In an exclusive interview with The Direct, Dune: Prophecy's Faoileann Cunningham discusses Jen's special place within the Sisterhood.
This article contains spoilers for Dune: Prophecy Episode 5
Dune: Prophecy premiered on November 17 with a shocking ending, it has since been a layered story of twists and turns focused on the origins of the Bene Gesserit.
Following a revealing Episode 5, showcasing more of Tula Harkonnen's (Olivia Williams) true intentions of bringing Lila (Chloe Lea) back to life, Sister Jen is caught in the middle, with a newly realized special ability.
Jen's Feelings on Thinking Machines & the Sisterhood
"The Sisterhood is chasing... this ultimate calibration of every part of yourself."
- The Direct: Jen seems torn between loyalty to her sisters and her doubts about the system they are part of. How does she balance these emotions, and do you think this internal struggle changes her by the end of the season?
"I think she sees the potential power in what the Sisterhood is chasing, which is like this ultimate like calibration of every part of yourself. I think that is just like ultimately very interesting to her.
I think like most of them, in a practical level, would have absolutely no idea how a thinking machine actually works. Do you know what I mean? They're beyond the beyond of black market items.
Each are kind of as scary as the other, right? Because she's learning about all the ways of the Sisterhood, and on the other hand, she doesn't really know anything about thinking machines and their full capacity.
Jen's Superpower: Dream Resistance
"We just know she's had a hard past... Does she sleep at all?"
- The Direct: Tula chooses Jen because she hasn’t been seeing the dreams or visions. While the series hasn’t yet explained why she hasn’t, could this be explored further in the finale?
"I don't know. I've been being very ambiguous about all of it. I think like, we just know she's had a hard past. So, you know, I think, yeah. I wonder, like, does she sleep at all, you know? So maybe there was no time for nightmares."
Standing Up to Sister Avila
"I think the silence is a bit deafening"
- The Direct: Jen stands out as a leader and a free thinker by speaking out against the training. What do you think it is about Jen that makes her this way?
"I just think she can't help herself. Honestly, I think the silence is a bit deafening and I think trying to just go back to doing like lab work, she's like, what the hell? ... That's not what they're doing, like back to their training...it's not possible for her."
"I definitely think she's not afraid of having an opinion."
- The Direct: How would you describe Jen's position within all the young sisters’ dynamic?
"I think she's incredibly strong... Each one of them in their different ways is, and I think that's what's amazing is you have this wild grappling for power, even amongst the youngins because they are all wildly ambitious and very capable in different ways.
I see them all constantly kind of checking where the other one is all of the time. So it's hard to say where you would put her in terms of that. I definitely think she's not afraid of having an opinion."
Lila's Revival: How Jen Helps The Sisterhood
"That scene when we were in the lab was electric"
- The Direct: What was it like working with Chloe as she transitioned between characters, especially her portrayal of Raquella? Were there moments that stood out to you during those scenes?
"I mean, it was an incredibly well calibrated thing on Chloe's behalf. ...It's like an incredible, incredible thing that she's done throughout this. She had such clear ideas about how each of those things, people, lived in her. So it was very easy really for me because it's switching so fast and you're kind of aware of it.
It was exciting because like sometimes, you know, you'd be playing a scene and you might notice something just like a tiny bit different in like her eyes or like the way she was holding herself. And it was just really fun because sometimes you might start to notice earlier in a sentence and then sometimes you didn't notice fully until like you looked her in the eye, it was very exciting.
Obviously when you're acting, it's very like present tense, but like that scene when we were in the lab was electric because we're kind of watching, we're all in the scene, but then we're also all watching this thing within the scene that's unfurling. And yeah, it was really fun. Really, really fun."
"'Hello, can you not see that this is not just a body, this is a person to me"
- The Direct: Jen confronts Tula about the ethics of resurrecting Lila, suggesting they may have done it for the wrong reasons. How do you personally interpret this and what do you think Jen represents in this debate?
"I think it's, it's really hard because it's like I say, you're just there kind of being like, 'Hello, can you not see that this is not just a body, this is a person to me,' and I think it's so complicated, isn't it?
Because there's so many parts of it in the Sisterhood and it's also that thing of being, like with the agony, they told us they needed Lila as a vessel to get to this thing and they did. And again, I'm just kind of like, right, if you're going to use her, then why, and are you?"
"This person is just miraculously right in front of your eyes"
The Direct: The series has a lot of layered themes, from power dynamics to personal sacrifice. Were there any specific themes in Dune: Prophecy that resonated with you personally while portraying Jen?
"I just think it's really interesting in this episode that we get- how often do you see the really big moment of loss for a character, of a friend, right?
And we've seen all of the fallout, and then we get to just see them reborn. That I think is so huge. So there's this double whammy of having gone through a huge loss, and then suddenly being thrust back into basically the gate of your dreams. This person is just miraculously right in front of your eyes. So I think she's very, very, very much like, 'I must stay very close to this and protect it.'"
Dune: Prophecy Episodes 1-5 are now streaming on Max.
