Brien Allen
The following recap contains spoilers for Foundation S3E10, “The Darkness” (written by Jane Espenson & David S. Goyer and directed by Roxann Dawson).
Welcome, dear reader, as we wrap up our review of the third season of the Apple TV+ series Foundation with Season 3 Episode 10: “The Darkness.” This was the final episode that will ever be written by David S. Goyer, and wow, what an episode. This one was on par with Raised by Wolves with the level of sheer bonkers it got up to, not to mention the level of death and gore.
Once again, the revelations within the Genetic Dynasty overshadow the Mule storyline, even given the big switcheroo that all of us book readers have been anticipating. Brother Darkness does not go gentle into that good night, not by a long shot. And of course, the unexpected character deaths were jaw dropping. By comparison, the battle in the skies above New Terminus is quick and largely plays out in Gaal’s mental natatorium.
Is Empire Detained?
We start with Brother Dusk standing on his balcony as the new day, slated to be his final day, begins. He walks through the halls of the cloning chamber, checking in on his replacements, old and young. And wow, there are so many more of them than we had previously been shown, with a tower above the chamber holding floor after floor of clones at the ready.
Like Brother Dawn, he is fitted with new robes for his new station and the details are perfect. Master Landell takes his aura, and his next stop is having his nanites taken out. All part of the process. However, after securing himself an unescorted walk down the hall, he doesn’t turn into the medical bay but instead walks right past. Here, at last, is our answer. He’s going with the “run, man, run” plan.
The Prodigal Son
Meanwhile, Brother Day returns to the palace and goes straight to Demerzel’s private quarters. He prostrates himself before her, offering up the covered relic. She calls him to her, cradling his head in her lap, brushing her fingers through his tangled hair. He breaks away to remove the Brazen Head from the bag to show her. He acknowledges that she was right about the coming darkness and tells her that the people of Mycogen believe there’s someone who can stop it: her.
Demerzel is stunned that another one of her kind survived. She wants to believe it lifeless, but Day tells her no, he heard it speak, trying to connect. If she does clasp with it, it will override Cleon I’s programming, and she will not allow that. Day understands and wisely backs off. He plays the same card Kalle played with her in the last episode. It’s not a choice, not yet. She can keep the possibilities open and just help him look to see if there’s still life in it. They get started on the work when she is alerted to something happening at the clone tanks. She must go.
Love Is a Batlefield
On New Terminus, Hari invokes his spoon, armoring the Vault and taking it up to Foundation Station. It fuses with the station and Hari steps out to greet the welcoming committee. Even though they are facing a row of windows—on a space station mind you—they open fire on him. A lot. While he looks on at their forces with half amusement and half pity, the boarding party sneaks in behind them with mental shields up.
Pritcher, continuing his season-long streak of bad decisions, peels off on his own to find Bayta and try to rescue her. He catches up with her just as she is about to be shot by Sephone. As they prepare to cut a path to the hanger, Han senses The Mule is close. Too close, and he crumples under psychic attack.
Gaal and company continue their way down to The Mule when the power is cut. Ebling Mis proves his worth to the company, pointing out a path down through Indbur’s private bathroom. The Mule gets the jump on them, taking out Gaal’s forces until it’s just him and her. He appears to have the upper hand, similar to Gaal’s vision, but then she draws them into her mind fortress. This is the battlefield she has chosen, where she is in control. She flips the tables on him and slits his throat.
The Mule is dead.
All the Little Brothers
Dusk returns to the cloning chamber with a smile on his face and a song in his heart. Call me silly, but even up to this point I thought he was just going to decant his own clone and swap places. Like a grimmer version of Michael Keaton in Multiplicity. Then he asks, “Now, who goes first?” and it’s apparent something far different is about to happen. One by one, he blows up the tanks, culminating in sequential charges that take out the entirety of the tanks overhead.
He decants the new baby Dawn, and they escape as a rain of carnage drops from above. Demerzel and Day catch up with him at the Ascension chamber. He places the baby dead center under the beam and hits the button. As he planned, Demerzel is compelled to protect the baby. She shoves Day aside and tries to shield the baby with her body. It is not enough. Both of them burn up, leaving nothing but the unharmed Prime Radiant and new Brazen Head, with one eye blinking in and out, then fading to nothing.
Demerzel is dead.
The Mule
With The Mule dead, Toran, Ebling and Magnifico emerge to ask Gaal if it is over. It’s not. She can still feel someone in her head. Like Pritcher, she is brought to her knees in psychic pain. Bayta and Pritcher arrive on the scene and to a very melodramatic music cue, Bayta introduces herself as The Mule. She promises to explain all of it, but that’s apparently going to have to wait for next season.
