Killers of the Flower Moon, Dune: Part II, and Colonial Betrayal.

By Welby Delinois

The stories of both Killers of the Flower Moon and Dune: Part II are inherently tragic. Just not in the way people openly acknowledge, despite it being explicit in the very text of the movies. While the tragic aspect of the films is often focused on the protagonist of the films respectively. It’s ten times more tragic from the POV of the ultimate victims. Chani and the Freemen in Dune: Part II and Molly and the Osage in KOTFM.

The major tragedy for said characters and groups is both the deep-seated betrayal of them and their whole people by the people who supposedly claimed to love them, but in fact, they should've seen this coming, and they mistakenly assumed that sharing in their oppressor's humanity would guarantee true alignment.

What makes this ultimately tragic is how it gives us a metatextual lens in how these types of things often occur frequently with colonialism, a false assumption of equality and shared humanity, especially against the wider threat, in both a personal and collective sense, combined with the tension of their natural distrust of the wider world.

Misplaced Hope of Alignment

In KOTFM, Molly, a wealthy Osage whose family owns the oil headrights, is at first a bit guarded (understandably so), full of sass, and warms up to Ernest to the point of marriage with clear, genuine love between them. All the while, her people are partially grieving the steady loss of their own identity, with discussions about this occurring after the Elders bury a ceremonial pipe. Burying a sacred living memory. A symbol of their culture, they see as slowly passing away. In this context, Molly seems to see Ernest as, even if subconsciously, a hope of someone she can be emotionally free with, especially since, as she mentions to her sisters earlier in the film, she see's him as harmless, in the sense that he's not clearly a conniving white man, but a bit of a happy-go-lucky goofball who's sweet inside. Something a guarded woman like her had probably deeply craved but never got. Not to mention making it easier to steadily enter into wider society peacefully without destroying everything she holds dear.

This is all while Ernest is secretly helping his ruthless uncle William Hale, and other conspirators, to kill dozens of her own people, including her own sister, to take their wealth and land. Something they assumed would be there. Hale presented himself as an ally to the Osage people, blending in with them, speaking their language, comforting them, and even building schools for them. He comforts them when they mourn their dead loved ones during the murders, condemning the very people doing this, all the while being the very man helping to plot said murders for their resources.

Allowing people like Hale in, just like Molly allowing Ernest into her life, was for them, allowing people who have proved themselves willing to both learn their language and peacefully coexist with them. Being a part of their world while sharing there's an equal exchange of shared humanity. But unfortunately, that feeling wasn't mutual for the white men around them. Many of them view them as playthings at best and pawns at worst. Marrying them, then killing them for their insurance. Seeing it as not only justified but also predetermined. Hale even indicated this to his conversation with Ernest at the Freemason lodge, stating that he "loves them," but that "in the turning of the earth, their time is over, they're gonna go." saying that it's their destiny to die off because that's the nature of life itself, while they take their land. While people desperately want their humanity at least acknowledged by the world, to live peacefully, Hale and those around him see's this compulsion as useful information to use against them to get rid of them and take their wealth and land for themselves. This ties directly to Molly's hope that Ernest sees her humanity and not just an exotic product to use, abuse, and take from. Unfortunately, as she realizes too late, the two aren't mutually exclusive; he does genuinely love her, but also views her as an exotic product to use, abuse, and take from. Even though all they desired was the exact opposite of that.

Their situation also showcases the complex nature of those who suffered long-term oppression, the combination of restrained cautiousness. This desire to both resist society's influence while also desiring their acceptance, or more specifically, acceptance of their humanity. They desire autonomy from outside forces but also desire them to see their humanity, to fully understand it. The desire for acceptance is not a desire for assimilation; it's a demand to be seen as fully human without surrendering their autonomy. It is these internal forces of individual and collective people whose faced long-term oppressions and colonialism for several generations tended to have, and, as seen with the Osage, it is these internal desires that the very system that oppressed them in the first place takes full advantage of. This tied exactly with what happened between Molly and Ernest. Molly saw Ernest accept her humanity as she is, learning her language, living among her and her tribe, having children together, all while not being forced to destroy what makes her authentically her, or so she thought. This was unfortunately the same for Chani in Dune.

