Watching someone transform their appearance into the likeness of a long-deceased loved one before your very eyes would be unsettling for anyone to see, but apparently, this is a thing in the "Dune" universe and we’re here to explain everything you need to know about these shape-shifting individuals.
If you've seen the end of the "Dune: Prophecy," episode "Twice Born," after Valya Harkonnen stood by to see poor Uncle Evgeny Harkonnen fall out of his floating suspensor chair and die gasping and floundering for air after she denied him his essential medical inhaler, you know what weirdness we're leading into.
Suddenly, we believe we're experiencing a dream sequence of sorts as a young Griffin Harkonnen steps out of the shadows to reinforce Valya's bad behavior, recognize his sister's sacrifices in returning to the family clan, and validate her poor choices of the past. But this isn't some zombie phantasm, as his clear face becomes unnaturally blotchy and he morphs back into the acolyte Sister Theodosia, who reveals herself to be one of the fabled Face Dancers.
Who are the Bene Tleilax?
Residents of Frank Herbert's expansive "Dune" world, Face Dancers are engineered humans created by the arcane society of genetic manipulators known as the Bene Tleilax, a xenophobic sect operating from the remote planet of Tleilaxa. Their shadowy gene-tampering handiwork also includes making artificial eyes, incubating bodies cloned from dead people called gholas, and providing tampered-with models of the human computers known as Mentats.
In the later "Dune" novels, the Bene Tleilax's shady and often unethical practices are frowned upon within the Imperium. Face Dancers are feared as they can be easily utilized in myriad malevolent ways to disguise and infiltrate royal ranks and artificially influence decisions that affect key events. Theo's transformative skills are easily interpreted as an early incarnation of the guild's advanced techniques.
What are Face Dancers in Dune?
Back to that disturbing point where fans see our first Face Dancer inside the dreary Harkonnen apartment, a weird translucent sheen appears over Griffin’s face following his exchange with Valya. In a startling twist, Valya thanks “Theo” for those comforting words in a time of crisis. Then in an instant, Griffin's face ripples and reconfigures into the familiar visage of Sister Theodosia. It is now apparent that Theodosia is seemingly a Bene Tleilax Face Dancer, altered with the uncanny ability to absorb and project another person's appearance and ingest their knowledge.
Face Dancers represent the "Dune" universe's version of legendary shape-shifting beings found in the religions of many cultures including Native American tribes.
They’ve been cultivated and engineered by the Leilaxu scientists for various purposes that seem obvious when considering what type of a dangerous asset these face-changing entities are and what mayhem they’re capable of in the Imperium. This male-dominated religious group is similar to the Sisterhood (and later the Bene Gesserit) in that both closed organizations utilize genetic manipulation but are on the opposite ends of the time scale when it comes to immediate or delayed results.
Now that we're aware that Sister Theodosia could be one of the first Leilaxian Face Dancers who was admitted to the Sisterhood's special school, how she might be deployed by Valya. With the ability to imitate anyone’s face, body, and voice, she can continue her manipulative plans to regain influence over House Corrino and vanquish Desmond Hart!