Pritcher tries to talk Gaal into just listening to her. Gaal grabs for his gun, and he ends up shooting her. He’s still thinking for himself, but of course, he’s also never known such love. Bayta goes to convert Gaal, asking Maggie to play. Now we see why Magnifico was allowed to tag along with the raiding party. He has been tampered with and only plays Gaal’s song now, enhancing her powers instead of The Mule’s. With the extra boost, Gaal is able to push Bayta out of her mind and get away.
On the Beggar’s Lament, Vault Hari shows up before they can make the jump. He wants Gaal to take his neural imprint with them, to go ask his question of flesh and blood Hari. His situation is not unlike the hologram Hari who went a little crazy after being stuck conscious in Raych’s knife for over a century. Hari begs for her to take him to his counterpart, and she confesses that Hari died years ago. She claims that she didn’t lie to him, he heard what he wanted to hear.
Darkness
Day confronts his brother in the throne room. Dusk takes a pounding, but he still has his nanites, so his brother can’t kill him. Unfortunately, that’s not the case the other way around, and Dusk shoots his brother in the gut. He explains to the dying Day that he is the fulfillment of Seldon’s big prediction. What comes after the end of the dynasty? Darkness. Brother Darkness. And with that…
Brother Day is dead.
Brother Darkness calls for Zagreus and informs him that he will be requiring his services a good while longer. He also needs the two extra thrones removed and obviously somebody needs to take care of the dead body. He ends the episode sitting on the middle throne, holding the Prime Radiant, and looking off into the setting sun of dusk.
Meanwhile, on…the Moon?!?
En route to confront Dusk in the Ascension chamber, Demerzel ran into Ambassador Quent. She directed her to retrieve a certain triangular book from her quarters and take it to the imperial library. The head librarian takes Quent deep into the ancient works archive, where First Speaker Preem Palver awaits, holding his copy of the Prime Radiant. Welcome to the Second Foundation.
Back in Demerzel’s quarters, the Brazen Head activates, having received a handshake signal, and initiates a clasp. A holographic display of the galaxy is projected, and a line is drawn, connecting to a small white orb next to a larger blue one. Cut to a large empty room with a matching display, where Kalle stands with a very robotic looking robot. They have detected the clasp and know it is coming from Trantor. The signal is not coming from Demerzel though, which means someone else “must have succeeded” and is seeking to embroil them in “the struggle.”
The camera moves out through a window behind them, and we see that these two are on a moon base. And rising in the background is the planet Earth.
Quick Takes
A couple of quick takes on the rest of the episode:
- I thought Foundation Station being directly above the Vault was going to play out with The Mule dropping it directly onto the Vault. Turns out it was the other way around, with the Vault lifting up to meet the station.
- Nice that they finally acknowledged that Gaal has not been counting primes this entire season. Apparently, she has grown so much since Season 2 that she no longer needs to do so.
- When Day returns to Demerzel and she’s stroking his hair, she clasps his hand. That is a clasp her programming will allow.
- Now we’re left wondering just how evil Bayta is. Presumably, the man we knew as The Mule was the pirate who was harassing her home world. One of her first converts. How much autonomy did he have though? Is she responsible for the destruction of Kalgan, for example? Back in Episode 2, she expressed to Toran that she “wish[ed] everyone would just be a part of one thing.” That’s not all too different from the end goal of the Seldon Plan.
- We still have Bayta’s baby brother out there somewhere in the galaxy as a possible lever to use against her. Assuming it was a boy.
- Your Reddit crew, hard at work for you, has decoded a hidden Morse code message in the final blinking of Demerzel’s eye. The message is “TRANSFERRED.” Zephyr Vorellis told us that Demerzel had another resurrection ahead of her. There is hope yet.
- It’s still possible that “The Mule” is a disembodied mentalic who has been jumping around between the pirate and Bayta, in the manner of Tellem Bond last season. Certainly, a lot of the misgivings the pirate had been expressing all season match this idea. Bayta still seemed to be herself when she was in the medical bay with Brother Dawn, and even when Captain Pritcher caught up with her. It’s not until she comes upon the recently victorious Gaal that she goes stiff and takes on a totally different and darker demeanor.
- Gaal’s get away is yet another of these moments that make the hard sci-fi nerd in me just want to weep. Gaal grabs a container lid, blows out a window and boogie boards her way into the Beggar’s Lament. Oh, good grief. If the station was in space, she would have just floated in orbit forever and all the oxygen on the station would have vented out the hole she made. So, OK, maybe the station is actually being held in place in the upper atmosphere. Still, in that case she would have frozen to death and suffocated, though not necessarily in that order.
- How exactly was Gaal able to tamper with Magnifico to get him to “only play her song now” when her last attempt to de-convert someone ended so disastrously? Another instance where it feels like the writers were playing fast and loose with us.