Chani in the previous film is cautious about Paul for understandable reasons, and by the second film, he's still skeptical of him, sees clearly warming up to him, especially as he fights alongside them against the Harkonnen's, proves himself capable of riding a sandworm, and, more importantly, treats them as an equal. Something they're probably not used to. This prince of a great House fighting by her side, seeing her as a friend, an equal, not a useful pawn or a plaything, but a sovereign person inside and out. All while submerging himself into their way of life. Hence, she begins to fall in love with her; this is one of the major reasons that she specifically assures Paul that she'll never lose her as long as he remains who he is. Unfortunately for her, that was never guaranteed, especially because events around them guarantee's that Paul was gonna have to change, or more specifically, accept his imperial destiny, sooner or later. That's what he's literally trained to be.

Hale and his co-conspirators around him presented themselves as " one of the good ones," when really they were just slick occupiers of their land, coming in with a handshake in one hand while holding a gun in the other. Taking advantage of their mental and physical health issues(caused by people like him), such as with Henry Roan, a frequent alcoholic with suicidal ideation. King takes care of him and lets him stay with him on occasions when he's severely drunk, in a parental kind of way, as he plans his murder and theft.

This shows that in colonialism, it's willing to give a helping hand to the colonized when they're down and soothe them, mainly because they're depleted, emotionally, physically, mentally, etc. Making them not a threat to them and easier to take advantage of, just like with Loan when they give him a drink in the field before shooting him in the back.

With all of her loved ones dead and her life being drained both literally and metaphorically, Molly leans on Ernest to be her physical and emotional protector. Seeing him as someone who could shield her from this tragedy and provide her comfort in this time of need. Trusting him to the point of going against her instincts not to take the shots after Ernest convinces her not to. Especially since Ernest is from that world, yet like his uncle, he learned the language, intermingled with them, etc.

While it can be argued that Ernest, being somewhat timid-minded, is heavily influenced by those around him, especially his uncle King, to the point of King managing to influence him to sign away his own life policy, manipulating said timidity and his greed, at the end of the day, especially as he saw his own wife who he claims to love, suffering from the death of her loved one's and eventually from him slowly poisoning her, he still goes along with it, directly killing many Osage for their wealth. There were many moments where he could've at the very least ended his own participation in this massacre. Especially after the bombing of his wife's last remaining sister and her husband's house, and especially after poisoning Molly herself, which he clearly felt massive shame about, shown when he poisons himself. He still continues, almost instinctively. All for both his uncle's approval and his desires to gain his family's headrights. Unfortunately, Chani and her people end up suffering a similar fate based on similar longings.

Chani in the previous film is cautious about Paul for understandable reasons, and by the second film, he's still skeptical of him, sees clearly warming up to him, especially as he fights alongside them against the Harkonnen's, proves himself capable of riding a sandworm, and more importantly, treats them as an equal. Something they're probably not used to. This prince of a great House fighting by her side, seeing her as a friend, an equal, not a useful pawn or a plaything, but a sovereign person inside and out. All while submerging himself into their way of life. Hence, she begins to fall in love with her; this is one of the major reasons that she specifically assures Paul that she'll never lose her as long as he remains who he is. Unfortunately for her, that was never guaranteed, especially because events around them guarantee's that Paul was gonna have to change, or more specifically, accept his imperial destiny, sooner or later. That's what he's literally trained to be.

Both Paul and Ernest were created and conditioned to view love through a conditional lens, and the main thing of greater priority is fulfilling their ambitions and doing what they feel like they have to do to gain what they desire above everything else. This is why their love towards their loved ones and their people will always be conditional.

Conditional Love of Empire's Heirs

While Molly and Chani were seeking emotional and structural refuge from their spouse, these women realized too late that they could never fully be in a place where they could rest or feel free, as they had thought they could from the destructive and parasitic system, especially since the very system had molded them. As a result, they could never truly give the unconditional love they deeply desire.

