Dune Prophecy Season 1: What is the Agony Ritual? Find out

The episodes of Dune: Prophecy released so far are undoubtedly giving viewers the expected rush of adrenaline, especially after the films turned out to be a huge success and received recognition on many levels.

One of the moments that made the series even more fascinating was Bene Gesserit’s “The Agony” ritual and the depth it brought to the series. The ritual lives up to its name as it involves a seemingly painful process that involves accessing genetic memory.

However, not everyone can endure the ritual of unlocking their genetic memories. The Venerable Mothers of the Bene Gesserit use their extensive physical and mental training to counter a deadly, mind-altering poison at the molecular level. According to The Nerdist, in doing so they release the genetic memories of their female ancestors and previous Reverend Mothers.

This occurs when they consume the Water of Life – a poison that they must internally neutralize in order to survive. We witnessed this ritual performed by Lady Jessica in the sequel to Dune.

The concept of genetic memory access is based on the idea that people are born with ancestral memories inherited in their cells. The knowledge and experiences of the ancestors are imprinted into their cells at conception. In the world in which Dune’s action takes place, access to genetic memory – also known as “Other Memory” – can only be achieved by performing the Agony ritual.

The Agony Ritual was depicted in the second episode of the newly released Dune: Prophecy. In this episode, the audience witnessed Lila undergoing the ritual. Valya insists on letting Lila go through the ritual, even though Tula – who raised Lila as her own child – expresses her distaste for the ordeal.

Valya firmly believes that Lila must continue with the ritual to stop Tiran-Arafel – a threat to the Sisterhood. She believes that connecting with Raquella and accessing her ancestors’ other memories via Lila could help the Sisterhood overcome this danger.

Three episodes of Dune: Prophecy have been released so far and are available to stream on Max and JioCinema Premium.

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