Foundation S3E5 Recap and Analysis: Scattered Lives

The following recap contains spoilers for Foundation S3E5, “Where Tyrants Spend Eternity” (written by Caitlin Parrish & Leigh Dana Jackson and directed by Christopher J. Byrne). 

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Welcome, dear reader, as we continue our review of the third season of the Apple TV+ series Foundation with Season 3 Episode 5: “Where Tyrants Spend Eternity.” This episode finally broke the streak of each successive episode being my new favorite of the season. I actually enjoyed all the family drama on Haven. It was nice to get more depth to Toran and Bayta, as well as Uncle Randu and even Maggie to some extent.

However, where the side quest to Haven gave everyone a respite to get to know one another, the action on Clarion Station seemed forced and rushed. Like the writers planted a flag that had to be reached by the end of this episode, and everything was driven relentlessly to get us there. Events we thought were going to take four months to play out ended up happening in about four hours. Empire botches another Enclosure and that’s it. Game over for the Cleons. What will Demerzel do now?

A Couple Quick Vignettes

We start out the episode with a little vignette in Mycogen. Brother Day drives his speeder through the lands controlled by Sunmaster-18. Funny name for someone ruling over an area a mile underground. He ends up at a dead end, surrounded by some sort of patrol, and they choose to shoot first and ask questions later. Ah, but tricky-tricky, it’s not Day. It’s some poor slob off the street that Day paid to take his place. Day watches from around a corner, tsks to himself, and vanishes from the rest of the episode.

Meanwhile on the surface, Demerzel and Shadowmaster Verku fish the body of First Claviger Mavon out of the water and find out they’ve been duped. Just then, Demerzel also gets word that Dawn is on his way to Clarion Station. Her Cleons are scattered. Verku wants to go after Day, but Demerzel is content to leave him. She knows exactly where Day has gone, and he will not trouble them again. Dawn, however, she will take care of herself.

The final vignette takes place on Mayor Indbur’s station. Pritcher interrupts the Mayor having a very nice lunch with the Warden, thinking he can breeze back in and all will be forgiven. Indbur knows all about his escapades and the questionable company he has been keeping. He’s not about to let Pritcher go track down the Mallows. He has the Warden toss the ship-stealer into a holding cell with guards watching guards.

Blackmail

Dawn wakes up on the Beggar’s Lament with Gaal already bustling about prepping for landing. He’s a little groggy from the jump. Remember, Empire no longer has spacers, so this was likely the first time young Empire has ever experienced a jump. He has a few questions that Gaal insists he ask, and her answers aren’t exactly comforting. His co-conspirator might be just as scary as The Mule.

She shows some of her ruthlessness by having a ready-made money trail to implicate anyone on the Council so they can get their votes. Dawn selects Vynod Tarisk because he represents the sector closest to Kalgan, but also because he is a friend. That friendship goes down the tubes when Dawn blackmails him, shoots his mistress, and makes him lock his family in a room with a rabid animal. He wasn’t raised to be kind.

Fugitives

Toran, Bayta and Magnifico wake up after a less than successful jump. Sweetheart tells them that just about every system on their ship was damaged by the shot they took from The Mule’s men. With only three jumps left, they can’t get all the way to New Terminus, but they can get to the Trader Alliance stronghold on Haven.

Sure enough, Randu Mallow was not killed in that encounter with Captain Pritcher, and he discovers the three fugitives were likewise not killed in their crash landing. They come back to the Narrow, where Bayta and Magnifico play audience for the uncle and nephew acting out their family drama. Bayta charms Uncle Randu into joining them, showing herself to be more of a Trader than her husband. She has something the Foundation doesn’t know they need. There’s a scarcity and she’s the only supplier.

Enclosure

With Tarisk’s reluctant help, Dawn sways another vote of the Council, and he gets his Enclosure. Wasting no time, the five fleets of the Imperial Armada are dispatched to Kalgan, while the Council watches on the big screen. But once Enclosure is at 100%, The Mule appears to taunt them. He’s no longer on Kalgan, but he did leave them a little welcome gift. The bomb we noted being planted in Episode 3 was a cobalt spike, also known as “blue death.” Kalgan is gone, their ships are gone, and The Mule wants them to remember it was Empire who caused this suffering.