With Ernest, for example, while he did love Molly genuinely and the family he made with her, as shown in both his struggle with, and his crying in angst when his children died, his love for them(and by extension his children) was conditional.  Shown when even as he struggled emotionally with having to poison his wife, he still did it, because of both the influence and pressure of his uncle King and his insatiable greed.

Unfortunately, Ernest grew up and was molded by a system whose main priority is gaining dominance and maintaining supremacy. He's a veteran of WWI, a war manipulated by profiteers and imperialistic nations to conquer more territory and make a profit, with all of the soldiers manipulated and forced into a meat-grinder, with the US entering the war in 1917. When he came home, like many veterans of the war was traumatized, aimless, and lost. Which his uncle takes full advantage of. Said uncle, a microcosm of the transactional nature of the world, not only ruthlessly beats him in the back with a large paddle but forcefully coerces Ernest to sign his own insurance policy away to him "just in case," meaning that, like in war, he's easily discarded if he becomes an inconvenience. When you have a family member willing to discard you at a moment's notice to ensure their plans for dominance don't get hindered, plus a society that coerced him into a chaotic, brutal, and pointless war, on top of the society being based on a hierarchy where white people are the dominant members of society, and all the marginalized. Ernest was never gonna give anything but conditional love to Molly because that's the type of man he was made to be. A trained soldier, desensitized to brutal violence, in a world that normalizes greed and racial discrimination. So he's long been molded to put all of his familiar wants and needs aside for the nation, for society, and his uncle's schemes. As well as what said things represent, power, hierarchy, and greed.

A man whose main value and values are how much wealth he has, how many people he can kill, and how he dominates, whether in the battlefield or in the household, which Hale suggests he does when discussing Molly sending investigators around their reservation. Threatening their goals. Instead of using Molly's efforts as an opportunity to help his wife, to be there as her equal, especially since, as a white man, they'll probably at least be more open to his perspective, instead, he chooses to go the other direction, even making his own scheme to make money with Blackwood along the way. This is all because his love and support for her only goes as far as it doesn't get in the way of his goals and the well-being of those around him. He's long been dehumanized and taught how to dehumanize by a system that taught him that nothing is sacred, including love.

This is a similar case for Paul in his world. Genuine love in the Dune universe is not the highest priority, shown with Duke Leto not marrying Jessica and keeping her as her concubine to keep him open for political alliances. The Bene Gesserit breeds genetic bloodlines, not out of care or connection, but to eventually create the demigod, the Kwisatz Haderach. Emperor Shaddam Corrino used the Harokkens to kill Leto and his family line, despite, in his daughter's own words," he loved him like a son," all because of envy and fear of the Atriedes' growing influence. Jessica, despite her clear reservations and guilt, gave her son away to be tortured on the Gom Jabbar. Standing there on guard as Paul screams in agony, even as she tearfully shows agony for her son. All of this is to maintain, expand on, and influence the order of things in the wider galaxy. Duty, specifically duty to the galactic order, was always going to be a priority. So even with Paul's genuine love for her, he's gonna eventually have to fulfill what he was created to do, even in a way that doesn't go as planned as intended, as an imperial product. To fulfill his imperial calling.

Any system that willingly uses its own children, such as Paul, to fulfill a genetically manipulated destiny without his consent. Turning him into a "freak," as Paul himself yelled at his mother that they turned him into in the first film, after being traumatized by his vision of people being killed in his House's banner. If this system is willing to do that, then it is questionable that those raised and created by this dynamic would, at some point, disregard any sort of personal and familial bonds. To the point of the Bene Gesserit trying to arrange for Paul's death when they felt like he was beyond their control, and use Feyd's child as a replacement for the next Kwisatz Haderach candidate. So, unfortunately, due to the way things were already arranged, Chani and the Freeman were always going to be used and discarded by Paul himself eventually, no matter how much he loved her. Making her hopes and dreams inevitably fragile.

This aspect shows the factor that everything is built with utility in mind, meaning that everything, even family and loved ones, is viewed through the context of use and legacy. Anyone raised within this system will inevitably view life and everything related to it through these lenses. So Chani's hope for this to be different with Paul was doomed from the very start. Same with Molly and Ernest.

