Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Foundation Season 3 Episode 7.
Foundation dropped perhaps its most series-altering of series-altering cliffhangers last week, which also happened to be the season’s strongest entry to date. In the same vein, Episode 7, “Foundation’s End,” written by Jane Espenson and Greg Goetz and directed by Christopher J. Byrne, lives up to its title. While it’s too early to count out the Foundation entirely, with New Terminus falling to the Mule (Pilou Asbæk), their chances of stopping the tyrannical Mentalic look increasingly bleak. As such, characters aligned with Foundation and Empire alike face what might be their last days alive. Scattered survivors run for their lives, tend to their wounded, and plant the seeds of resistance. Some confront their inner demons, while others embrace both their darkest and their most tender sides.
Before resolving last week’s ending, “Foundation’s End” opens years earlier on Rossum, an Outer Reach farming planet. As giant machines gather the crops, a local woman named Hennet (Scarlett Brookes), her adolescent son (Toby Dixon), and her baby race through the fields, frantic to get home before the Foundation’s Assessors land for their monthly visit. They hide the baby inside a wall and silence it with the son’s last piece of candy. Two Assessors examine their small abode, judge their produce output, and approve a so-called “generous” increase in the family’s personal food supply. On their way out, the baby cries. Orvi (Richard Riddell), the husband and father, lies that the child belongs to their neighbors; he and Hennet know better than to violate the Foundation’s one-child policy (or, as they call it, “the mass deleter solution”). Calmly, the Head Assessor (Michael Pitthan) informs the sobbing parents: “You have two children, and you’ve been allotted enough [food] for one child. In 30 days’ time, when we return, you’ll have one child.”
The Foundation and the Empire Grieve Their Losses in Season 3 Episode 7
The Mule’s (Pilou Asbæk) sneak attack on New Terminus has turned the First Foundation’s base into a war zone. Han Pritcher’s (Brandon Bell) cell gives him a front-row view of the destruction. Sephone (Iðunn Ösp Hlynsdóttir), his colleague from Season 3’s first episode, refuses to set him free. Desperate, Han bites into his wrist until blood spurts everywhere. His agonized screams alert the guard, who dashes inside the cell. Meanwhile, on the ground, armed assailants fire on panicked civilians. Once the dust clears, the Mule lands his personal ship in the heart of the city. Immediately, Mayor Indbur (Leo Bill) kneels and surrenders. Once Warden Greer (Krista Kosonen) head-shots the one person who resists Indbur’s betrayal, no one else objects. The eclipse chooses this eerily appropriate moment to clear, leaving the sun shining on the Mule’s upturned, smiling face. He promises that everyone will “come to love me,” then inquires about the gift Indbur promised him: Han Pritcher, the Foundation’s lead intelligence officer, a Mentalic, and how the Mule learned Gaal Dornick‘s (Lou Llobell) name.
In the Imperial throne room on Trantor, dozens of officials yell demands at Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann). He sits alone on his designated throne, caught in a silent trance. Once he sees Brother Day’s (Lee Pace) camel friend wandering in the hallway outside, he issues orders before sweeping into the Foundation’s chancery area and calling for Ambassador Felice Quent (Cherry Jones). The Foundation official and her colleagues are grieving while they listen to the terrifying audio transmissions from New Terminus. After a gentle hug, Dusk asks after New Terminus’ status, but he only has one mission: securing Quent’s protection. Dusk takes her hand and escorts his Empress to his home.
Later that evening, a shaken Quent can’t find enough motivation to eat. She recaps her perspective on the attack and asks after Dusk’s brothers. He tells her the truth, which snaps Quent’s focus from demoralized to concerned. “I’m not certain of anything anymore,” Dusk scoffs in response to whether he can prove Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) has died. Capillus, Day’s adorable white ferret, interrupts the moment by hopping up onto the table. Once Quent pets Capillus, Dusk seems to warm to him, feeding the animal meat from his fork.
Brother Day Confronts His Worst Fears in ‘Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 7
As for Day, his situation wasn’t looking great last week. For now, he seems to be out of danger, cleaning his wounds and sincerely apologizing for presuming he owned Song’s (Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing) affection. He does insist Song met a robot, however, and hands over the tool he stole from Demerzel’s (Laura Birn) collection as proof. Song and Oceanglass-49 (Laura Berlin) have a private sidebar: under no circumstances will Song subject herself to her old memories, but if there’s the slightest chance Song truly stumbled upon the last robot in existence, they have a duty to confirm it. Song brews their strongest, most “sacred” spores into a tea and brews a bowl for Day to drink — the effects, according to her, help people “meet” their true selves.
With that, the interrogation begins. Day’s not enjoying his intense high; he loses himself in uncomfortable visions before hallucinating himself back in the royal palace, naked and running in the dark as various voices chase him. He’s confronted by a moving mural of the throne room, his brothers on either side of his empty seat. Demerzel emerges from behind the vacant middle throne, intoning about the Genetic Dynasty and this incarnation of Day’s “small role, dictated by a man centuries before you were born.” Day retorts, “I wasn’t born. I was made.” Demerzel taunts Day about whether being born would “make you feel whole.” Cue Day screaming and clutching his abdomen before toppling off Song’s couch.
Briefly back in reality, Day demonstrates the Inheritance gesture Song made to Demerzel — only for Demerzel’s voice to ask why he channels such visceral hatred upon her and her alone. “My midwife and my martinet,” he mocks, “waiting for me to miss a step.” Song manages to learn that Demerzel would kill anyone, including Song, if they tried to release her from her mandated programming. The violations Demerzel has experienced tip Song over the emotional edge. “Why did I think I could dive into that cesspool and come out clean?” she furiously demands. Song’s body transforms into Demerzel’s, who stabs Day in the heart.
