Dune 2: Why does the Reverend Mother call Paul an abomination?

Dune 2 follows the next chapter of Paul Atreides’ story and his ambition to seek revenge against the Harkonnens. Heavy is the head that wears the crown, though, let’s uncover why Charlotte Rampling’s Reverend Mother calls Paul an abomination.

In Dune Part One, Paul doesn’t believe he’s destined to fulfill the Fremen’s prophecy, which says he’s the Lisan Al’Gaib: a messiah who will lead them to paradise. Going into Dune 2, Paul is still adamant about not being their leader.

That’s until he’s forced to do the one thing he never wanted to do, but thinks he must do to protect Chani and the Fremen. Dune 2 follows Paul as he becomes the Mahdi they crave, and how he fulfills the prophecy in a forbidden way.

Accepting his fate as the Lisan Al’Gaib in the Dune 2 ending led the Reverend Mother to call him an abomination, here’s why. Warning: Spoilers ahead!

Why is Paul called an “abomination” in Dune 2?

Reverend Mother calls Paul in Dune 2 an abomination because he violated sacred laws and drank the Water of Life, which is forbidden for any male to do and makes him powerful yet unstable.

In the Dune books and movies, the Bene Gesserits condemn and fear the fact Paul has no formal training in controlling the ancestral memories and gifts he unlocked when drinking the Water of Life.

When Feyd-Rautha is given control of Arrakis and tasked to kill the Fremen, he attacks their main seitch. This is where they collect the sacred water harvested from dead Fremen. Paul’s visions warn him that going to the south would lead to pain and suffering, but after the attack, Paul has no choice but to win over the Fremen there.

Lady Jessica, now a Reverend Mother, had visited a sacred sietch where they created the Water of Life. She warns the handler a man will come to drink it, and the handler warns her it’s forbidden for men to drink.

When Paul arrives, he drinks the Water of Life to get clarity on the future. He survives it, fulfilling the prophecy of the Lisan Al’Gaib. Later, Paul and the Fremen ambush the Emperor and the Harkonnens on Arrakis. That’s when Paul uses ‘the voice’ on Reverend Mother and she calls him an “abomination.”

Paul was seen as a problem from the get-go, as he was meant to be born a woman. As well as his mother defying Gesserit law and teaching him their ways, he also broke the rules by drinking the Water of Life as a male and surviving. He, like them, has centuries of genetic memories as a result.

Dune 2 has an Easter Egg with another “abomination” character

Denis Villeneuve teased a big Easter egg from the books by implying Reverend Mother was also talking about Alia Atreides when she called Paul an “abomination”. During the scene, the Reverend Mother briefly looks at the pregnant Jessica after saying it.

The first movie set the framework for another major character from the books: Alia. Paul sensed his mother’s pregnancy — which surprised her, as no one else knew. In Dune 2, she and Paul fail to tell the Fremen that she’s pregnant when she becomes a Reverend Mother and drinks the Water of Life.

The previous dying Fremen Reverend Mother realizes the truth. She says in horror, “What have we done?” The Water of Life had given Jessica’s unborn child an unnatural level of awareness, and the ability to communicate from the womb. Throughout the movie, she sways Jessica’s actions.

In the books, Alia is seen as a prime example of an abomination. She was pre-born from the Water of Life and with Benne Gesserit memories. The books describe her as being cunning but erratic and emotionally unstable due to her birth. Being so young, she had no training to control the gifts she received.

Now that’s cleared up ahead of the Dune 3 release date, why not find out what the best movies of the year are so far? Or, see what new movies are still to come? There are also Dune gaming crossovers to look out for.