Because of this, Chani and the Freeman, Molly and the Osage, were always, and frankly already were before they even met, being used as genie pigs for this world's continuous imperial and colonialist projects. Even by those with apparently noble intentions, as shown with Paul's late father, Duke Leto.

False Peace of Colonialism.

The late Duke Leto, while seemingly sincere with his desires to keep the Freeman able to live in peace, clearly comes with conditions. Conditions that help them gain both their spice and their " desert power," especially against their enemies, mainly the Harkonnens. So, whether he wants to admit it or not, he's using the Freeman against their wishes, for his own political machinations, in other words, geopolitical pawns, even though the Freeman would more than likely prefer to live in peace in their lands. But they never got to have any input on this. Or any input on being influenced by the Benne Gesserit for thousands of years to bring about the Kwisatz Haderach. Manipulating them into believing in a Messiah, the Lisan Al Gaib, using their hope to turn their world into a paradise against them.

While it is true that the alliance would be fruitful for both of them in terms of fighting off the Harkonnens and ensuring a more amiable coexistence, at least compared to the Harkonnens, it needs to be pointed out that the only reason the Duke is even here is that Emperor Corrino gave it to him, handing it over from the Harkonnens. In other words, the same Emperor who allowed the Harkonnens to oppress them brutally for the Spice is the same one who swung Arrakis over to the Duke. So Chani in the film introduction had a right to ask, "Who'll our next oppressors be?" Showing full knowledge that they're only gonna be traded for another power.

This treatment is similar to how many nations treated colonies and the locals there. From Britain giving Hong Kong back to China on July 1st, 1997, without even considering if they wanted to be independent instead, to the Philippines being ruled by Spain for several decades until they gave it to the US in 1898, who ruled it for a few decades until July 4th 1946, when their independence was fully recognized after years of fighting colonial powers( throughout this period when the Philippines forcefully fought of the US then fighting off the Japanese's alongside the US in WWII when the the Japanese invaded and occupied it in 1941). Note that they weren't given their own nation until the people had no choice but to force the nations to.

Even as the Philippines ended up gaining independence, this was after being used as pawns to the geopolitical system and forced to participate in political wars and rivalries they didn't ask to be a part of, especially since being a US colony and part of the South China Sea made them the perfect target for invasion. Similar to what unfortunately happened with the Freemen in Dune. With Arrakis being the center of Spice, needed for Space travel, it made it the perfect target for those in power to use for all sorts of nefarious means, resulting in, like with Japan, the invasion of Arrakis.

Systems of power considered their colonies useful objects to be used, abused, and traded at their will for their resources, military forces, etc. All to serve the powerful, without their consent. This is what the film demonstrates with the switching from House Harkonnen to House Atriedes. What's worse is that this is all a trap by both the Emperor and the Harkonnens to wipe the Atriedes out. Whether they asked for it or not, they ended up being the casualties of these Houses's deep seated rivalry. Even becoming a target of genocide during the whole thing on Baron Harkonnen's orders to fully get money from the Spice and have full control over Arrakis without interference and resistance.

This is even as Stilgar, when meeting Leto, explicitly suggested not to trespass on their lands and territories, dig up whatever spice they need, and then go away. Go away and leave them and Arrakis alone. Leto promised them that they'll be left alone while they're here, though, considering that this was all a trap, this was never gonna happen. Leto soon realized that this was a trap after that meeting. Making all of this promise of amiability, pointless and inane. This is what makes the situation with the Freeman ultimately tragic. The even small chance that their autonomy would be somewhat respected even by those in power was a pipe dream from the bat because the trap, which guarantees subjection and/or their slaughter. Which is also directly tied to Chani's hope of her people being free, from both physical and mental oppression (the influence of the prophecy), which Paul, in both his actions and his words, promised her he wouldn't be a part of. Not to be her Lord, but her partner. But the way Paul was brought up from the start guaranteed the opposite.

All of this sets up how Paul Atriedes would similarly end up treating them, even with all of his hesitation. Not only has he been trained to be a Prince of his House, but he is also trained by Jessica, a Bene Gesserit. He was made to be a future Lord and ruler. No matter how he tries to resist it, the system will make sure he fulfills what he's made to be.

