There’s only one more episode left in Dune: Prophecy’s first season, and the show is still adding more Bene Gesserits with the power to shake everything up to the Dune universe. Although we’ve seen her younger self briefly in flashback scenes, the arrival of adult Sister Francesca (Tabu) to House Corrino in the penultimate episode revealed the lengths Mother Supreme Valya Harkonnen (Emily Watson) has gone to in order to keep her ultimate plan in motion. However, Sister Francesca let Kotaku know her influence is deeper than what we might see on screen.
In the episode, we discover that Sister Francesca is mother to the petulantly horny son of Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) when she mysteriously appears at the palace unannounced. We later find out that her son, Constantine (Josh Heuston), didn’t send a message to her requesting her presence as she believed, but instead it was Valya who surreptitiously summoned her without informing her that a fellow Bene Gesserit—Kasha (Jihae)—had been killed. After Valya catches her up on the Sisterhood losing its hold on the royal palace with Emperor Corrino refusing to have a Truthsayers, Francesca returns to sway Emperor Corrino in favor of appointing Constantine as the leader of his new fleet, without him knowing he was being manipulated to do so.
However, Valya doesn’t simply order Francesca to do so with the Voice or with threats, but rather by appealing to Francesca’s love of her son. Francesca is the trump card she’s playing now that her previous attempts to remind Emperor Corrino of the order’s influence on him have backfired. Remember, Valya’s ultimate plan is to have Emperor Corrino’s daughter Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) study to become a Bene Gesserit so that the Sisterhood can have one of their own sitting on the throne of the Imperium to protect them from any impending trouble. For an unspecified (but clearly lengthy) period of time, Francesca wasn’t able to be around Constantine. Speaking with Kotaku, Tabu says she thinks that is what underscores the character’s hidden power.
“I think she was purposely kept away from the son because for Valya, it could have been dangerous if Francesca was lurking around in the palace. Francesca has a very powerful position if she wants to utilize it. She can play her take-the-son card anytime she wants because he is the natural heir to the to the throne.”
She reasons that Francesca was kept away so “she does not become powerful, put her son on the throne, and turn against Valya.” Judging by the way Emperor Corrino nearly leapt on her in a moment of passion the minute he saw her, Francesca has a strong hold on his heart, which means she can control him. Her mere suggestion that the Emperor give his son more responsibility was enough to lead him to appoint Constantine the leader of his new fleet. If she’d been around during her son’s upbringing, who’s to say Francesca couldn’t have swayed Javicco to let Constantine be the next leader of the Imperium?
That question becomes harder to answer when you factor in how she refuses the Emperor’s romantic advances in the beginning of the episode, before submitting to them near the end. This could easily be looked at as typical Bene Gesserit sexual manipulation. However, the woman who plays Sister Francesca doesn’t think it’s so easy to determine. “She says she does not want to come between him and his wife, but she has very strong feelings for the emperor. She also wants to secure a place for her son,” she explains. “I don’t think she was just playing him for the sake of the Bene Gesserit.”
No Bene Gesserit is more closely tied to the throne than Francesca, which makes her one of the most powerful members of the sisterhood on the show in terms of influence. We’ll have to wait until the final episode to see if that influence helps or hurts Valya in the end.