MovieChat Forums > Children of Dune (2003) Discussion > Bene Gesserit vs a Duncan or a Gurney

Bene Gesserit vs a Duncan or a Gurney

posted 10 years ago by jfitzpatrick3
6 replies | jump to latest

I think it's pretty clear from the first book that any Bene Gesserit is more skilled at fighting than either Duncan or Gurney, right? Didn't Jessicas teach them as well as the Freemen on Arakis?

I think this is still maintained in Children: when Duncan withdraws from Atriedes service, Jessica is preparing to killl him because she think he may blow her plan, However, he says to her that "you will not slay me" which makes me wonder if he could have taken her. of course, since he was only acting anyway, he may have just said that to suprise her and to get her to back off.

"At the end of life, we will be judged by love" ST John of the Cross

[–] paul-2219 10 years ago

If I remember correctly from the books, a Saurdakar was described as being a fighter "nearly" the equal of a Bene Gesserit adept, and one would conclude that both Idaho and Halleck would be somewhat about a Saurdakar, seeing as how they kick their asses a lot. And since Idaho once remarked that Gurney could take him (I think) 6/10 times, my guess is that both Idaho and Gurney would be a bit above your average Bene Gesserit, but probably not by much. Gurney>Idaho>Jessica>Fremen>Saurdakar.

But naturally, Chuck Norris tops that list.

[–] unknown_soul278 10 years ago

In all honesty I have not seen this yet and may have misunderstood the original movie, but you said they would be a bit above the average Bene Gesserit. Wasn't Jessica herself above average?

"Do not look to the heavens for your angels, but to your feet, for angels do not come in robes with wings and a halo, but in fur with four legs and a tail."

[–] pope_duke 9 years ago

Wasn't Jessica herself above average?

She was.

She also easily subdued Stilgar when she and Paul ran into the Fremen in the desert, and Stilgar was one of the top Fremen fighters (who were the equal of, or better than, the Sardaukar).

Do recall when Gurney shows up in Dune, and he is convinced that Jessica was the traitor. He is about to extract his revenge, and he basically has himself ready to reflexively stab her in the neck (as I recall) if she even begins to talk. This, of course, brings in the power of the Voice, which seems to give a Bene Gesserit a significant edge, but even if we remove that, I am still convinced that the Bene Gesserit were the best hand-to-hand fighters. If one reads further along in the series, this becomes even more evident.

I gather that the Fremen were on average better than the Sardaukar. Gurney and Duncan impressed the Fremen, which is not easily done. Duncan was generally considered the better fighter of the two, though he even admits that he would not easily or always dominate Gurney in bouts.

I would place Ducan and Gurney in the same league as the average Bene Gesserit, but I think that the better Bene Gesserit were the best single hand-to-hand fighters of their time.

[–] salmoni 9 years ago

Chuck Norris doesn't have prescience from taking spice: He just waits and stares until reality does what he wants.

[–] Demonical 9 years ago

I don't know about Gurney but since Idaho is one of the swordmasters of Ginaz I think they'd be pretty well matched. I think one of the Sardaukar could probably give her a run for her money. The fremen, most definitely.

http://plummettomiddleage.blogspot.com

[–] pope_duke 9 years ago

The fremen, most definitely.

You mean like the naib Stilgar who Jessica bested handily, proving her worth to the tribe?

Cheap shots aside, the Bene Gesserit are in another league. Yes, the Swordmasters of Ginaz are exceptional, even the troubadour-warrior Gurney is spoken highly of by Duncan, but the Bene Gesserit have taken it to another level. I have posited before that Jessica may be above average in her hand-to-hand combat abilities, but I really don't recall on what that is based. I would think that the average Bene Gesserit is a match for the exceptional Duncan or Gurney.