Some may argue that one of the reasons Paul eventually accepted the role of Lisan Al Gaib is that a lot of the Freemen wanted the Lisan Al Gaib, especially in the South, especially Stilgar, as he increasingly becomes fanatical, and that he was just giving what the Freemen desired and using it to his own advantage (along with the influence of the prescience, of course). While this is a fair argument, what needs to be pointed out is that the only reason they even had this hope in the first place was not only because of the Bennett Geserit but also because of Jessica, who furthered the manipulation after becoming the Reverent mother. Another factor is that at the end of Dune: Part I, after his defeat and the killing of Jamis, it was Paul who chose to go with the Freeman, disregarding his mother's suggestion that they help them get back home. Seeing that he can continue his father's goal of bringing peace to Arrakis. Even though he knows where this will eventually lead if he continues, at the moment, his goals take precedence over the lives of the Freeman for the sake of his goals to bring about his version of peace.

A peace, again, like with his father, the Freemen never willingly asked for. At least not without coercion(in the case of those who believed the prophecy), even though, with the way the galactic institution functions, the peace Paul thought he was going to create was either gonna never happen or end up a net-negative for the people of Arrakis. Not even his decision to simply live among them at the beginning of the second film would've changed this. Especially since, as long as he lives, he has a target on his back, plus the nature of both the social environment plus his visions makes it impossible to maintain any sort of semblance of peace for long. This also helps to demonstrate how, in colonialist empires and nations, long-term peace is an illusion unless it involves submission. Like how Paul, after drinking the Water of Life, forcefully coerces and manipulates the Freeman into submitting to him as the Messiah in the southern Freemen war council. Galvanizing them, especially Stilgar, into submitting to him with the promise of paradise. Making them slaves to Paul's destiny. Said submission, in both fiction and in real life, involves the destruction of both the people and the supposed "enemies" around them, such as when Paul officially launches the Jihad across the galaxy near the end of the second film after the other House's refuse to submit to him.

What makes this further unfortunate is that, as mentioned already, even a chance of a collaborative autonomous semi-coequal existence was dead in the water, and that it was either they submit to the ways of the world or die.

This shows how many of those oppressed wished at the very least to have either full autonomy over their lives and being or at the very least an amiable co-existence with the world and the people around them. Unfortunately, that was never even a consideration for the Freemen, not even Paul at first, until later, and even then, that was guaranteed to last for the reasons stated above. This is also showcased in KOTFM with the Osage, Hale, and his co-conspirators. In spite of how they presented themselves, Hale and his buddies never truly intended to have an equitable co-existence with the Osage, merely pretending to.

Hale and his co-conspirators around him presented themselves as " one of the good ones," when really they were just slick occupiers of their land, coming in with a handshake in one hand while holding a gun in the other. Taking advantage of their mental and physical health issues(caused by people like him), such as with Henry Roan, a frequent alcoholic with suicidal ideation. King takes care of him and lets him stay with him on occasions when he's severely drunk, in a parental kind of way, as he plans his murder and theft.

This shows that in colonialism, it's willing to give a helping hand to the colonized when they're down and soothe them, mainly because they're depleted, emotionally, physically, mentally, etc. Making them not a threat to them and easier to take advantage of, just like with Loan, when they give him a drink in the field before shooting him in the back. Hale is a major example of this throughout the story.

Hale shows up to the funerals of those murdered, donates to them, speaks their languages, and openly condemns the murders of the Osage. Seemingly being a willing partner in helping them solve the crimes. He offers them help seemingly for free, even though it had a hidden exchange, their lives and everything they hold dear. Any sort of mutuality was based on the hidden expectation that the Osage would give something of themselves, whether they truly wanted to or not. So while many of the Osage thought they were dealing with someone treating them as a sincere equal, everything Hale did, even as it appeared to be based on equal footing, was mainly based on leverage. Learning their language, custom's, and lifestyles became ammunition to use to accomplish his goals while lulling them into a false peace. Ironically, even as violence is initiated against them, when it comes to them, peace is paramount above everything else, so as not rock the boat and cause a disturbance for wider society.