- Bayta is a social media influencer. Get it? It was there in front of us all along.
- Could the metal robot with Kalle be Hari? Sharp-eyed viewers had noted that the background when Kalle and Hari stepped through her portal looked like the Earth’s moon, but at the time it didn’t make any sense that it would be that.
- It appears now that Kalle is indeed a robot and she does not stand alone. Last episode, when she told Demerzel that she could not be what she wished her to be, it may have been more about Demerzel’s programming rendering her incapable of clasping.
- In the end, the bad guys are in charge on both sides of the galaxy. One ruling with an iron grip of fear, and the other ruling with an iron grip of…love? Well, something like that anyways.
- Chris MacLean, the VFX Supervisor for Foundation, will hold an AMA (Ask Me Anything) on the r/FoundationTV sub-reddit on Monday, September 15th, at 3:30PM PST. Question #1: when are they going to start cranking out official Prime Radiant replicas for sale? We’ve been waiting for years.
- Several interviews this week for the season finale. Wired magazine has a really smart (and lengthy) interview with Lee Pace (Brother Day). /Film interviewed David S. Goyer and broke it into two articles, one about the possibility of a Robot Wars spin off from Foundation, and the other about the misdirection regarding the true identity of The Mule. In an interview with Gizmodo, Synnøve Karlsen (Bayta Mallow) reveals that she knew about the reveal all along and feels that upon watching the season the clues were so obvious to her.
- Just ahead of the airing of Episode 10, Apple TV+ announced the renewal of Foundation for Season 4. Yay!
- As advertised, David S. Goyer also came on Bald Move’s Foundation and Podcast and answered some of their questions. He estimated that they retained about 85% of his original vision for Season 3 and a lot of the changes were swapping out some scenes for additional Gaal voiceovers. He seems to hold no hard feelings that Apple and Skydance were rightfully looking to recoup some of the expenses incurred from the writers’ strike. One tidbit from the interview is that he named the robot with Kalle in the final scene as Isterion (or something like that). So maybe that isn’t Hari? He also says that Brother Dawn’s nanites going offline was planned to be explained in Season 4.
Best lines of the episode:
- “Your talent has given me a dignity I have not always earned.”
- “You know I was raised by the traders, right? (scoffs) Squeeze, don’t pull.”
- “She’s coming. And she’s got the old man to budge.”
- “What is it? What are you hearing?” “Lots of cheap boots.”
- “Even sitting, it’s not a bad last stand.”
- “I didn’t bring any extra shoes.” “I wouldn’t be caught dead in anything you pick.”
- “Thank you, captain. I’ll try to make it so you don’t have to hurt her again.”
- “Brother Dusk.” “That’s not my name anymore. I got a new one today.”
- “What are you doing?” “Well, I’m not conciliating. I can tell you that much.”
- “That vault is my tomb. I sit and stare at black walls made of my own remains and wander it like a ghost.”
- “Seldon’s big prediction. ‘The end of the dynasty,’ he said. And what comes after? Darkness. Well, if the robe fits.”
- “Certain dramatic events have transpired.”
Conclusion
We were first introduced to the concept of Brother Darkness in S1E3. Three seasons of amazing sci-fi brilliance turn out to be an elaborate setup for this clever play on words. The Darkness was there all along, hidden in plain sight. Absolutely brilliant. Well played, Mr. Goyer. You will be sorely missed.
Along with Goyer’s departure, it seems we will no longer be needing the services of Laura Birn (Demerzel) and Lee Pace (Brother Day). I want to believe they’ll figure out a way to bring these two characters back, but, ya know, maybe not. This may have been the plan all along, and we’ll be swapping out for a new cadre of core characters, as new robots and whatever Kalle represents are brought into the story. The show has a great foundation, so to speak, and I’m holding onto the faith that they can continue to deliver on the promise of these first three seasons.
That’s all for this season. Please let us know your thoughts and feelings about this week’s episode, and any theories you have on what’s to come next season, 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+
I’ll have to admit my theories last week about changes to the show were wrong – the script was always Goyer’s and wasn’t changed. I was unfairly and prematurely harsh on Goldberg, as well.
Anyhow, while I do appreciate that Goyer’s vision as an artist has been respected, I feel there’s a lot about the execution left to be desired and the final episode felt more like shock for shock’s sake.
Now, I’m not against any of the events that transpired in theory – Darkness overthrowing the Dynasty in a self-coup and Bayta turning out to be the Mule are story developments that I’m fine with, and for the former even like. But they didn’t really feel properly developed and earned so as to be satisfying conclusions of events set in motion.
