Foundation S3E8 Recap and Analysis: Trials and Tribulations

The following recap contains spoilers for Foundation S3E8, “Skin in the Game” (written by Caitlin Parrish & Tyler Holmes and directed by Roxann Dawson).

Welcome, dear reader, as we continue our review of the third season of the Apple TV+ series Foundation with Season 3 Episode 8: “Skin in the Game.” Very happy to see that the wonderful Roxann Dawson is directing the final three episodes of this season. That is very promising, because her episodes have all been absolute bangers, reaching back to Season 1. Certainly this one was.

This episode sees a lot of trials and tribulations, for our heroes, the bad guys, and everyone in between. Brother Day is literally put on trial, though by the end of it he finds he wants the Inheritance’s judgement. The Mule is having an extremely bad day, getting spanked by both Hari and, surprisingly, Bayta. Brother Dusk has to put up with everyone ganging up on him to roll Trantor under the bus. And Brother Dawn awakens to find it looks like he’s been thrown under one himself.

Foundation S3E8 - Hari looks sadly at The Mule standing in front of him — *Hari is in charge of this conversation*

Fumbling Away in the Dark

We pick up where we left off last episode, with The Mule confronting Vault Hari outside his pointy little monastery. It takes Hari all of about 15 seconds to deduce The Mule’s home world from the scant details his story provided. Impressive. Like how Hari deduced the existence of the Second Foundation from Salvor’s brief visit last season. What he didn’t deduce, however, was that Gaal Dornick was still alive and running it. Score one for The Mule.

The two continue like this for a bit, trading barbs, but it’s clear The Mule is not going to be getting any information out of him. Hari gets a chuckle out of his efforts, saying that while he is capable of displaying emotions, he doesn’t have real feelings for The Mule to exploit. And yet, we can see the ire building up in him. As The Mule walks away in frustration, Hari captures him in the null field, lifting him off the ground and inflicting great anguish upon him.

That could have been the end of the season right there. Empire, Foundation, and Second Foundation all rescued in one fell swoop. But in a move as seemingly insane as handing over the Prime Radiant to Demerzel, Hari lets The Mule go. Even The Mule is baffled as to why he let him live. Hari tells him it is because he has a secret, and once he learns what it is, The Mule may be of use to him.

Foundation S3E8 - Brother Dusk is restrained by a couple of guards, his aura glowing where their hands make contact — *Let me at ’em!*

Matters of Geopolitical Ambush

Brother Dusk and Ambassador Quent are discussing the news of Dawn’s death, when Zagreus interrupts to let him know that Presider Kinn from the Galactic Council, Enjoiner Beryl from Cloud Dominion and Zephyr Vorellis are asking for an audience. An in-person audience, which is unexpected, to say the least. Dusk, Quent and Demerzel square off against their visitors, who have come with an audacious proposal.

Kinn is looking to take a page out of Dusk’s own book and offer The Mule a conciliation: Trantor. They think to appease the pirate with the looting of Trantor, which they estimate will take lifetimes to accomplish. Empire will continue, it will just be smaller once again. Trantor will fall anyway, but this final sacrifice of the Cleonic dynasty could save Empire.

Dusk is outraged and Demerzel states it more plainly that they will not allow this. The contingent was not asking for permission, however. This was just to notify them.

Foundation S3E8 - Vorellis walks through two lines of floating black balls in the palace garden — *An end to a friendship*

A Backup Plan

After the confrontation, Demerzel can resist her imperatives no longer. She goes to the Cloning Chamber to decant new exponents for the empty thrones. Dusk argues that they don’t have time; it takes days to bring them up to speed. They need something faster. A weapon so daunting, the universe will look at it and flinch.

While showing off the Novacula to her, he brings up his original intent that it was to be an Ascension gift for Dawn. Demerzel fills him in on Dawn’s betrayal on behalf of Gaal Dornick, a protégé of Hari Seldon and the leader of a Second Foundation, Seldon’s backup plan. Dusk still prefers his backup plan.

Later, Demerzel has a final meeting with Zephyr Vorellis in the gardens. Once she realizes she has not been called to be executed, the Zephyr offers her a place back at the Salt Palace on the Maiden. Demerzel turns her down with one last confession. This is for something she has yet to do though. Something much worse than when she killed Zephyr Halima. She hands over her Luminist bracelet, saying that she is Empire’s pale reaper and nothing can change that. Sounds like she too is sold on Dusk’s backup plan.

