The character Desmond Hart was specifically created for the series “Dune: The Prophecy”. He impressed with extraordinary abilities, and the book “Dune: Messiah” might give a clue about them.
The series “Dune: The Prophecy” tells about the early days of the Bene Gesserit order, and in the series, they turned out not to be the only ones who possess superhuman psychic abilities. Desmond Hart, portrayed by Travis Fimmel, claims he is just a simple soldier of the Empire, but in reality, he is someone mysterious and much more powerful. According to the plot, he was supposedly swallowed by Shai-Hulud on Arrakis, but somehow he was found alive. Moreover, the “simple soldier” has extraordinary abilities to burn people at a great distance and resist the power of the Bene Gesserit sisters, whom he openly opposed.
Viewers noticed the external resemblance between Desmond Hart and Duncan Idaho from Denis Villeneuve’s film “Dune: Part One”. He is also a soldier, but loyal to Emperor Javviko Corrino. As it will become clear later, this resemblance may be deliberate and intentionally emphasized by the series’ creators.
The Emperor is one of the few who knows what happened to Desmond on Arrakis, but even he does not realize exactly what happened. Supposedly, Hart was swallowed by a sandworm, but instead of dying, it seems he received a blessing. Thanks to his encounter with Shai-Hulud, he gained a new type of “sight” and awareness. Moreover, his ability to pyrokinesis makes him extremely dangerous: he burns both a prince of House Richese and a Bene Gesserit sister named Kasha, the latter from a great distance.
Desmond Hart was imprisoned for the murder of the emperor’s daughter’s betrothed boy. However, he claims that he is loyal to the Empire. Later, Javviko realizes what a valuable ally he can have in his fight against enemies — pyrokinesis works without exposing its user. Soon he proves his worth and power, standing against the Reverend Mother Vali Harkonnen, and demonstrating his ability not to obey her voice.
At first glance, Desmond Hart’s abilities are clearly not based on anything from the books or films of “Dune”. A theory that might explain something is precisely based on Hart’s resemblance to Duncan Idaho. Readers of the “Dune” books know that Idaho did not disappear forever when he was killed. It is entirely possible that Desmond Hart was reborn as a ghola — a creature that, as hinted by “Dune 3” by Denis Villeneuve, based on the novel “Dune: Messiah”, is a clone created also to obtain certain unusual abilities.
In “Dune: Messiah,” the deceased Duncan Idaho returns as a ghola to once again serve the House of Atreides. The series may introduce this concept to viewers earlier than the third film of the “Dune” series by the Canadian director. The scars on Hart, which could have been the result of cloning a ghola from a small amount of genetic material, indirectly suggest such a possibility. If this is the case, then Hart’s abilities might have nothing to do with Shai-Hulud — the worm probably just killed the original Desmond.
Who could have done this? It is worth recalling the witches of Rossak, from whom the Bene Gesserit sisters originated, according to the novels by Brian Herbert, the elder son of Frank Herbert. One of their abilities is to “fry” brains, which aligns well with Hart’s actions.
Perhaps, the character is related to the Ixians, who never shared the anti-technology fervor after the Butlerian Jihad against intelligent machines. They had incredible technologies that could have enhanced Desmond Hart’s capabilities. Something similar is hinted at by the mechanical toy of the little prince. It remains to be hoped that “Dune: The Prophecy” will reveal the mystery in this season.
Source: CBR
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