Foundation Recap: Everyone’s Running Out of Time

Foundation makes numerous changes to the Isaac Asimov books; there is no question about that. When it comes to the three Cleons and Demerzel, however, it’s hard to imagine the show being half as entertaining were it to stick to the source material. Continuing from where we left off, the Cleons are a bigger mess than we’ve ever seen them in, which is saying a lot. It is clear that the genetic tampering from the time of Cleon XIV (way back in season one) is now quite noticeable, to the point where Dusks are being decommissioned earlier and earlier as their cognitive functions start to decline.

This means our new Dusk only has 10 days to live, which is not nearly enough to do something about the upcoming end of the world in four months. Where any other Cleon in the past would have just been concerned with leaving some big legacy behind, to do something of note to stand out from his dozens of siblings/clones/selves, this Cleon has a more urgent concern. He might just be the very last Dusk, as there is simply no time to catch the new Dusk up to speed and expect him to have any solutions to avoid what Demerzel calls “shadows in the math.” Terrence Mann does great work showing the desperation in Dusk, who goes as far as begging Demerzel not to kill him (she is sympathetic but says her programming makes her a ticking clock for every Cleon, and she is never late), and even begs Day to change the rules so he can live longer.

But this is not a Day that cares one iota about the Genetic Dynasty, or about surviving the end of the world. The emperor has no clothes, literally, as Foundation doubles down on its Big Lebowski-era Cleon XXIV, the best Cleon yet by far. This is a Cleon who has completely and absolutely rejected authority, who has seemingly not been at a meeting or audience in months or years, but rather spends his time drinking and playing cards (cheating thanks to a clone ferret, of course) with his personal guards. For this Day, hearing Dusk’s pleas mean nothing, because he is the only one who recognizes that there is nothing natural or normal about the dynasty. He calls the Cleons ragdolls, who are instantly stitched up when cut (literally, as they are full of nanites that prevent them from getting hurt), and has no interest in perpetuating this monstrous experiment. Foundation has long used the idea of the Cleon clones to explore the loneliness in each character, but this season sees the Cleons more alone than ever before, unable to trust or rely in one another or even themselves.

But this Dusk is not just a sad old man fearing death; he might be the most evil Cleon in a while. You see, this Dusk has gone and created AN ACTUAL DEATH STAR! An underling calls it The Novacula, a massive structure that looks like the Invictus from season one, but now rotating an actual black hole inside a massive cage, using electromagnetism that fuels the black hole into forming a massive Death Star-like ray that the Invictus then shoots out. We see it destroy a whole planet with a single shot. We have seen Foundation veer into Star Wars territory, but this is taking one step too far — at least if we are to believe Hari Seldon that the Invictus is meant to be the Fourth Crisis. Will Foundation season four be Rogue One?

Of course, Dusk is not thinking of the weapon as something to use now to stop The Mule, he doesn’t even think he’s related to the world-ending crisis four months from now. In what is likely going to be a recurrent theme this season, no one is ready for The Mule. The big gamble of the season is showing the pirate conqueror front and center from the very beginning rather than making him a surprise last-minute threat, and it is serving to showcase just how complacent the Foundation has become in the last century, and how depressingly desperate the Empire is now.

But there is one person who knows exactly how big of a threat The Mule is, and that is Gaal Dornick. We flash back to 151 years ago, Gaal and Seldon are spending their lives on cryosleep and waking up a couple of weeks every year. Seldon spends his time teaching the Second Foundation about psychohistory while Gaal leads them in training their Mentallic powers to fight The Mule. As the years passed, they went from a small cult to a proper society, expanding and seeking out Mentallics from across the entire galaxy, and eventually becoming an organized network of spies with eyes everywhere — like an even more secret Bene Gesserit.

Unfortunately, they don’t have enough time to both fight The Mule and be ready for what comes after the Third Crisis. One of them has to stay awake and die of old age, and it is once again Hari Seldon who makes that sacrifice. I don’t know about you, but this whole “let’s kill Hari Seldon once every season” is starting to get a bit old, mostly because it’s just so fun to watch Jared Harris in this show. Still, it makes sense that now that both Foundations are properly established, his role in the story can truly be over, and he can leave room for Gaal to be the real leader of the movement going forward.

Thankfully, the show doesn’t just kill Hari off-screen (kind of?) but rather has Gaal wake up four years ago and encounter a very much alive, but very old Hari Seldon, one that looks about as old (he’s over 100 years old, after all) as the characters in For All Mankind will be by the time that show ends. Keeping Hari company is Preem Palver (Troy Kotsur), the First Speaker of the Second Foundation. Hari and Gaal have a rather lovely moment where they look back at the friends they’ve lost, including Salvor, and he also mentions that the big crisis is what’s after The Mule, and it involves the Invictus, aka the new Death Star. Except, rather than see Hari Seldon die, he just teleports away to an undisclosed location with the help of a woman who sounds like a Spacer, no explanation, just puff.

With Hari Seldon gone forever (though we still have the AI version inside The Vault), the board is set for the confrontation against The Mule, who finalizes his takeover of Kalgan by mind-controlling the prior Warlord into becoming his own surrogate child. Just to show how strong he is, he has her point a gun at her father and pull the trigger (unloaded, but still), which she does with a big smile on her face.

Everything seems, well, quite bleak, but the Second Foundation has an ace up its sleeve. In what may be the biggest twist this show has pulled in a long while, we return to Trantor and see Dawn, who tries and fails to get Dusk’s attention regarding The Mule, excuse himself to take a call. It turns out Dawn is not just the only Cleon who seems to really know what’s going on, but he is in cahoots with none other than Gaal herself. Let the mind games begin.

The Prime Radiant

• So, where exactly did Hari go?

• We meet the next generation of Mallows, Toran (Cody Fern) and his wife Bayta (Synnøve Karlsen), who very much inherited Hober Mallow’s over-the-top personality and penchant for theatrics. They have nothing to do with the Foundation, but rather are rich kids who live in the space version of the Italian Riviera on Kalgan, and they are extremely annoyed that The Mule is spoiling their vacation with his little coup.

• Hari confirms there are right crises, which hopefully means we have five more seasons of Foundation.