This is shown when Ernest is back on the Freemason lodge surrounded by other members and Hale's attorney, W.S Hamilton, with them, especially Hamilton trying to convince Ernest not to testify against Hale, using both logical and emotional appeals( he's your uncle and you wouldn't want that to happen to him, the court is going to make you liable), the underlining implications is to keep the peace for them and by extent, for wider society. Cause if Hale's explicitly implicated, then it means that even potentially all of them could be as well, which would spell disarray for everyone. So the implicit goal to get Ernest not to confess against his uncle is to ensure that he keeps things peaceful for everyone else and not rock the boat. Maintaining peace is of more importance than accountability and justice.

This false sense of safety and peace was what led to the Osage's and Freemen's fall, resulting in their betrayal, with the process started long before the actual actions took place, based on the mindset of the future perpetrators alone. Unfortunately, for those who simply wanted to be respected as autonomous beings. But ultimately it's them that determine where peace belongs and where violence ends. Which both the Osage and the Freemen became the victims of. Betraying their sense of safety right off the bat.

Not only that, but even after their betrayals, they proceeded to be betrayed again. Chani and her people were betrayed when Paul, after saying he would love her as long as he breathes, turns around and asks Irulan for marriage, clearly a political tactic to gain legitimacy. Betraying Chani by showing, regardless of his love for her, his ambitions, goals, and future empire will always come first before anything else, especially her. Same with her people, with him both asking for Irulan's hand and releasing the Jihad on the Jihad showed that, just like with his father, they are ultimately political pawns for his ambitions and greater goals. That his visions of what's best for the galaxy and his goals come first before even them. No matter how much against him he is. Freeing them from a galactic colonial power only to manipulate them into becoming an army for his colonial empire. Betraying them and molding their being into his own image. Using their own longing to participate in the very colonial project they desperately tried to escape.

While it can be argued that he did this for the greater good, seeing the Jihad as the only way, with him saying to his mother that Chani "will come to understand." Even though she never got to be in on his visions. Feeling throughout the whole film that he's simply trapped by what he sees as inevitable, no matter how much he tries to escape, especially after the attack at Sietch Tabr. Even though the attack is what led him to go South and take the Water of Life, it was Gurney's reunion with him that truly sets the seeds for the process. Constantly suggesting he use the Freeman to avenge their house, reminding him of his legacy. Then there's Jessica, creating a religion around him for her own purposes. Throughout all of this, even for the 'greater good, ' it is their actions, from the manipulation of the Freeman for generations, to the further oppressions of them, to coming back and invading them again. All of these are what caused this vision to become inevitable in the first place. And Paul knew this. Yet he used them anyway, destroying the soul of a resilient people and the wider galaxy in the process with the Jihad. Which, again, he knew this would all happen.

This is oftentimes what unfortunately happens in colonized places: the colonizers skillfully and forcefully come in, take everything, divide and conquer, promising all with a noble justification, such as manifest destiny, all while those colonized are traumatized, broken, and forced to pick up the pieces.

Regardless of what happens, Chani and Molly are left broken. Especially as both of them watch their own people dissipate physically, emotionally, and spiritually before their very eyes.

Death of A People's Soul

In both films, we experienced the long process of people already fearing decay, experiencing a slow, painful death. In the opening scenes of the KORFM, the Osage youth dance with joy as the oil bounces on them. Giving them autonomy in a world that consistently demands their passivity. Unfortunately, not only was their full financial autonomy taken away with the court-ordered legal guardianships of their finances by white legal guardians, but also, people like Hale, Ernest, and others used their privileges and influence in society to take away what other aspects of their freedom, dignity, and autonomy they had with their land and headrights. Taking away things that they not only earned but, for them, are a part of them. The land represents their enduring connection to nature and life itself. How does anything that dies eventually comes back, like the earth cycle. With nature itself being both beautiful and rough at the same time. The essence of their very being. It's not a coincidence that as people work around Hale's house, digging up and fracking for oil, it looks like the image of hell, with flames across the land. The destruction of the land, not just the destruction of life itself, but the very being of the Osage and nature itself.

