Foundation season three just dropped its finale episode, “The Darkness,” and it was jam-packed with reveals and twists. When io9 got a chance to talk to Synnøve Karlsen, who plays Bayta Mallow on the Apple TV+ show, we didn’t hesitate, since Bayta plays a crucial part in what happens in the climax, and there’s no doubt she’ll be having an impact on the show’s just-announced fourth season.
If you haven’t watched “The Darkness” yet, be warned! We talk spoilers galore.
Foundation‘s season finale brought the long-awaited showdown between Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), head of the Second Foundation, and the mysterious Mule (Pilou Asbæk). And we don’t use “long-awaited” lightly; Gaal literally put herself in stasis on and off for 152 years so she’d be alive during the Mule’s rise to power. She’s been having vivid visions of their violent confrontation for years.
So when the moment finally arrived in “The Darkness,” viewers were shocked to find the Mule isn’t the Mule at all. He’s just a pirate being puppeted by the real Mule: Bayta Mallow (played by Karlsen), a rich socialite who’s been hiding her true identity all season. Surprise!
Cheryl Eddy, io9: In episode 10 we learn Bayta has a big secret. At what part in the process did you learn her true story?
Synnøve Karlsen: I learned fairly early on. When I was meeting for the role, they had kind of hinted there was something underneath that they hadn’t revealed yet. And then once I officially signed on, they told me exactly who she really was, which was very exciting.
io9: How did you infuse that into your performance? Were there any specific moments leading up to episode 10 that felt like hints to the audience?
Karlsen: It’s really difficult because as I was playing her, she [was] just acting in complete honesty and truth to what she believes in. There’s just one thing that she holds back throughout, so it’s this unspoken thing that she just doesn’t say. I’d say that across the board it was quite easy to play along in a really genuine way, because these were all goals that she really, truly wanted.
What was harder were moments when, say, [the balladeer] Magnifico’s playing the visi-sonor, or Magnifico’s talking about his relationship to the captain. Nobody’s looking at Bayta, and the camera’s on Bayta. And I think in those moments, I just let her feel how she would have felt. Luckily, there were no lines, so it didn’t give anything away.
But I definitely think for the viewer, once they know the reveal, when you go back and watch it, it’ll be pretty obvious. There will be some real moments to stick out. I mean, as a viewer of it myself, although I’m in it, when I watch it back, I’ve been like, “Oh, god, this is so obvious!” But luckily, I don’t think that many people have kind of caught on to the reveal yet. So hopefully I kept it subtle enough.
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