‘Dune: Prophecy’ interview: Aoife Hinds learned a lot about her character from the outfit she wears

As Frank Herbert’s Dune-iverse looks to expand with HBO’s Bene Gesserit-centric spinoff series Dune: Prophecy, star Aoife Hinds is breaking down the hidden meaning behind her character’s costume—unassuming as it may be.

It’s hard to believe that the first season of Dune: Prophecy is nearly over, with the sixth and final episode set to air on Sunday, December 22. Until then, Aoife Hinds, who plays the shadowy Sister Emeline, sat down with The Mary Sue to talk all things sisterhood and how her character’s outfit helped her to “zone in” on her performance.

Sister Emeline’s plain uniform makes her a “blank canvas”

A character’s look usually goes hand-in-hand with their identity, and Sister Emeline’s lack of self-expression in Dune: Prophecy certainly allows her to blend in with the sisterhood—a strategic move that helps conceal the real reason she’s so eager to become a Reverend Mother. It’s quite the switch-up from the elaborate, draped robes and armor we’re used to seeing in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune movies, but according to Hinds, this makes Sister Emeline’s costume all the more meaningful.

“The first time I try on the costume … you stand a different way. It makes you feel a different way. And those things will then feed into how—like, automatically naturally—how the character feels. And I think that’s exactly the little individualities within, even, we can say it’s kind of like this blank canvas, but it means that every little decision … it just makes it a little bit stronger, a little bit more meaningful. Because you don’t have the exuberant kind of costumes that your character is expressing themselves through. So it really just kind of makes [you] zone in and, and strip it all down to the essential of what your character, who your character is.”

We’ve watched Sister Emeline battle her inner demons this season, particularly in episode 4, “Twice Born.” Without giving too much away, we know that Sister Emeline has something of a hidden agenda, making her willingness to hide among the Bene Gesserit all the more understandable. In this sense, Sister Emeline’s plain uniform acts as a sort of camouflage, which, as mentioned by Hinds, forces audiences to examine her intentions for joining the sisterhood rather than her outward appearance.

Sister Emeline is one of Dune: Prophecy’s most elusive characters, even if she doesn’t don the same intricate designs and flowy dresses worn by her superiors. As for her arc this season, perhaps more questions than answers remain: does she know that Sister Lila (Chloe Lea) is alive? Will Lila’s nightmarish visions end up being true? What of the outlawed Thinking Machine technology and Emeline’s descent into religious extremism?

Hopefully, all this and more will be answered when the season 1 finale of Dune: Prophecy arrives on December 22, only on HBO and Max.