Gaal guides Dawn to an airlock in the ensuing chaos. He insists on asking if she knew The Mule would be laying a trap. She admits she lied to him and used him. With Demerzel having the Prime Radiant, Empire was a little stronger than it should be, and Foundation a little weaker. With this blow, The Mule will go after the large target of Trantor and then Foundation can enact the real Enclosure around the dying remains of Empire. The Cleonic Age will end.

Dawn cuts her off just as Tarisk tracks him down, with gun in hand. He’s insane with grief, but also a terrible shot. He blows the airlock door and both men are sucked out into space. Having given up Plan B, Gaal is flying away from Clarion Station when her airlock is breeched. She runs to the back hoping it is Brother Dawn, but oh boy—it is not Brother Dawn. It’s Demerzel. This should be interesting.

Quick Takes

A couple of quick takes on the rest of the episode:

• Gaal pulls out Salvor’s zygote because “it helps sometimes to imagine what she might live to see.” Does she plan to carry her own granddaughter to birth? That would be…interesting.
• I can’t help but notice that Clarion Station also has a jump gate that appears to be tidally locked facing outwards towards them. Just like Kalgan.
• There were a few less than scientifically accurate things in this episode. The Narrow settlement on Haven is probably improbable, but it didn’t hurt my head too much. The cobalt spike bomb that blasted Kalgan would have taken something on the order of hours to days to reach the planet, assuming it is something akin to a coronal mass ejection.
• A few weeks ago, I had said that Clarion Station was a type of ring world, a la Larry Niven. It is in fact an O’Neill cylinder. Not quite the same thing.
• It’s interesting that The Mule ends his transmission with an invective to remember that Empire caused this suffering, the exact opposite message that Dawn delivered, placing blame on the Council if they did not take action. He also interrupts with his broadcast immediately after 100% Enclosure is announced. It seems like The Mule might already be right there with them on Clarion Station listening in on their session. As Gaal was.
• What happened to the surveillance Dawn called for when his original Enclosure plan was shot down by the middle throne?
• The guys at Foundation and Podcast had an email exchange with former show runner David S. Goyer to try to get a better understanding of his departure from the show. Goyer himself has also posted a Foundation Q&A on his personal website to address fan concerns. And there are definitely reasons to be concerned. The most worrisome part is where he hints that the new team is charting their own path, not following the original eight season roadmap. His involvement stopped before post-production on Season 3, and he’s had no part in writing scripts for Season 4. Not good.
• OK, more credit to the Foundation and Podcast guys. They called the Novacula the “Dusk Star” and that name is never going to leave my vocabulary now.
• That said, it is interesting that as soon as Demerzel is away, Brother Dusk abandons his romantic intentions towards Ambassador Quent and heads up to the Dusk Star. Will he really return to undergo the Ascension ceremony all by himself? I don’t think so. Demerzel’s Cleons really are scattered.
• Did Demerzel get the Prime Radiant back from Brother Dusk prior to her departure?
• Oof, last week I called Gaal’s ship the Beggar’s Banquet. It’s the Beggar’s Lament. Mea culpa.

Best lines of the episode:

• “My Cleons are scattered.”
• “I tried not to. But if I’m honest, sometimes it’s hard to tell.”
• “You think you can breeze back in here, all is forgiven, my wayward son?”
• “May I ask why I will be voting to lock my family in a room with a rabid animal?”
• “Full disclosure, you are now associating with a guerrilla war against the Foundation.” “Well, how terribly rakish.”
• “I’m assuming Magnifico is this weedy clown out there on the stonewalk farting out tunes that hurt my eyes.”
• “People just watched you eat?” “Well, we were naked.”
• “I don’t know about all this marriage stuff, but you picked a good husband.” “Wife.”
• “Be brave. Be at peace, Brother Dusk. And I pray I see you again wherever we tyrants spend eternity.”
• “Gaal Dornick. It has been more than 300 years. You are looking well.”

Conclusion

Even though the episode was a little lackluster for me, that cliffhanger ending was a real jaw dropper. I had completely forgotten about Demerzel saying she was going to take care of Dawn herself. Plot armor should keep the two from outright killing each other, but what is going to come of this momentous meeting? Does Demerzel already suspect the existence of the Second Foundation? Will Gaal’s mentalic abilities work on a robot? The wait for the next episode is gonna be a little more painful this week.

That’s all for this week. Please let us know your thoughts and feelings about this week’s episode, and any theories you have on what’s to come, in the comments below. Remember that TV Obsessive will provide continuing coverage of Foundation throughout Season 3 and beyond.

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All images courtesy of Apple TV+