.
Take her.
Leave him.
Maybe he'll amuse us with more intrigue and double-cross in the days to come.
Don't you find it interesting, Jessica how the sins of the mother bloom in the children they bear? She's weakened by madness.
She still commands the imperial armies.
They are retreating to the city trapped by the shield wall from which they are vulnerable.
They say the price on your head keeps going up.
Then I say unto you send men to summon worms! Then let us go to Arakeen to collect it.
Manut.
A storm.
Not a storm.
- I must get word to the palace.
- Yeah.
Don't be afraid, Gurney-Man.
There is no way to hasten what is meant to be.
When the time is right he will find us.
Who are you? Who I am doesn't matter anymore.
It matters to me.
Do you think I would have left this place if I had known? Do you think I would have abandoned you if I knew you were still alive? You did what you were meant to do.
Tell me.
Let me hear you say it.
Tell me it isn't true.
I couldn't live if I knew I had forsaken you.
Paul Atreides is no more, Gurney-Man.
The desert winds have erased all trace of his passage here.
And soon Muad'Dib must follow.
Please, Gurney, I'm tired hungry.
Get me some food.
Ah, Stil.
So predictable.
It's as if they're daring you to confront them challenging you to commit troops, thopters.
They think I've retreated to the sanctuary of the city where I'm trapped.
It's a tactic learned from my brother when he defeated Shaddam and took back Arrakis.
Poor Stil.
If you only knew it is you who are trapped not I.
They are still over a day's ride from Arakeen.
Fine.
I'm going back to the palace.
I have a wedding to attend.
Leave me.
Do as I say! There's no need for that with me, Ghanima.
Our plan worked.
You're alive! I knew it.
Oh, I have missed you.
I'm sorry, Ghanima.
I'm so sorry.
I had to let you think that I was dead.
It was the only way the only way that I could start what must now be finished.
Idolaters! Blasphemers! You'll spoil this place! The desert will swallow you! His words are sacrilege.
His presence must not be tolerated.
You must give the order, Holy One.
You must send us to take him.
Caution, darling.
Do not act impulsively.
Not yet.
He is an outrage to the religion of Muad'Dib.
But that's the point, my darling.
We must know for sure whether he really is your brother mustn't we? It would not do to make a martyr of him just yet.
Who is it that calls for Muad'Dib? Help us, Muad'Dib.
Muad'Dib's words are the wind.
They vanish like water on the sand.
I'll give you Muad'Dib's words.
I'll rub your faces in them! I am the voice from the wilderness and I bring you a warning.
The water we spread upon the desert has become blood.
Blood upon the land which was once clean and pure.
We have provoked the desert forsaken its ways.
We have succumbed to mindless ritual and seductive ceremony placed faith in those who crush dissent enrich themselves with power commit atrocity.
All in the name of righteousness! All in the name of Muad'Dib.
We have fouled the nest and it is killing us.
But I have seen another path a golden path the path Muad'Dib could not take.
I have stood upon the sand and I have seen a beast rise up.
And upon the head of that beast is the name of salvation come to spill water upon the sand come to lead us back to a dry and thirsty land.
Only one blasphemy remains and that blasphemy is Alia! Forgive me Sister.
It's in your hands now Son.
Where is she? Behold me, family! I am Leto! Lion of Atreides returned from the desert to announce Sachar Nabai The Golden Path to rid humanity of the perversions done in Muad'Dib's name and to save it from the abomination known as Alia.
Seize him! The time has come, Aunt.
You must face the future.
I'll drink your blood! Alia, stop it! Stop yourself! You sorry bitch! You Bene Gesserit whore! Did you think you could escape my vengeance? Did you think I was defeated forever? I have her, daughter your precious Alia.
She's mine! I won! Demon! Let her make her own choice! Mommy please help me.
Help yourself.
Yes! Yes, do it.
Sink it in.
Bathe our hands in his hot blood.
No! Darling! Stop! Stop! Stop! We're so close! I love you.
I can save you.
Don't stop now.
We're so close.
I want my brother.
You'll not change your mind and return with me to Caladan? I must remain here, my lady at Sietch Tabr with Stilgar.
He will need my help to bring peace back to this land.
- And you? - I have no home but here.
Besides, there will be children again, and they will need me.
Dear friend.
Alia's water.
Take it into the desert and spread it upon the open sand in the midday sun.
It is our way.
Are you going back to Sietch Tabr? I wish to return to our old ways.
The desert's dying, Stil.
And the Fremen, too, I'm afraid.
We're about to go through the crucible but we'll come out the other side.
We always arise from our own ashes.
Everything returns later in its changed form.
Your grandfather's ring and your father's.
And now the Fremen's to remind you of Muad'Dib to remind you that all humans make mistakes and that all leaders are but human.
He runs and runs and runs.
And when he's exhausted himself he returns to me puts his head in my lap and asks me to help him find a way to die.
But why does he want to die? To save himself from the sacrifices he must make sacrifices for the future of us all.
Then there is a place for me in this future? Your blood was spared the day Leto came back to me.
What of our marriage then? As my mother was not wife you shall never be husband.
Politics.
Politics.
But in time, there may be love which is more than my brother will have.
One of us had to accept the agony.
He was always the stronger.
History is written on the sands of Arrakis.
A chapter has ended swept away by the whirlwind.
One door has closed but another has opened.
And on the other side our future.