The following review contains spoilers for the fifth episode of Dune Prophecy, The High-Handed EnemyMuch like all thats come before in Dune: Prophecy, there are a lot of good ideas in the finale of the first season, The High-Handed Enemy. From Tulas confrontation with her son Desmond and Valyas revelation of their relationship, to it all leading to the fall of Javvico, there is a good skeleton of drama there. But for every step forward, Prophecy always seems to take two steps back. As a fan of the books and movies, its almost more frustrating when they do succeed, when in the end the whole becomes less than the sum of its parts. The story being told just never finds a way to balance the pace of the series with all that needs explaining and expounding upon. And on top of that, The High-Handed Enemy leaves Prophecy with almost every plotline up in the air, looking towards its recently announced second season for any sort of resolution; that causes it to fail on the promise of the premiere, which laid out the various mysteries of the series.In a lot of ways, Prophecy does the best it can with the time its given. This whole first season has bounced back and forth, alternating between feeling too slow and too quickly paced for its own good. The High-Handed Enemy falls into the latter camp, feeling rushed to get everything out despite the extra 20-ish minutes its given on top of the regular hour-long runtime. And it manages to do some good work with Tulas confrontation of Desmond Hart, Valyas realization of their relation, and the Emperors end, but theres just an overwhelming sense that things were cut down for time. Constantine (Josh Heuston) doesnt even show up in the finale, and while there are relatively good story reasons presented for him not to be around, it feels like he was unceremoniously shoved out of the story to make room for the others. Just when he was getting interesting, too.There just wasnt enough time to fully expound on the ideas of Prophecy in six episodes. By the end, many of the younger Sisters feel underbaked, and with their worlds rocked by the revelations of Mother Dorothea, we dont really get to see how they react to the information. Were just left hanging. Even a few of the main cast, from Desmond Hart to Javvico and Natalya, dont feel as fully fleshed out as they needed to be to grasp their motivations or connect with them in any meaningful way. Its one of the many reasons why the royal storyline often feels flat and unexciting.What makes it worse is that so much of the episode is setup for the next season. Im not cliffhanger-shaming here every season finale, if the writers know theyre going to get another season or are at least confident they will, is going to tease something to come in the future to leave us wanting more. But usually there is still some meaningful resolution to the main plotlines and character arcs that have been the focus of this season (Ned Starks story in season 1 of Game of Thrones being the classic example) and The High-Handed Enemy offers very little in that regard. The return of Mother Dorotea and her influence over the young sisters as she reveals to them the literal skeletons in the closet of the Sisterhood left for next season. The fate of Tula and Desmond as the power over the Imperium shifts due to Javvicos death left for next season. And while it makes sense to leave Valyas quest to save Ynez and bring her to Arrakis open, the character arcs of Valya, Ynez, and Keiran have all been left unresolved, leaving them for next season as well. It all compounds into an episode and by extension, an entire season that feels unfinished.Dune Prophecy Episode 6 GalleryThe one area it does leave with some sense of conclusion is in maybe the most ultimate form of it: death. Javvicos fate, as well as Francescas, is handled relatively well, with some proper emotions from the two of them as well as Natalya. But like I mentioned earlier, its just hard to connect with these characters when weve been given so little insight into their motivations it just feels like there was so much more to be said that the shorter season order just couldnt allow for.The most egregious element of its habitual non-resolution, though, is these high-handed enemies themselves. The mystery of the origin and reality behind Desmond Harts abilities are built up throughout the season, only to reveal that that entire plotline leads towards an answer that raises more questions than it answers. That can be a good thing when done right, as Lost proved time and time again, but it doesnt work when its the majority of plot lines being left behind. Who implanted the fake eye and memories into Desmonds head, for instance? And why him? Rather than carefully planting those ideas in our minds over the course of the series and having a big revelation at the end to entice us into season 2, these questions are brought up and left unanswered all in one breath, taking the excitement out of the moment and leaving us unsatisfied.Its just hard to connect with these characters when weve been given so little insight into their motivations.It all comes back, again, to the too-short season, which had no room to fit another storyline to follow this mysterious new faction, whomever they might be (Tap to Reveal), and have the reveal feel more grounded in things we already knew. Now, were just left with a level of anticipation for answers thats aggravating more than it is exciting.