Alice Krige's Phenomenal Jessica
So, I love Rebecca Ferguson as Jessica. She brings this ominous dread of a cult leader that neither the books or prior adaptations did. I also enjoyed Saskia Reeves in the 2000 miniseries for being this strong, motherly figure the adaptation needed.
But this lady right here is my favourite:
That is Alice Krige who you might recognise as the Borq Queen and she absolutely ruled in the 2003 Children of Dune adaptation. She threaded the role between Bene Gesserit and Reverend Mother and grandmother and mentor so perfectly that whenever I think of Lady Jessica, this is who I think of.
She has a warmth to her that no other Jessica has ever managed. This is a person you want to tell all your secerets because you know she has the right answer.
But she's also a Bene Gesserit that is always watching, always oberving you and everything you do. Determinig how much of a threat you are and that threat can be family. Whether it is her daughter Alia, her grandson Leto II (the second) (no, really, he's the 2nd Leto II), or her granddaughter Ghanima.
But beyond that, she also has incredibly complicated relations with the other women of the story.
With Princess Irulan (played by the magnificent Julie Cox), arguably her son's most loyal ally and adoptive mother of her grandchildren. Their relationship evolving from animosity as they both try to protect Paul's children in different ways: Jessica from the danger of abomination (which is her own daught, Alia) and Irulan from Jessica who she believes has returned to her Bene Gesserit loyalty. This animosity evolves to trust as they realise who the enemy is and then sincere companionship as they bid each other goodbye.
And then there's her relationship with Wensicia, Irulan's sister. The miniseries made the brilliant move to make her the elder (which I'm using for my own fic) and that puts Jessica and Wensicia on equal footing as matriachs of great Houses with sons vying for the role of Emperor. Jessica, of course, won in the last generation with Paul ascending as an Atreides Emperor, but with Paul gone the Golden Lion Throne is up for grabs, and Wensicia's son Darad'n Corrino is the key player in their rivalry. Jessica, wins the loyalty of Farad'n not by manipulating him with her Bene Gesserit training, but by recognising the lack of love she gave Alia as a mistake and offering true kindness to Farad'n. By the end, Farad'n assumes Jessica's role as an Atreides concubine who sires the heirs of the lineage, but there is potential for love to come, just as Duke Leto loved her.
In short, the 2003 CoD miniseries had my favourite portrayal of Jessica and inherited some of the best adpatation changes from the 2000 Dune miniseries. Everyone should watch it and just treat the first series as a stage play, laugh at the constumes, and just enjoy the nerdy sincerity in adapting this weird piece of literature.