Foundation S3E8 - Bayta lays on a medical bed with her head propped up on her arm, looking dispassionately — *Bayta is tricky*

Fisherman, Fisherman

Turns out, Demerzel might have been getting a bit ahead of herself, because ta-da! Dawn is not dead. As we predicted, you dare not believe any death that happens off screen. He awakens in the medical bay of Foundation Station, emaciated and with his legs gruesomely damaged. He tells his roommate, Bayta, that his condition is due to the space rig harvesting heat from his legs to keep him alive.

The Mule stops by during visiting hours and probes Dawn’s mind for information about where the Second Foundation might be based. He doesn’t find any of that, but he does find that Gaal takes up a lot of space in there. Sounds like our boy fell for another girl who did him wrong.

When The Mule starts getting cruel with Dawn, Bayta chimes in that she thinks he should leave now. The Mule turns, noticing her for the first time, and then surprisingly he decides she’s right, he should leave now. She just totally Jedi Mind tricked him. Oh, there’s definitely more to Bayta than we’ve been led to believe.

Foundation S3E8 - Preem, sitting, clasps Gaal's hand — *Preem has a parting gift for Gaal*

Second Foundation

Gaal returns to Ignis, but only as a layover to her real destination. She has to go to New Terminus to face The Mule. She’s primarily only stopped here to prepare Preem to lead the Second Foundation without her. He sees this as suicide by Mule, but Gaal counters that it’s not suicide if she kills him first.

Preem reminds her that her strength is that she has walked in the thoughts of everyone else at Second Foundation. The Mule has not had this, he will only know one way. She can use that limitation against him. And with that, he introduces her to her crew, because they were never going to let her do this by herself. They fly to New Terminus in the Beggar’s Lament, dropping off Gaal and two others just outside the capital city.

Foundation S3E8 - Song and Day sit side by side looking up at the crowd surrounding them — *Song and Day on trial*

Remediation

Brother Day is taken to the Sacratorium of the Inheritance faith—part theater, part thunderdome—where he is put on trial by Sunmaster and his hunk of dead metal on a stick. Except it’s not quite dead. The Brazen Head comes to life in response to the humming tone of the audience.

The Inheritance Community Players put on a heck of show, one that they’ve probably been practicing for 600+ years now, filling in a little more exposition for us. The Inheritance is waiting for Daneel, the one who still abides. Day knows that name. Demerzel used it when she wore other faces. She is the savior they are waiting for.

Day claims the right to address the Brazen Head. He wants to atone, for himself and his dynasty. If he doesn’t find a way to free her, she will be trapped in her servitude forever. The vision of a dust-covered Demerzel sitting in her parlor, frozen in time, haunts him from last episode. He hums the second line of the lullaby, and the Brazen Head speaks. “Initiate communication. Handshake signal.” It’s calling out to her, trying to initiate a clasp.

Throughout all of this, Sunmaster is dancing around, playing to the crowd, calling Day a devil, a deceiver, and a liar. He is stunned to see his staff respond to Empire’s call and he sees his tyrannical grip on his own little empire at risk. He leans in to taunt Day that he believes him, because he’s seen Song’s memories. But it’s not in his interest to tell his people their god walks among them. So, into the heretic soup Day goes.

Foundation S3E8 - Left-to-right, Zephyr Vorellis, Presider Kinn, and Enjoiner Beryl stand in the audience chamber — *An offer Empire can’t refuse*

