Dune: Part Two is massive. For those who may have thought 2021's Dune was a little heavy on exposition setting up the world of Frank Herbert's sci-fi epic, the sequel is stuffed with exciting scenes and plot developments that make the two hour and 46 minute movie fly by. But with so much to keep track of, it's fair to have a few questions about everything that happens, so we're here to help explain the Dune: Part Two ending (warning, SPOILERS ahead).
Dune: Part Two picks up very soon after the events of Dune. Paul (Timothée Chalamet) and his mother, Lady Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson), have joined with a group of Fremen after the Harkonnens took control of Arrakis and murdered most of the Atreides forces, including Paul's father, Duke Leto.
One of the Fremen leaders, Stilgar (Javier Bardem) believes Paul shows signs of the prophesied messiah of their people, while others, including Chani (Zendaya) are skeptical the prophecy is anything more than a form of control by the forces that have oppressed the Fremen for spice. To test this, they have Lady Jessica drink what they call the "Water of Life," a poison from sandworms that if she survives will not only help many believe Paul is the messiah, but make her the Reverend Mother of the Fremen people. Lady Jessica does survive, but because she is pregnant her unborn daughter, whom she names Alia, also becomes infused with the powers of the Reverend Mother.
Despite these signs, Paul does not accept he is a messiah. Instead, he seeks to prove himself by fighting alongside the Fremen against the Harkonnens. He practices their ways and helps lead them to many victories, earning the Fremen name Muad'Dib and eventually the love of Chani, as well as reuniting with the Atreides military leader Gurney Halleck (Josh Brolin).
The name of Muad'Dib spreads among the Harkonnens, frustrating Beast Rabban (Dave Bautista) and Baron Harkonnen (Stellan Skarsgård), as well as the emperor (Christopher Walken). The emperor, along with his daughter Princess Irulan (Florence Pugh) and religious leader of the Bene Gesserit, Reverend Mother Mohiam (Charlotte Rampling), recruits Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen (Austin Butler) to take over Arrakis and kill the Muad'Dib, who they do not know is actually Paul.
All of this builds to an epic battle for Arrakis. But let's go into more detail about some specific questions you may have after watching Dune: Part Two.
What happens to Paul in Dune: Part Two?
Despite his insistence he is not a prophet, Fremen like Stilgar continue to see signs that Paul is this foretold figure. Part of Paul's reluctance to accept that role is his visions, which have increased from his exposure to spice. They warn that if he goes south an army of Fremen fundamentalists who would champion him as their prophet, which could bring about great devastation. However, when Feyd-Rautha arrives and destroys the Fremen's bases in the north, Paul is left with no choice but to head south.
Once there, he visits an ancient Fremen temple and attempts to drink the Water of Life. While dangerous for women, it is supposed to be impossible for men to drink it and survive. Paul passes out after drinking it, barely clinging to life. Lady Jessica, who has been orchestrating Paul's rise to become the prophet, tells Chani she can revive him if she mixes her tears with the Water of Life. Part of the prophecy is that the messiah will be reborn from "desert spring tears," and Chani's Fremen name means "Desert Spring." It works. Paul wakes up and now knows he must take on the role of prophet to lead the Fremen to victory.
Paul sends a message to the emperor challenging him to come to Arrakis, joining the Harkonnens in hopes of destroying the Fremen and Maud'Dib. However, Paul devises a strategy that quickly destroys the enemy forces (using his family's stash of atomic warheads and sandworms). With the emperor, Princess Irulan, Reverend Mother Mohaim and Feyd-Rautha as his prisoners, Paul demands the emperor abdicates and to take Irulan as his wife to legitimize his new reign. The emperor wants a challenge first, with Feyd-Rautha as his champion.
Paul and Feyd-Rautha have an epic knife fight. Feyd-Rautha stabs Paul, wounding him. But as Rauth is distracted by his seemingly inevitable victory, Paul is able to strike a killing blow. With his champion dead, the emperor cedes the throne to Paul and Irulan agrees to be his wife.
