This article contains spoilers for Dune: Part OneThere is no doubt that Dune is the cinematic landmark of this decade. Whether the sequel completes the tale with as much majesty as fans expect remains to be seen. In the meantime, however, Dune: Part One offers a vast depth of visual and narrative pulp to peel and chew on. Depth and interpretation were installed into Dune by design allowing for multiple viewings and several contemplative debates. Here is just such a one regarding the fatal duel between Paul Atreides and the Fremen Jamis.
Despite Dune’s initial delays and setbacks due to the Pandemic once it arrived it quickly became a must-see and earned the highest opening weekend for Warner Bros. during the pandemic era. To date it has grossed $305 million in worldwide box office. Thankfully, Dune: Part Two has been given the green light for production.
Near the end of Part One, after surviving a trek across the desert and a sandworm chase, Paul (Timothee Chalamet) and his mother Jessica (Rebecca Ferguson) are surrounded by Fremen, led by Stilgar (Javier Bardem). Amidst the group of Fremen is Jamis, said to be a strong warrior and a stubborn man. Initially, Jamis wants them both killed because Paul and Jessica are outsiders, then he challenges Stilgar’s leadership because technically, by their code, Jessica defeated Stilgar in combat. Jamis is not allowed to fight Jessica directly in the duel and so a champion is called to take her place – Paul accepts that role and stands in for his mother. Naturally, when dealing with a film as dense with subtext as this, things are not so simply explained.
Paul’s Visions
Around the two-hour mark, long before Paul faces Jamis in the duel, Paul sees Jamis in a vision for the first time. Paul and Jessica just escaped from the Harkonnen and Sardaukar attack but were chased into a terribly enormous sandstorm. Entering the storm, Paul sees Jamis and hears him teach about moving with the process of life, joining it, giving in to it rather than trying to stop it or control it. Paul then releases control of the ornithopter and lets the storm take them. The last vision occurs when he and Jessica enter the bleak wide desert proper. In this one, Jamis tells Paul that he will teach him the ways of the desert and to come with him. Throughout these visions there is a woman’s voice guiding Paul to “see the friend,” and to “follow.” Jamis is that friend.
Who is Jamis to Paul?
In reality, when the two finally meet Jamis is hostile, combative, and out for his head. Jamis is an opponent, an obstacle. Some would argue that this means Paul’s visions are not accurate, or that they are incomplete as if he still has to grow and strengthen his power to full potential. How could Jamis be presented as a mentor, a friend, but turn out to be someone who wants to kill Paul and his mother? Prior to the duel, Paul sees a vision of Jamis killing him. That same woman’s voice says that Paul must die in order for the Kwisatz Haderach (the god-man of the Dune universe) to rise. She says that if he takes a life, he takes his own. Stilgar too says “a life for a life,” after Jamis is defeated. What does this all really mean?
The Duel and the Fate of the Empire
When Paul’s dreams present Jamis as a friend and mentor, this is still true but not in an expected way. For Paul to fulfill his role as the messiah of Arrakis he must join the Fremen. Being an outsider, doing so is not an easy feat to accomplish. Jamis was Paul’s key. Specifically, Jamis sacrificed his life for Paul to proceed forward. In his death, Jamis became Paul’s passport to the Fremen society. Paul’s vision says to follow Jamis and to let go, that is to give up his fear and face him in a duel to the death. Paul sees his own death at the hands of Jamis but takes the risk anyway. Vision Jamis says he would teach Paul the ways of the desert, that is to say, life on Dune is brutal and harsh, sometimes killing another is the only way forward.
Jamis’s role in Paul’s story is to be the one to make others see. That is why he was stubborn, and that is why he was compelled to challenge Jessica to the duel. Jamis is Paul’s first “follower.” If Paul Atreides must die for the Kwisatz Haderach to rise, Jamis took that place in death. A life for a life, Jamis gave his own in Paul’s stead. Jamis’ defeat ushers Paul into his future as the god-man, and consequently the war against the Empire.
Dune: Part One is certainly a film to be viewed and reviewed countless times. It helps in enjoyment to try and see the story from different viewpoints and with a new lens of interpretation. It is possible that the sequel will recast the duel between Paul and Jamis in a new light, but for now, placing Jamis as the fated sacrifice for Paul’s ascension is a beautiful way to see his unfortunate death. That Jamis, in reality, was a hard man who sought to kill Paul and Jessica, in Paul’s visions he was a friend, a guide, a mentor, and the first to reveal Paul’s true and epic purpose. Jamis was an absolutely necessary component of the story of Paul.