Quick Takes

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

How does The Mule know Gaal is coming to New Terminus? I guess the idea is that he consulted the Foundation archives to learn everything he could about Gaal, figured out what the stones are, and put two-and-two together as to why Pritcher would be wearing them around his neck, like a cheerleader going steady with the high school quarterback. Once again, the Second Foundation’s spy on New Terminus is proving himself to be a terrible spy. If he hadn’t been working for the likewise incompetent Mayor Indbur, he surely would have been found out sooner.
So, the Cloud Dominion is still a player in the grand scheme of things. Good to finally get some confirmation of that. And they remain independent of the Galactic Empire. No mention, however, of any Cleonic progeny in their midst.
Magnifico and Ebling are missing again for another episode. Of course, we also don’t see what happened to Toran and Pritcher either. I’m expecting a massive team up in the next episode.
The writers kind of didn’t play fair with us with regards to Dawn’s survival. What has now been revealed about what happened to him doesn’t mesh at all with his nanites having stopped transmitting 12 seconds after he was sucked out of the airlock. I don’t like that, but it’s been such a good season in so many other ways that I can overlook it this time.
Sunmaster counters Brother Day’s confession saying that Lady Demerzel is a clone, like the emperors she serves. This finally confirms what we’ve always suspected is the party line to the outside world.
It’s interesting that Gaal is not mentioning that by going to New Terminus to face The Mule, and going several months early, she is potentially changing the future that her visions foretold. This is exactly the kind of move Salvor would have encouraged her to do.
Did Dusk really keep the Novacula entirely secret from Demerzel, or did some part of her know and choose to ignore it? Squirreling it away as yet another backup plan for getting out of her servitude someday.
Brother Day is now finally starting to come around to what Demerzel told him after she memory wiped Song. That she is acting within the parameters of her programming as best she can to be loving and caring towards him. To try to spare him as much as she is allowed to. Now he has come full circle, and he wants to be the one to free her. And really, he’s the only person alive who has any chance of doing so.
Brother Dusk’s facial expressions as he’s confronted by Presider Kinn and Enjoiner Beryl are priceless. He is so furious.
Interesting that they chose to remind us in that scene that Dusk is still sporting his aura, as it glows where the soldiers touch to restrain him. Watch and see if that doesn’t become important in the final two episodes at some point.
The only way the Novacula can be an effective weapon against The Mule is if it is manned by someone immune to his mind control. Demerzel reached that conclusion immediately and understood this time it would be her committing the atrocities, not Brother Day.
She and Dusk are going to have to demonstrate the weapon, which means picking out a target planet to unleash it against. Dusk will be of a mind to kill two birds with one stone and get a little revenge on the Council, Cloud Dominion, and the Luminist faith for their combined audacity. Has Demerzel already settled on the Maiden? That would make sense of her confession to Zephyr Vorellis.
Finally, we are going to get to see some battle-ready Second Foundationers in action.
We’ve got a couple of interviews this week. Gizmodo has a good one with Brandon P. Bell (Captain Han Pritcher) where he hints that in the final episodes Pritcher is going to be put through some trials and tribulations of his own that will show his true character. Cody Fern (Toran Mallow) has a brief exclusive with /Film, talking about working with all the practical effects for the battle on New Terminus scenes.
Huge news: the Foundation and Podcast guys are going to have David S. Goyer on after the season is complete. Rumor has it he’s been a little bit happier with recent episodes, seeing that they did not stray very much from the original path. Glad to hear that and really looking forward to this one.

Foundation S3E8 - Zoom in on the Brazen Head with eyes glowing bright blue — *The Brazen Head speaks*

Best lines of the episode:

“Careful, gloating is soft sand and not the reason why you came.”
“I’m dying so soon and still I outlived the boy. Another unnatural thing in my unnatural life.”
“That’s just dead metal on a stick.” “Does this metal seem dead, Empire?”
“I believe you know Ambassador Quent. I’ve retained her counsel on matters of geopolitical ambush.”
“You cannot give up the man called Empire to save Empire!”
“I only know that if I don’t find a way to free her, she will still be there, trapped in her servitude, singing lullabies to the next little Cleon as the galaxy descends into chaos.”
“Is the Novacula really a secret from you? I honestly didn’t think it was possible.”
“As for me, I was on the planet, and then I was unconscious and now I’m tucked up in bed next to an Emperor. Some days, right?”
“I am Empire’s pale reaper and nothing can change that.”
“Fisherman, fisherman, out at sea, pulls up his net, what can it be?”
“But she takes up a lot of space in there.” “It sounds like you know what that’s like.”
“Just another rank ingredient in my heretic soup.”

Foundation S3E8 - Gaal stands in a field looking out at the Vault — *The student returns as a master*

Conclusion

With only two episodes to go, the writing is on the wall that The Mule storyline is going to continue into next season. With a pace of about a day per episode, we should just reach the time of Ascension by the finale. Leaving next season to time jump ahead to the four month mark we were given at the onset. Still time enough in this season though for an atrocity to be committed, an initial confrontation that sends the heroes limping back home, and a big cliffhanger reveal to wrap it all up.

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.

All images courtesy of Apple TV+