Review of 'Foundation' 2.8-2.9

Well, finally an episode of Foundation -- 2.8 -- that's really firing on all cylinders. By which I mean, the Trantor parts and the other parts were nearly equal in power, and that power was impressive, answered all kinds of questions, and stood on the verge of answering more. So, good thing that two more episodes await us this season.

Here are some of the major revelations, as I see them:

[Spoilers of course are ahead ... ]

1. The opening conversation between Dusk and Rue gives us some essential info about Demerzel and her origin, but not yet the complete story. By the end of the episode, Dusk tells Rue that Empire is doing Demerzel's bidding rather than vice versa. Yes indeed.

2. Hober's attack on Trantor, and his rescue of Constant, was literally a much welcome merger of the Foundation and Empire stories -- and indeed, we heard that phrase later in the episode -- and it was good to see Hober and Constant carnally together after they were off the planet. Lots of good sex in general in this episode, including Dawn and Sareth. Will be interesting to see the impact of the child they engendered.

3. We learned more about the Second Foundation, most importantly from the conversation between Salvor and one of the digital Haris. And the most important takeaway from that conversation is that Hari's idea is that both Foundations were intended to be mutually ignorant of each other. This is a divergence from Asimov's trilogy, in which the First Foundation was ignorant of the Second, but the Second knew just about everything about the First. Which is ok by me, at this point,

4. I remain in strong dislike of Tellem, which of course we're supposed to be. She seems on the verge of inhabiting Gaal, which is repulsive. And apparently she did kill the corporeal Hari -- though if new flesh-and-blood Haris can be created, that may not matter.

***

The next-to-last episode of season 2 of Foundation on Apple TV+ -- episode 2.9 -- was riveting and brilliant. I couldn't take my eyes off the screen. Even though the story it told diverged from the equivalent time in Asimov's second Foundation novel -- Foundation and Empire -- in crucial ways that indeed were among the best parts of the original trilogy in the 1950s and the subsequent sequels and prequels in the 1980s and early 1990s.

Here are my thoughts on some of the major developments in episode 2.9:

1. We get more of Demerzel's story in the powerful opening scene. We don't hear the name R. Daneel Olivaw, but what Demerzel tells us is not inconsistent with R. Daneel's origins on Earth, and Demerzel does speak the name of our planet. As far as what is new in the TV series, and what I still do think is the best part, we learn something very important: it was the first Cleon, not Demerzel, who came up with the Cleon clonal triumvirate. This suggests that the relationship between the clones and the android are closer to equal than we may have thought before.

2. The action around Terminus was thrilling, and surprising in the way it diverged from Asimov's accounting. Hari's hologram is impressive, but it fails to convince Day of anything. And indeed, Bel Riose, ordered by Day, all but destroys the Foundation outpost on Terminus at the end. At that moment, can we say that psychohistory has failed or succeeded? I don't see how can it be the latter.

3. Meanwhile, we get the satisfaction -- maybe not the best word -- of Hari beating Tellem to death, in a scene that was so strong it was almost physically revolting even as it was ethically welcome. And unless I radically missed something in my understanding of holograms, the Hari who killed Tellem was corporal, physical, not a hologram. Which means, either the physical Hari was indeed not dead (as I said in my review of episode 2.7), because Tellem didn't kill him in the first place, or Hari's physical being was reconstituted off-screen (as I suggested above in my review of episode 2.8). Either way, I count the continuation of the physical Hari, along with the holograms, as a good thing for the television series.

4. We get another glimpse of the Mule. I'm thinking now that in the third season, we'll see a three-way fight between Hari, Empire, and the Mule. And Demerzel's allegiance won't be as clear as it's been up until episode 2.9.

We'll just have to see. And I'll see you here next week with my review of the Season 2 finale.

Reviews of other Season 2 episodes of Foundation: 2.1-2.1 ... 2.3 & 2.5 ...2.6... 2.7... 2.10

[I didn't review episode 2.4.]

[Search on "Foundation" for my reviews of the first season.]