Valya Harkonnen is a fictional character in the 2024 HBO science fiction television series Dune: Prophecy, portrayed by Emily Watson. She is the leader of the Sisterhood, a secretive and powerful matriarchal order whose members undergo intense physical training and mental conditioning to obtain superhuman abilities. Set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe, ten thousand years before the events of his 1965 novel Dune, the series follows Valya and her sister, Tula Harkonnen (Olivia Williams), as they combat forces that threaten humanity's future, and shape the Sisterhood's evolution into the Bene Gesserit order.
Valya first appears in the Great Schools of Dune (2012–2016) prequel trilogy of novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson.
Character
Development and casting In June 2019, Legendary Television announced a full series order of Dune: The Sisterhood, a series in development which would focus on the Bene Gesserit order and serve as a prequel to Denis Villeneuve's 2021 film adaptation Dune. It was further explained that the series "follows two Harkonnen sisters as they combat forces that threaten the future of humankind, and establish the fabled sect that will become known as the Bene Gesserit."
The casting of Emily Watson as Valya Harkonnen was announced in October 2022. In November 2023, the series was retitled Dune: Prophecy. In May 2024, Jessica Barden was cast as the younger version of Valya.
Description In the series, Valya Harkonnen is the leader of the Sisterhood, a powerful social, religious, and political force whose members possess superhuman powers and abilities by undergoing years of intense physical and mental conditioning. Among these are the abilities to detect lies, and to use their voices to control the behavior of others. This secretive, matriarchal order also continues to acquire power and influence as a means to direct the Imperium, and thereby humanity, on the path they have set for it.
Watson described Valya as powerful and talented, yet damaged, traumatized and "driven by vengeance ... a properly messed up, complicated character". Valya leaves her family for the Sisterhood, and Watson explains:
Showrunner Alison Schapker said, "Valya Harkonnen and Tula Harkonnen share a past and certain trauma, and have a dynamic that's very specific to that family. And there is a bit of an older sibling, younger sibling dynamic. There is a bit of that relatable older sibling driving things overtly, and younger sibling feeling maybe a bit diminished or in the shadow of." Watson explained, "They both have secrets that they are bound together by their past and things that are really deeply, deeply and profoundly shocking that other people don't necessarily know about them. But also, Valya has always been the leader, she's always been the eldest who's brought Tula along with her." She said, "What was really delicious to me as an actor about coming into this world was that these women are from a truly, truly, recognizably messed-up family. They've had an awful childhood and it's sort of propelled them away. And nothing, nothing in this world is good and bad; everything is compromised and strange, and yet what Valya Harkonnen sets her sights on is really determining the right path for humankind. That's her ambition."
Young Valya is described as "ambitious, stubborn and forceful". Watson and Barden discussed their shared character before filming. Watson said of Barden, "She's a real firebrand and just her actual nature, Jessica's nature, was very inspiring to me. She's just incredibly forthright. And we spoke really about the anger, the absolutely uncontrolled sort of powerful anger inside (Valya), which she later in life learns to channel into the ways of the Sisterhood ... It was a really important moment for me talking to her, [learning] her understanding of what this character was like as a young woman."
In the series, Mother Superior Valya schemes on a long term scale that involves fellow Sisters, Imperial power players and Emperor Javicco Corrino (Mark Strong) himself. Watson said, “Certain people will be in favor and in power. If they're no longer useful, then they will be removed. But they're allowed to think that they have power.” She added that Valya is "always one step ahead, moving on, ‘This is the plan', and she doesn't really care who she destroys in the wake of that." But Valya meets her match in Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel), a mysterious and charismatic Imperial soldier who makes a play for Javicco's trust and who Valya finds is not easily controlled. She perceives him as both a threat and a mystery to be solved, and according to Watson, "Valya has the sort of presence of mind, call it what you will, to know that somehow there's a piece, there's a player somewhere that she can't discern and she hasn't found it yet, and she's going after it."
Storyline Set in Frank Herbert's Dune universe, Dune: Prophecy takes place ten thousand years before the events of his 1965 novel Dune. It centers on the origins of the Bene Gesserit, in particular the efforts of sisters Valya and Tula Harkonnen to "combat forces that threaten the future of humankind", as well as "a prophecy [which] foretells of a mysterious and powerful danger that threatens to destroy the Sisterhood." Schapker explained that the series explores multiple time periods, with the characters' pasts adapted from the Great Schools of Dune trilogy of novels by Brian Herbert and Kevin J. Anderson, and the present timeline original to the television series. In particular, the series depicts Valya in the present as the powerful leader of the Sisterhood, as well as her origins 30 years before.