However, the other great houses of the galaxy, who have arrived outside Arrakis as the battle was underway, do not accept Paul's ascendance to the throne, igniting a new war.
What happens to Chani?
Though Chani does not believe Paul to be the messiah, she sees something special in him, which eventually leads them to fall in love with each other.
After Feyd-Rautha's attacks on Arrakis, Chani urges Paul to go south with them despite his objections and worries about what may happen. He says if he goes there are things that he must do, but she tells him that as long as he remains himself he will not lose her.
However, when Chani learns Paul took the steps to be seen as a prophet by the fundamentalists, and inadvertently having her be a part of it, she is extremely angry with him. Still, she joins his attack against the Harkonnens as she is a warrior.
Chani is then there when Paul makes marriage to Princess Irulan a condition of his ascendance to emperor, which despite her anger with Paul, hits Chani hard. With all this, as Paul and the other Fremen make preparations to attack the other great houses, Chani leaves and heads back to the desert, abandoning Paul for seemingly no longer being the man she fell in love with.
However, previously when Paul was brought back to life, he tells Lady Jessica he has seen in a vision Chani will come to understand and return. TBD on that though.
Who is Lady Jessica's father?
One of the big reveals in Dune: Part Two complicates Paul's lineage.
After drinking the Water of Life, he reveals to his mother, Lady Jessica, he saw a vision that she is actually the daughter of Baron Harkonnen, a fact she herself did not know until she also drank the Water of Life (the movie does not touch on it, but the book details this fact was hidden from Lady Jessica by the Bene Gesserit). This means Paul has both Atreides and Harkonnen blood in him, giving him claim to two of the most powerful houses in the galaxy.
What is the Kwisatz Haderach?
Another thing brought up a lot in the first two movies is the idea of Kwisatz Haderach. This is a power that the Bene Gesserit have been working toward for a long time, which manifests itself in the form of a person; what Reverend Mother Mohaim calls "the ultimate power." Their hope was to be able to control the Kwisatz Haderach, but by the end of Dune: Part Two, Paul has seemingly become this powerful being and is out of the Bene Gesserit's control.
What's the deal with Paul's sister?
We learn in Dune that Lady Jessica is pregnant again, but in Dune: Part Two her unborn child becomes a character in her own right. This comes after Lady Jessica drinks the Water of Life, which also impacts the baby, which she knows to be a girl that she'll call Alia. With the effects of the Water of Life, unborn Alia is able to communicate with her mother through telepathy, offering additional counsel to Paul as he fights the call to become the messiah for the Fremen.
Toward the end of the movie, Paul has a vision where we see a grown-up version of Alia, who is played by Anya Taylor-Joy.
Admittedly, I have not read the Dune books, but given baby Alia's already substantial abilities and her potential position of power once she comes more of age, it would seem that she is either going to become a powerful ally for Paul, or possibly a threat.
How does Dune: Part Two set up a sequel?
Dune and Dune: Part Two cover the events of the first Dune book by Frank Herbert. Presuming that a third movie in the sci-fi franchise is green-lit (and based on critical reception and projected box office, hard to imagine it wouldn't be), what can fans expect?
The final moments of Dune: Part Two offer a lot of breadcrumbs for a sequel. First and foremost, with the other great houses of the galaxy not accepting Paul as the new emperor, a war is going to break out; a Holy War as Lady Jessica puts it. That latter aspect is going to be a big crux, as Paul will likely continue to struggle with being the perceived messiah and wanting to prevent the devastation that his visions have predicted.
Other storylines that are going to need to be picked up is Paul's new marriage to Princess Irulan, which is one of strategic alliance rather than love. Speaking of love, Paul will hope his predictions of Chani returning come true, as she left him and returned to the desert.
We can also likely expect that Alia will be born and become an active player in the plot.
If you want to know exactly what could happen in any Dune sequels, check out Frank Herbert's other books in the series. The next one after Dune is titled Dune: Messiah.
Dune: Part Two is playing exclusively in movie theaters worldwide.