The act jolts Day back into the palace, where he finds Demerzel on the throne, unmoving, covered in layers of dust. Finally, he recognizes the voice asking, “Did you hurt yourself?” as his own. The subject of his innocent childhood (Cobhan O’Brien) query? Demerzel, who sits at her vanity with tears rolling down her face. Young Cleon apologizes for their failure that day — thanks to decades of tampered DNA, the Cleons’ symmetry has degraded. Demerzel puts the child to bed and indulges his request for a story. She has plenty of them, as well as past names that will delight Foundation book readers: “Chetter, Eto, Daneel.” Day asks what Demerzel would choose to do if she could leave her Imperial duties. Wistful, Demerzel muses, “I suppose I would make more creatures like me. More robots.” But when it comes to whether she would prefer not to care for the Cleons, “I cannot weigh love up against freedom.” Realizing that Demerzel’s need for “freedom would win” over her love, Day silently cries.
The Mallows Are Separated and Day Meets the Inheritance’s Leader in ‘Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 7
Toran Mallow (Cody Fern) carries a still unconscious Bayta (Synnøve Karlsen) back to their ship. Moments later, Randu Mallow (Darren Pettie) gives his nephew the fright of his life. Once armed soldiers follow in Randu’s wake, that fright becomes the heartbreak of Toran’s life. The Mule’s influence has corrupted his uncle, who insists Toran deliver himself into their kind-hearted overlord’s care. Toran, unaffected, pulls a gun on Randu, but the other man quickly overpowers him. The soldiers carry Bayta away while a helpless Toran vows to kill them if they dare hurt his wife. Locking himself in the escape pod, Toran apologizes to Randu and activates the pod, screaming in grief as doing so kills Randu.
Following dinner, Dusk and Quent discuss their next steps. He still needs to ascend in three days, so his biggest priority is ensuring her safety and a long-term home at the palace, should Quent wish it. Moved by his reciprocated affection, Quent dives in for the kiss she’s denied herself for three decades. After the blissfully happy couple spends an offscreen evening in bed, Dusk stirs for a midnight snack and a glass of wine. Capillus the ferret roams up to his foot, seeking food. Seething, Dusk stomps the ferret to death.
Song, reeling from all they’ve learned, believes it’s time to summon Sunmaster-18 (Blake Ritson) — presumably, the Inheritance’s leader, as he’s qualified to decide how they proceed with Demerzel. Oceanglass had already called for him, and just like that, he arrives. A dark-haired, bearded man wielding a black cane topped with a small gold skull, Sunmaster-18 confirms Demerzel’s tool is indeed from the set Cleon I stole. He stirs Day to attention by praising Mycogen’s equality. “None may glory over another. Except this,” Sunmaster says, indicating his staff. “This […] is the brazen head of God. And it will scream your fate aloud.”
The Mule’s Origins Are Revealed in ‘Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 7
The Mule, Indbur, and Greer arrive at Han’s cell to find a dead guard wearing Han’s clothes. Han himself rounds the corner, gun trained on the Mule, but the weapon refuses to fire. Han evades capture and commandeers a ship. The Mule doesn’t seem bothered — he lays claim to Indbur’s office, giggling and grinning, Skirlet (Isla Gie) still by his side like a favorite pet. Once the group moves into a side chamber, however, he reveals his simmering rage. He orders Indbur, via Skirlet, to drown himself. Indbur happily shoves his head inside a giant glass jug of water, dying for the room to witness. The Mule then demands Sephone’s insight into Han’s plans. Sephone shifts from horrified over Indbur’s display to smirking, betraying the likelihood that Han is still planet-side, busy “planning an insurrection.” Pleased, the Mule takes a final look at Indbur, then chokes out, “Bad way to go. Drowning.”
The Mule’s face fades into the family from the episode’s opening scene. The son hears his parents arguing outside their home. Later, all four gather at the edge of a water reservoir. Choosing their baby over their son, Orvi tries to drown the boy despite the latter’s pleas. In this traumatic moment, the child’s Mentalic abilities activate. Rising from the water, the boy becomes the Mule, sending both his parents to their watery graves by convincing both of them they’re happy to die for him. “You love me,” he thinks. “More than anything.” The Mule leaves his younger sibling and a piece of candy at their neighbors’ doorstep before racing into the fields. In the present, the Mule stands underneath the Vault, taunting Hari Seldon‘s (Jared Harris) hologram about his innumerable sins. He turns away, only for Hari to manifest and question the validity of the Mule’s tragic tale. With a maniacally satisfied grin, the Mule declares, “Oh, the truth comes banging on your door, Hariton Seldon.”
New episodes of Foundation premiere every Friday on Apple TV+.
Foundation
The Mule’s chilling backstory is finally unveiled as the fight for New Terminus intensifies.
- Release Date
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September 23, 2021
- Network
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Apple TV+
- Showrunner
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David S. Goyer
- Directors
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Alex Graves, Roxann Dawson, Jennifer Phang, Mark Tonderai, Andrew Bernstein
- The Mule’s compelling backstory highlights the Foundation’s moral grayness.
- Dusk’s romance with Quent is both a sweet and frightening storyline for the older Cleon.
- Brother Day’s hallucination is one of the series’ best sequences so far.
- Episode 7 teases a strong future storyline for Han Pritcher, but he’s underused again this week.