In the series premiere "The Hidden Hand", young Valya Harkonnen has joined the Sisterhood on Wallach IX to escape her family's exile to a desolate world. Mother Superior Raquella, the leader of the Sisterhood, has created a network of influence by placing her Truthsayers, loyal to the Sisterhood, as trusted advisors to the Great Houses. She has also devised a secret breeding program, intended to guide noble bloodlines to cultivate better, more easily controlled leaders. Dying, Raquella tells Valya that she must grow, protect and strengthen the Sisterhood, and that Valya "will be the one to see the burning truth, and know." Raquella's granddaughter Dorotea intends to destroy the breeding program as something heretical and impure, so Valya uses the Voice to force Dorotea to kill herself. Thirty years later, Valya is Mother Superior, and with her sister Tula at her side, has grown the Sisterhood in size and power. Valya has arranged for Princess Ynez-Arat, the daughter and heir of Emperor Javicco Corrino, to be trained at the Sisterhood School, which will ultimately fulfill Valya's goal to place a Sister on the Imperial throne. Valya has also orchestrated a match between Ynez and nine-year-old Pruwet Richese to stabilize the Imperial bloodline for generations. Empress Natalya, Ynez's mother, is wary of Valya's influence and opposes the marriage, but Valya has manipulated events so that Javicco requires Richese ships to maintain his control of the planet Arrakis, only source of the all-important spice. After meeting the mysterious Imperial soldier Desmond Hart, Imperial Truthsayer Kasha Jinjo has unsettling visions that involve Ynez, and comes to believe that the marriage should not proceed. Her decades-long plan nearing fruition, Valya dismisses Kasha's warnings. On the capital world of Salusa Secundus, Desmond warns Javicco about rebellious forces growing against him, and Javicco indicates that he is uneasy about the betrothal. Desmond explains to Pruwet that the Sisterhood has unacceptable influence over the Imperium, and confesses that he has been given a "great power" by his near-death experience on Arrakis. Desmond psychically immolates Pruwet, an attack which simultaneously immolates Kasha on Wallach IX. A horrified Valya recalls Raquella's dying prediction.
In "Two Wolves", Valya instructs a reluctant Tula to put her protégée Lila, revealed to be Raquella's great-great-granddaughter, through the dangerous Agony ritual to unlock her Other Memory and contact Raquella. Valya takes Theodosia with her to Salusa Secundus, where she arrives unannounced to bring news of Kasha's death and assign Theodosia to bond with Ynez. Detecting Javicco's lies about Desmond's involvement in Pruwet's death, Valya persuades the Emperor to let her interrogate the soldier. Desmond readily admits to killing both Pruwet and Kasha, but Javicco rebuffs Valya's suggestion that he execute Desmond. Valya meets with her spy in the rebel faction plotting against Javicco: Mikaela, a Fremen bartender who is secretly a Sister. Valya has been supporting the insurgents to weaken the Emperor so he remains reliant on the Sisterhood. With the situation changed, she now intends to bolster Javicco and burn the rebel cell. Natalya, however, has convinced Javicco to use Desmond and his powers. Desmond subsequently informs Valya that the Emperor no longer requires her services, and expresses his intent to wipe out the Sisterhood. She employs the Voice to compel him to commit suicide, but to her shock, he is immune.
In "Sisterhood Above All", Valya reassures her Truthsayers on Salusa Secundus that she will turn the tables on Desmond and reassert her control over the Emperor. Valya then visits her estranged uncle, Evgeny Harkonnen. In the past, young Valya passionately calls for revenge against the Atreides. Her parents, Sonia and Vergyl, and uncle, Evgeny, are content living a quiet life on the ice planet Lankiveil. They do not want to risk further retaliation by the Atreides, especially since Vorian Atreides, the man responsible for their downfall, has recently resurfaced. Valya's brother, Griffin, shares her desire to restore their family's reputation, but is subsequently killed, allegedly murdered by Vorian. Valya leaves to join the Sisterhood, the elder Harkonnens blaming her for Griffin's death, but resists taking her vows because she still considers her family's vengeance her top priority. Raquella takes Valya under her wing, eventually sharing with her the secret of the forbidden technology used to maintain her vast DNA database. Valya, in turn, demonstrates her nascent talent, the Voice. Recognizing that her life is waning, Raquella intends to put Valya and Dorotea through the Agony to succeed her as leaders of the Sisterhood. Valya at first refuses, and Raquella issues the ultimatum that she take care of her family issues and return as a Reverend Mother, or not at all. Meanwhile, Tula has managed to assassinate Vorian's descendant, Orry Atreides, and his entire clan. When Sonia chastises Valya for her negative influence, Valya uses the Voice on her mother, silencing her and forcing her to pick up a blade. Satisfied that her family has been avenged, Valya self-administers the Rossak drug, and survives the Agony.