Yeah this is exactly it. House Atreides had the support of vast amounts of the "lesser" nobles in the Landsraad. The Emperor held no ill will against House Atreides, and was even impressed at their soldiers and "honor" or whatever but ordered their downfall because they were within an inch of being able to challenge his position.

[–] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 1 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Who was the emperor affiliated with? Did he have his own armies?

[–] thethirdgracchi@hexbear.net 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Yeah so the emperor had the Sardaukar, his elite military force, as well as a bunch of conventional forces. The Sardaukar as well as most of the Harkonnen forces are the ones who ambush the Atreides in the first part.

[–] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

Oh, I thought the sardaukar were mercenaries, but idk, the emper can hire out his forces as a treat.

[–] thethirdgracchi@hexbear.net 2 points 11 months ago (1 children)

So that's the big shock for Paul and Leto, that the Emperor did hire his forces out to the Harkonnen. That's a huge deal, a step they considered beyond the Pale; the Emperor never hires out his Sardaukar, they're his trump card. It shows how concerned the Emperor was about the chances of House Atreides standing against him.

[–] keepcarrot@hexbear.net 1 points 11 months ago

I'm not sure how much this was transmitted in the movie, but now I've spent a while reading wiki entries