The “Foundation” has returned after almost 2 years, but fans are having problems remembering where they are at in the story. The danger of short episode seasons and long delays between those seasons is evident here as many complained online that they were no longer interested in the story and didn’t have team to rewatch season 2. Admittedly, the BR team was in the same boat even though we faithfully watched each episode, mostly on the day they they aired. The one ominous character we did remember being referenced in season 2 was the Mule, played by Pilou Asbæk from “Game of Thrones”, who was given a world class and terrifying intro scene in the premiere.
The Mule is ushering in the end of the line for the Cleon clones and possibly the Foundation as well. There are obviously some familiar faces in the mix, but as hundreds of years have passed since season 1 and 152 years have passed since season 2, there are undoubtedly some new faces to watch for as well. Warning, beyond this point there are spoilers for “Foundation” season 3.
The danger of short episode seasons and long delays between those seasons is evident here as many complained online that they were no longer interested in the story and didn’t have team to rewatch season 2.”
We were briefly warned about the mentalic mutant the Mule in season 2 when Gaal (Lou Llobell) first started having visions about the destruction of the Imperium. We are also given glimpses into mentalic powers in season 2 as the cult-like leader Tellem (Rachel House) drew Gaal’s trio into her web of deceit and mind manipulation in the second half. The Mule’s powers however, seem a solid step above anything we’ve seen to date in this galaxy.
The ease in which the lone pirate turns an army against themselves and forces the former King of Kalgan to bite his own finger off just to give the Mule his ring really says so much with very few lines of dialogue. The Mule is her to kick off the third crisis that Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) warned about hundreds of years ago and Empire’s team understands that everything they know can come to an end in just a few months. This does a great job of setting up a doomsday clock for the series and creating serious motivation for every character who becomes aware of the impending ending that may be coming.
In an interesting turn for the Cleon’s, Day (Lee Pace), the one in charge, has a bad case of senior-itis and is completely neglecting his duties. He even appears to have developed some type of fungus drug addiction. Empire’s older version Dusk (Terrence Mann), is mere days away from being turned into Dust and he doesn’t seem to be accepting of his fate. Empire’s soon to be Day, but now Dawn (Cassian Bilton), seems the most motivated to stop the coming crisis but his naivety may lead the Cleons down into a darker hole. Demerzel (Laura Birn) also seems to be suffering from apathy and doesn’t seem motivated to avert the upcoming crisis, or is at least resigned to it’s fate.
The Foundation has evolved in the last century and a half and the optics of the second foundation and how they relate to the Imperium are a bit muddled at first but after a rewatch of season 2, things feel in place more cleanly. Is it ideal to have to rewatch a whole season of a show leading up to another season? No, but we do love the “Foundation” and wanted to give it a chance. Will every former fan do that? Likely not. There was concern that after the Showrunner stepped down and the show’s budget was cut down the story would suffer, but it seems like the Team at Apple TV+ have found a formula for success for now.
The series has been allegedly guaranteed 4 seasons with a chance for a couple more adopting the book sets sequel, but Apple TV+ has yet to renew the series and actually waited months after season 2 aired to announce a season 3. The season 3 premiere definitely set up the stage for massive amounts of conflict, but it also left holes in the story that we will need the next few episodes to piece together. The big question now is, how will the Mule be beaten? Can he be beaten? Are Hari’s predictions inevitable? What lays in store for the galaxy after Hari’s predictions have come to pass?
As Gaal wakes up from another period of cryo-sleep in the closing scenes, it becomes obvious that she will play an instrumental part in the plan to stop the Mule, but can destiny be stopped? Can what’s predicted by changed drastically? With so many questions, we don’t think we’ll get all the answers in season 3 but rather that it will end with some type of massive cliffhanger and then we’ll have too wait another 2 years for answers.
What do you think? Can the Mule be stopped? What is his endgame? Is it pure chaos? Will the series definitely get a new season if the viewers aren’t there? With “Foundation” listed as one of Apple TV+’s top 10 series, it’s likely they’ll at least get season 4, but anything is possible.
Let us know your thoughts about “Foundation” in the comments below!