Dusk being up to his schemes wasn’t covered much in the show, other than seeing he’s had built the Novacula without Demerzel’s knowledge and that he was generally unwilling to be “ascended”. I would have wished for more scenes with him – something to imply he’s been tampering with the palace, getting critical staff on his side, etc. Basically anything material instead of us relying on his general sentiment, so that we can dread what he’s going to do as his ascension looms imminently.
I would have liked an explicit showcase of his realization that he really did manage to hide things from an increasingly distracted Demerzel, finally deciding to put his carefully laid out plans in motion. It would’ve given us something to expect rather than it coming from the left field.
Another issue I have with the Empire plotline is how the palace staff seemed to simply just vanish as Dusk was doing his thing, even as we saw some of them right beforehand and the guards were running to apparently nowhere as the alarm rang for the one scene before disappearing. I would’ve liked the unfolding chaos as Empires turned on each other, but the palace was totally empty. And Zagreus is absolutely terrible at his job – it would’ve been better if he was recruited by Dusk rather than being totally clueless. Basically: we should have been shown Dusk putting pieces in place to take control instead of him apparently acting alone in an empty palace.
Day and Demerzel’s stories were shockingly upended by Dusk’s actions, but it does at least seem like Demerzel’s story will continue as a freed robot so it’s not all for nothing.
I’m curious what will happen with Darkness’ Empire next season. Based on the horrific crimes he’s committed with the Novacula and the destruction of the Dynasty’s continuity, the Empire’s legitimacy and prospects should be “6 feet under”, so to speak. The Dynasty was already on shaky ground given how important galactic players were willing to sacrifice it before all this.
As for Bayta Mule, it feels like a very deliberate and ugly bait and switch away from the all too many clues pointing to Magnifico. As I said, I’m not opposed to Bayta being the Mule conceptually but we had very little go off of for her to be a satisfying reveal. Being deliberately misleading to the viewer because you think the reveal they expect isn’t surprising enough is a disastrous line of thinking for storytelling – stories shouldn’t rely on nobody seeing it coming, in my view. Magnifico as a character is very odd and his portrayal in the show doesn’t make much sense or purpose if he isn’t the real-real Mule, other than being a red herring frustratingly taking screen time in retrospect.
Or Bayta is another decoy, activated right after the first one got killed. Magnifico continued to be suspiciously framed by the direction. Gaal thought she tampered with Magnifico, but Magnifico made her think that and has wanted her to get away to find the Second Foundation for him, all while he can continue to hide behind another figurehead. Interviews about the story direction have been misleading before.
I’m not sure what to think of the direction the show took this episode. The last few episodes felt rushed, despite the season being being written and shot as a single piece. The carefully laid out Mycogen storyline ended abruptly with a quick impaling, Dusk’s coup wasn’t really telegraphed much in advance, I’m still a bit confused with Gaal’s plan to take down the Mule, and I haven’t got a clue how Dawn managed to end up on Foundation Station – it baffles on several levels, already said last time. Keeping that a secret is a frustrating decision.
The Gaal atmospheric entry maneuver on a piece of plot armor was also probably the most outrageous breach of the suspension of disbelief the whole show, lol. Haven was great by comparison.
I would’ve also liked if Hari Seldon’s sudden appearance in Foundation Station was treated with confusion and apprehension rather than a shoot on sight thing (against a hologram). He’s practically the god of the Foundation. It was a weird, cliche moment, and he would’ve taken everyone’s attention regardless, by the pure virtue of being there.
All in all we’ll see where season 4 goes.
You aren’t the only one imagining Magnifico is still the real Mule and that Bayta is another decoy. It makes much more sense than Bayta being the Mule, and so it was my first thought when she converted Pritcher.
But alas, Goyer has said that Bayta’s the real Mule. Unless he’s trying to fake us out, even in out of show interviews, that sort of settles it.
In addition, we are shown a reworking of the drowning flashback, this time with a girl. Unlike the previous flashback which was to illustrate the narration of the pirate, an unreliable narrator of a memory planted in his head, this is not that. It doesn’t make sense as a memory being stuffed into Bayta’s head for Gaal’s consumption either, Gaal never saw the first story. No, it’s for the audience, and it’s to tell us, “here’s what the real scene was.” And indeed, it makes more sense, in a perverse way. Why would a family kill their firstborn son to keep their newborn one? Perversely, it is known from history to have parents under a one child policy who get a girl and desperately want a boy, and if forced to choose, would drown the girl. This is the story Goyer wanted here.
Which means we don’t get Magnifico as the true Mule, in spite of how much better that is. I won’t forgive them for doing deliberate anti-clues on Bayta (like her “meeting” with Magnifico in the nightclub, introducing herself to a man who has been her slave for years, when nobody else is listening) for no other purpose but to trick book readers into knowing Magnifico is the Mule.