This review contains spoilers for Dune: Prophecy episode 6.Its time to change tactics, Valya (Emily Watson) declares at the start of the finale to Dune: Prophecy. Valya has good reason for a revision. The High-Handed Enemy finds her plans threatened on every side. The revived Lila (Chloe Lea) is under the control of Dorotea, who wants revenge against Valya for murdering her. Javicco (Mark Strong) seeks to regain control of his empire from not just Valya, but also from the increasingly powerful Desmond Hart (Travis Fimmel). At the same time, Empress Natalya (Jodhi May) makes her move for power, while Princess Ynez (Sarah-Sofie Boussnina) tries to rescue Kieran Atreides (Chris Mason), even as the Sisterhood moves to put her on the throne.With so many plot lines in play, it would seem wise for Dune: Prophecy to change tactics as well. Thus far, the show has been a murky mess of lore dumps and exposition, hamstringing even proven actors like Emily Watson and Olivia Williams and burying human emotions. With all the plotting plotters who fill the show moving into their endgames, nows the time to focus on clear motivations and character exploration.Unfortunately, no such change in tactics occurs in The High-Handed Enemy. Written by Elizabeth Padden & Suzanne Wrubel and directed by Anna Foerster, the season finale squanders its potential to achieve actual compelling drama by favoring exposition and lore.Nowhere is that more clear than in Lilas storyline. Chloe Lea has been a highlight of the series, especially when her wide-eyed true believer character accessed genetic memory and was possessed by her ancestors Dorotea (Camilla Beeput) and Raquella Berto-Anirul (Cathy Tyson). Lea convincingly plays a vengeful adult in the body of a child, and while the explanation of the mix of identities likely confuse viewers who have only seen the Denis Villeneuve movies, the composite character has a legible motivation. Valya killed Dorotea, and now Doroteas back for revenge.The episode starts to follow that trajectory, with thrilling scenes of Lila convincing her sisters to go along with her, before they realize that shes possessed by ancestors. But instead of having Lila go after Valya, she instead gets ideological. Lila spends all of her time gathering sisters to her anti-machine perspective.The ideological turn in the episode fails for numerous reasons. First, its just not as emotionally immediate as a revenge plot. Second, the philosophical stakes of the Butlerian Jihad havent been well-articulated throughout the series. The show has demonstrated people mistrust machines in this world, but the religious fervor that drives Butlerians in the book has not been on display, not so much that it deserves this much attention in the finale, especially over a basic revenge plot. Third, it muddles Valyas intentions, which already fluctuates between revenge against the Atreides and putting a Sister on the throne.Sadly, Lilas storyline is not the only time the finale chooses lore over characters. An otherwise powerful scene at the beginning, in which former Sister and current Suk doctor Nazir (Karima McAdams) exposes herself to the virus with Tulas help, trips up with they throw out the term prana-bindu as if it means anything to anyone who hasnt read the books. Furthermore, the duo discusses at length the viruss attraction to fear, which readers will recognize as setting up an origin for the Litany Against Fear, but doesnt feel like a actual conversation between real people.The failure of the scene between Nazir and Tula highlights the true problem with this series. McAdams and Olivia Williams give proper performances during the interaction, doing their best to find emotional truth under all the jargon. Likewise, Jessica Barden and Emma Canning shine during a flashback scene with young Valya and Tula. Both performers use their expressive faces to speak volumes with just a wrinkled brow or a flicker in the corner of their mouths. In those moments, we believe that were watching two sisters struggle with contradictory feelings and not just pieces on the board, to use a tired metaphor invoked throughout the show.Watson suffers worst of all in this regard. Not only has the writing on the series failed an actor of her caliber, but the adult Valya must be in control at all time, which deprives her of any opportunity to play the emotional range given to her on-screen sister Williams. The viewer can almost see Watson giving up on the character when Valya explains the entire plot of the show to Javicco, even as Mark Strong continues to play against type as the weak-willed Emperor.Frustrating as these positive points are within the episode, they do provide some hope for the future. Surprisingly, Dune: Prophecy has been given a second season and there is enough good stuff here for showrunners Diane Ademu-John and Alison Schapker to make a solid second season. By the end of the episode, Valya has escaped to Arrakis with Ynez and Keiran, Tula has decided to stay with her son Desmond Hart, and Lila/Dorotea continues to recruit Butlerian followers within the Sisterhood.Join our mailing listGet the best of Den of Geek delivered right to your inbox!The show still has some secrets left to explain. We now know that a machine was involved in Harts transformation, but its not clear who had control. The machine could very well be a specific figure from the books, Omnius or Erasmus, or it could be related to Ixians, a race only mentioned in the show. Either way, the series hasnt shown that it can balance lore with character well, which does leave worries about the second season.Still, Dune: Prophecy ends with a strong cast, a fully-developed world, and, some lessons learned. Hopefully, it wont take centuries of engineering to create a leader who can guide the series into something as rich and moving as the Frank Herbert books that inspired it. Hopefully, a change of tactics will be enough.Every episode of Dune: Prophecy season 1 is streaming on Max now.