The Freemen, known as one of the fiercest fighters in the galaxy, are a ruthless and pragmatic people, managing to adapt to the harsh climate of Arrakis while in the past constantly dealing with the Harkonnens. All this while dreaming about Arrakis becoming a paradise. All of this is why they are deeply adamant in preserving any sort of water, including sweat. While clearly doing this for pragmatic reasons, it could also be seen as preserving something that's deeply sacred to them. What began as disciplined survival steadily merged with spiritual preservation. Water is not just something you drink or use. It's not just life itself, but it represents the hope for a better Arrakis. One where they don't have to constantly struggle to get basic resources, but to live in peace. The Bene Gesserit's plan was to use that dream to create a tyrant they could use. In other words, while the Freemen used their dreams to lift their beings up and allow themselves to escape the consistent despair of being either a pawn, target, or carcass, the Bene Gesserit used their dreams to bind them and manipulate them into doing their bidding. Jessica comes in and furthers this by influencing the southern Freemen into further devotion to Paul, making the once resilient people into compliant fanatics.

The attack on their water reservoirs when the Harkonnens attacked Sietch Tabr not only attacked their water source but could also be seen as an attack on their very soul. Burying their spiritual heartbeat deep underground. Creating desperation in both a material and spiritual sense, they need the water for survival and as a spiritual marker. Both got taken away. Its not a coincidence that soon after this, after going south because of said attack, Paul gets into the war room and proclaims himself the Liasan Al Gaib. Completing the death knell of the Freemen from within, mind, soul, and body. Now a fanatic army. This is even seen when, towards the end of the film, they are burning the Harkonnen soldiers' bodies, with no concern about preserving the water at all. Only caring about serving their messiah and destroying their enemies.

In both films, both of these groups suffer an agonizing, slow, and painful death, both externally and internally. Especially by those who presented themselves as their allies. Using the system's tools to take advantage of them and making them zombies and corpses as a result. In both stories, their hopes, dreams and resources are used against them destroying the resilient people and replacing them with broken shadows of themselves, which is how oftentimes colonialist states do to their residence long-term, reducing them to either broken vessels of the machine, devoted to said machine and its own rage used against their enemies, corpses for daring to stand up for what's truly their, or, like Chani, completely aimless as everything they've built, everything they've been, is completely wiped out before their eyes. Some, after many decades, managed to become like the Osage towards the end of the film, still around and resilient as ever, while others end up like the Freemen, shadows of their former self who's only purpose is serving their masters and releasing their long pent-up rage. Either way, both path's comes from the background of death to the collective self of said people.

Conclusion

As demonstrated, the tragedy of both Chani and the Freemen and Molly and the Osage are inherently intertwined, especially within the context of colonialism throughout the narrative and its relations to reality. Chani and Molly, just like their own people, desired to be seen as equal partners and companions in spite of their natural and understandable suspicion's to the wider society and assumed to their peril that they found that in Paul and Ernest. Unfortunately for them, the way they were born and molded by both those closest to them and society at large guaranteed that even if they tried to be on equal footing, domination and dehumanization over others ultimately became second nature and needed the correct triggers to enforce, usually of their own choosing, even if many things were beyond their control. Any sort of even amiable relationship between them and their colonialist counterparts was never going to last because ultimately the conditions will always be that they serve and/or submit to them, regardless of Leto's genuine nobility or Hale's false kindness; the results are the same.

Serving wider agendas they didn't ask to participate in. All of this inevitably results in both Chani, Molly, and their people further suffering, oppression, and destruction on both a physical and emotional level. Merely reducing them to relics of themselves while those enforcing the destruction, even people like Paul, who once proclaimed to want to be their equal, justify it for their own agendas. With all of this, an unfortunate pattern is seen in nations such as the US's past oppressions of the Philippines, being an example. This is all how the tragic elements of both stories expand beyond the personal struggles of the protagonist and stretch them to include the wider implications in terms of how they intertwine with the experiences of an oppressed people.

Edited by Welby Delinois.