Dune: The Bene Gesserit Plan Explained

In Dune parts one and two, we meet the sisterhood of the Bene Gesserit, an order of women who have spent thousands of years manipulating bloodlines to produce the Kwisatz Haderach. Is Paul Atreides the fulfillment of this prophecy? How did Lady Jessica interfere with the Bene Gesserit plan? How do the Harkonnens factor in? I answer all these questions, and pose more for Dune: Messiah.

This video contains spoilers for Dune (2021), Dune: Part Two (2024), and Frank Herbert's Dune (1965).

#dune

[johnjohnson]

I love diving deep into the esoterica of dune, and I've found two insights. First the Bene Gesserit almost certainly is referring to the real life Bene Jesuit Order. And secondly the water of life was clearly a Theriac.

[timothymurray]

I know nothing of the lore so this really helps, thanks. I'll be going back to the cinema to rewatch it, great movie.

[asciiguy]

BOOK SPOILERS IN COMMENT

I think my read of the books was different, though it has been a while. The Bene Gesserit had limited prescience, but could not perceive the doom of humanity (stagnation), or the Golden Path. In fact the Golden Path is not mentioned in the books till later on, and the Bene Gesserit only begin to perceive the designs of the Tyrant much, much later, in the events of Heretics of Dune, after it's already been set in motion for thousands of years. I thought that's what his note to them is all about. This is exactly what troubled them, that they could not see everything, and they tried to create this Kwisatz Haderach they could control.

[easadventures]

How was creating a beaing that can know and see all going to be controlled?

[GizmoMaltese]

I’m was a bit confused by the motives of the bene gesserit. Their goal was to create the Kwisatz Haderach. Paul proved that’s who he was when he survived drinking the waters of life. In the books their goal wasn’t control but helping humanity by creating a perfect ruler. But the movie makes it seem like they wanted a perfect ruler they could control. That makes no sense. How can you control a super being?

[tompearce]

The Golden Path was actually devised by Paul Atreides and carried out by his son Leto II. It stressed that humanity could only survive by spreading outward from the Imperium, far beyond the reach of any central government or authority. This was in direct contrast to the Bene Gesserit goal of placing a superhuman of their own creation on the Imperial Throne and governing the Empire through him. The Atreides established their Golden Path by imposing a tyranny so horrible that humanity would never risk another such regime again, and by providing Siona, a genetically engineered woman whose descendants were hidden from dictators with prescience like the Kwistatz Haderach. (During Leto's time as Emperor renegade scientists on Ix also created navigational computers that ended humanity's reliance on the Spacing Guild, facilitating expansion beyond their control as well).

[maxwell]

The bene gesserit are full of contradictions. They want whats best for humanity while being fully in control. They implanted a religion to control a whole planet of warriors that would conquer the imperium with the leadership of their chosen uber men. Never did they stopped to realized what would a person that can see the past and the future actually do...

[Littlewing]

The three Houses the three Abrahamic religions

[FancastFanatic]

so they wanted the Atreidis and Harkonen cousins to…
this some Game of Thrones stuff or what? Genuinely curious

[errrr]

So if he's the kwizan haderach but with the wrong genetic code. Does that mean he's not as powerful as he could be or does.

Also it seems like they can't control him. Is this cos they didn't expect him to be the one ?

And I'm not confused cos does that then mean he's not the lisan algaib or however it's spelt ?

[rafaelludicanti]

Absolut power.

Good.

No over me.

My price.

Bo negotiation.

Yes or no?