As one of the central figures of Frank Herbert’s Dune, Baron Vladimir Harkonnen consistently
proved himself to be a quick-witted and perceptive antagonist.
From the very early pages of the book, the reader quickly becomes acquainted with the
Baron’s supreme intellect and crafty methods.
Always appearing to be one step ahead of his enemies and demonstrating an especially keen
sense of awareness, Vladimir was adept at predicting and even thwarting various attempts
on his life.
A trait which proved invaluable to him as the head of perhaps the most treacherous and
power-crazed house in the Landsraad.
While many of the plots against the Baron from both outside his house and from within
did little to affect the realization of his grand schemes, one particular event involving
Duke Leto’s deployment of Dr. Yueh’s poison tooth dealt a major blow to the Baron’s
agenda and subsequently unleashed a chain of events leading to the demise of his great
house.
In this video I’d like to talk about how the Baron was able to survive Duke Leto’s
poison attack as well as how this assassination attempt altered the course of the future leading
to House Harkonnen’s ultimate downfall.
Spoiler Warning if you’re unfamiliar with the story of Dune as I will be discussing
significant plot details.
Given that House Harkonnen was notorious for fostering an environment of treachery and
ruthless ambition, assassination attempts were common place between members of this
great house.
Needless to say, the Baron wisely remained alert and was typically able to calculate
and anticipate any significant dangers in his immediate presence.
In order to mitigate potential threats stemming from the capture and interrogation of Leto
Atreides, the Baron would benefit from the extra precaution of having the Duke heavily
drugged and securely tied, unable to attack in any typical fashion.
What the Baron did not anticipate however was the exact manner in which Dr. Yueh would
attempt to take his revenge.
Having graduated from a Suk School, Yueh was among the most skilled physicians in the known
universe.
Because of this, shortly after disabling Leto, he was easily able to perform a procedure,
replacing a peg tooth in the Duke’s mouth.
The replacement poison tooth was made to be an exact duplicate with its core exquisitely
shaped like a nerve, unable to be discovered by standard detectors or a fast scanning.
While Yueh was certain he would be kept at a safe distance from the Baron, the Doctor
knew that Vladmir’s sense of pride and arrogance would bring him close enough to the Duke so
that he could gloat and revel in his victory.
All of this unfolded just as Yueh predicted, however he would not live to see it.
With the Twisted Mentat Piter’s knife in his back, the Doctor uttered his final words
to the Baron.
"You think you defeated me.
You think I did not know what I bought for my Wanna.”
This filled Vladimir with a sense of fearful apprehension and doubt putting him further
on edge as the Duke was brought into the room and sat at the other end of the table opposite
him.
The Baron then interrogated the Duke regarding the whereabouts of his ducal signet ring as
well as his now missing son and concubine.
As Leto struggled to regain mental clarity he recalled the purpose and origin of the
poison tooth, remembering Yueh’s instructions to bite down on it, crushing the cover in
order to expel the lethal toxins into the air surrounding him.
When the Baron finally pushed himself back from the table and stood up with the assistance
of his suspensors, it came time for the Duke to ready himself to release the poison.
The Baron hesitated as he saw a change come over the duke followed by a deep breath and
the ripple of a muscle on his jawline as his mouth clamped shut.
The Baron initially mistook the reason for these changes in the Duke, thinking that Leto
must have been gripped with fear.
In that moment, Leto did in fact become fearful but only that the Baron might escape.
He then expelled the poison from his mouth and watched as the Baron grew smaller shortly
before hearing a gasp from Piter, realizing that he had gotten the Baron’s mentat as
well.
Leto caught traces of the ensuing chaos in the room with several figures falling around
him as he himself fell into the silence of death.
The Baron however had managed to narrowly escape this attack, retreating quickly into
a bolt hole behind the table where he had previously been seated.
With his back pressed against his private door, his mind raced to analyze the assault.
Piter’s shocked gasp had provided the initial alert and because his shield had been activated,
albeit on a low setting, it appeared to have slowed the molecular interchange across its
field barrier which provided a sufficient level of protection from the vapor.
