Dune: part two is the biggest movie of the year so far, and TikTok has tapped into every aspect – from Stilgar attributing everything as proof that Paul is the Messiah to appreciating sandworms. The platform features a mix of explainers, jokes and sketches that reinterpret scenes Dune: part two. But a final moment between Timothée Chalamet’s Paul Atreides and Austin Butler’s Feyd-Rautha Harkonnen came off surprisingly well.
As Paul and Feyd face their destined confrontation, director Denis Villeneuve keeps the tone tense. We’ve already seen them both kill in cold blood, and now they’re fighting for control of the galaxy. Then Paul says, “May your blade break and shatter,” and it seems to break Feyd a little. The Harkonnen scion does not react immediately and tilts his head slightly. He eventually repeats the phrase back, but it’s unclear what he’s feeling as he says it. Is he confused by Paul’s statement, or does he… view Paul differently than before?
Feyd’s reaction is a perfect TikTok moment, both confused and excited. In many of these clips, the creator plays both roles, portraying Paul seriously but raising his eyebrows or biting his lips when it’s time for Feyd’s role. They’re mostly coy about it, and combined with the Feyd/Austin Butler fancams and the “I can fix him” captions, it all pushes this bald psychotic babe into the mainstream, along with maybe a potential love for Paul from an ambiguous fight . series.
But does Butler portray Feyd as sexually interested in Paul in this scene? It wouldn’t be inappropriate for a deranged, emotionless killer like Feyd to have a completely inappropriate response to a situation. Remember how many times in the movie he slit someone’s throat just because he didn’t perform a task correctly? What about when he kissed his uncle? Unfortunately, going back to the source material, his reaction has a more mundane explanation.
When Feyd and Paul meet face to face for the first time in the Emperor’s chamber, Paul does not know whether he will win or lose. Feyd has not appeared in any of his visions and premonitions, and it fills him with dread. .
In the novel’s climax, Paul challenges Feyd to a kanly, a stern duel between great houses, as a symbolic act of revenge against the Harkonnens for the death of his father. That’s where we get the now famous line: “May your blade break and shatter.” It comes out of nowhere when Chalamet says it Dune: part two — especially if you don’t remember how the Fremen Janis says it to Paul in their duel at the end of the first film – and since it’s a Fremen taunt, Feyd has no idea what it means. What does Feyd think about all this? Unfortunately for people who see Butler’s performance and think he now wants to destroy his cousin, his book thoughts are more about realizing that Paul is a warrior:
“Excitement ignited within him. This was a fight he had dreamed of – hand to hand, skill against skill without the intervention of shields. He saw a path to power opening up before him, as the Emperor would surely reward whoever killed this troublesome duke. The reward might even be that haughty daughter and a share of the throne.”
Image: Warner Bros. Pictures
TikToks about Feyd getting a little nervous when Paul growls at him don’t necessarily have a book to respond to — they’re a response to Chalamet and Butler’s charisma, and the desire to see two attractive men kiss. But it’s ironic that Feyd’s response is read as sexual at all. As committed as Denis Villeneuve’s adaptation is to author Frank Herbert’s details, it wisely leaves much of the book’s homophobic stereotyping in the past, including Baron Harkonnen himself. Herbert’s text implies that the Baron’s relationship with his cousin is incestuous, and outright establishes him as a serial killer of adolescent boys.
Then there’s also the fact that this is a meeting of fates; If Paul had been born a girl, as the Bene Gesserit had intended, he would have been married off to Feyd so that they could reproduce the Kwisatz Haderach. Instead, Lady Jessica got Paul. Paul and Feyd are symbolic parallels in the long-standing rivalry between Atreides and Harkonnen, and although the Bene Gesserit spends much of the book trying to ensure that Feyd’s genes are passed on and that Paul does not become the messiah, this fight about so much more than whether they kiss.
The Bene Gesserit failed spectacularly Dune, and let their own plans slide. But they managed to create a story that the people of Arrakis interpreted as they saw fit. TikTokers do exactly the same, but with one exciting fight scene. While this is yet another example of TikTok flattening the true meaning of something, it’s mostly harmless fun. Additionally, thanks to the way TikTok works in fandom communities, ideas will be perpetuated as people try to create their own versions of skits or put new spins on them. There are also plenty of TikToks explaining the connection between Paul and Feyd, so it’s not like this will go completely unnoticed. Either way, Herbert would be turning in his grave if he could see how the Internet is shipping Paul and Feyd.