Vladimir concluded that these elements along with the fact that he had been pushing himself
away from the table at the time were the only reason he remained alive.
What surprised the Baron especially was the fact that the poison snooper device installed
above the table had failed to detect the weapon, to Yueh’s credit, this was no doubt due
to the clever manner in which the tooth had been meticulously installed.
This close call threatened the Baron’s reputation, not only to his own men but to the Emperor
who he had been coordinating the Arrakeen assault with.
Allowing himself to be in such a vulnerable position made him appear weak and incompetent.
To add insult to injury, the collateral damage caused by the assassination attempt proved
instrumental in House Harkonnen’s ultimate downfall.
Namely, the loss of the Harkonnen’s Mentat Piter De Vries meant that the Baron was forced
to install his tank brain nephew Beast Rabban in the seat of power on Arrakis.
A move that would over time only stoke the flames of animosity from the Fremen as the
locals were intensely and increasingly persecuted by the Beast.
This resulted in heavy losses for the Harkonnens and a further weakening of their grip of power
on Arrakis.
The various adaptations of Dune have naturally depicted the poison assault scene in different
ways.
In Lynch’s 1984 film, the Duke has external dialogue saying “the tooth” while no doubt
remembering Yueh’s instructions.
He then utters the line “The water of my life for Paul.”
before delivering the poison.
However, instead of quickly filling the room, the vapor only seemed to directly hit Piter
as the Baron had already been backing away out of hesitation at that moment.
In a following scene, Vladimir appears to be in shock and then upon the realization
that he was in fact, alive, true to Lynch’s vision for the character, he began celebrating
by floating around the room with maniacal laughter.
The sci-fi channel miniseries presents a very similar depiction.
The Baron himself is drawn in as the Duke mutters unintelligibly about the tooth.
After being exposed to the poison the Baron immediately reacts, letting out a scream and
retreating with the assistance of his suspensors to the corner of the same room.
He quickly recovers from the shock of the event, laughing in joy at the realization
of his survival.
A couple of shared deviations from the book in these two versions is that in both, the
Baron did not appear to be afforded any protection from a personal shield as well as the fact
that neither depicted the Baron seated at a table across from the Duke.
Both of these elements were represented faithfully in Denis Villeneuve’s Dune part 1.
With the most notable difference being the Duke’s nudity, though not described in the
book, it makes sense that clothing could conceal a weapon and therefore could pose a danger
to the Baron.
The time frame and manner of Yueh’s death in Dune part 1 are also inconsistent with
what was established in the book.
Like the other adaptations, the Duke is depicted muttering unintelligibly but this time the
Baron is seen activating his shield shortly before leaning in to hear the Duke.
His last words, originally found in the book in a toast he had made in the palace banquet
“Here I am Here I Remain” are uttered shortly before he releases the poison.
The toxin instantly kills all the nearby members of House Harkonnen with the exception of the
Baron whose shield flashes red as the molecules hit the barrier from near point blank range.
A short while later, as Harkonnen agents are depicted entering the room in full biohazard
gear, the Baron is seen floating in the corner of the ceiling, choking from the effects of
the poison.
Vladimir is next seen recovering in a bath of black goo with one of his attendants revealing
that he hadn’t fully healed yet.
While Villeneuve’s version of events certainly presents several departures and a few creative
liberties taken from the book, I personally feel that it captures the spirit of the poison
attack more faithfully than the previous adaptations.
While the 1984 film and miniseries present a much more maniacal take on the character,
Villeneuve’s version presents a Baron with a much more cold and calculating demeanor,
which is closer to what I personally imagined while reading the book.
Overall, I believe that it was his heightened awareness and supreme intellect combined with
no small amount of chance that enabled him to survive Duke Leto’s activation of the
poison tooth.
But I’m curious to know what you think about the Baron’s brush with death from Leto’s
poison tooth.
Do you have a favorite on-screen depiction of this scene?
Are there any departures from the book in these adaptations that stand out as most egregious
to you?Let me know your thoughts in the comments section below.
I hope you enjoyed this video.
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Thank you all so much for your support and as always have a very nerdy day.