Foundation is not a show that lends itself to casual viewing. Its nuances and details, not to mention its constantly shifting settings, mean you must pay close attention to understand what’s happening. It’s also not really a show you can decide to start watching midway through, something to consider ahead of its third season premiere.
But the rewards are worth it: it’s wildly entertaining—thanks to its writing, layered world-building, and performances—and while it’s a show that deals with very serious themes, Foundation also knows when to lighten up. Even as humanity faces extinction, it makes room for moments of levity and romance, as well as surprising twists that subvert audience expectations. That includes those who’ve read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books, which inspire but don’t dictate the events of the series.
Foundation also makes it easier on viewers whenever it can. This is a plot-heavy show with a lot of characters to keep track of, so it makes use of helpful narration as well as on-screen text to let us know where we are on the timeline. It also makes things very clear when we’re visiting a new planet or region—something season three does a lot of, efficiently showing us just how much this story has expanded since season one.
Season three picks up 152 years after season two. Some things look the same: Empire is still ruling the galaxy with its Cleon clones and ancient android Demerzel (Laura Birn); Foundation, now relocated to New Terminus, counts down the days until its creator Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) next emerges from his mysterious vault. The Second Foundation, created in secret, has been training psychic warriors. And the Prime Radiant, Seldon’s compact supercomputer, is still predicting the fall of civilization, with an extended dark age to follow.
That last bit is obviously worrisome, but at this point, Seldon’s doom-filled prophecy—tabulated using his “psychohistory,” used to envision the fates of large populations—has been out there for centuries. As we saw in season two, Demerzel and the Second Foundation both have access to the Prime Radiant and can keep tabs on psychohistory’s progress. Demerzel keeps her Prime Radiant tucked in her chest, almost where her heart would be.
The next big event is known to be the Foundation’s Third Crisis. But Seldon’s followers are no longer the scrappy colonists we met in seasons one and two; everyone, especially the leadership, has prospered. A civil war of sorts is brewing between Foundation’s ruling elite and Foundation’s merchant traders, who are led by the wealthy descendants of season two character Hober Mallow.
But while Seldon’s plan, which had veered off course in season two, is back on track, the Prime Radiant is now hinting that instead of merely a temporary period of struggle, the road ahead may lead to something far more permanent. This lends a layer of frantic dread to the feeling that things are rapidly falling apart—something that’s exponentially enhanced once the Mule (Pilou Asbæk) starts rattling his saber.
A self-styled pirate warlord who uses his psychic gifts to mind-control any opposition, with unimaginably cruel results—soldiers turning on each other with murderous friendly fire, people biting off their own fingers or willingly drowning themselves—the Mule’s arrival was foreseen by Seldon’s protégé, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell). She’s also psychic, and Foundation has long been teasing their predestined battle. The Mule’s the reason Gaal has endured multiple extended cryosleep periods. She needs to be alive at the right time, because she believes she’s the only one who can stop him.
As Foundation sets up these separate yet connected narratives, there’s lots of payoff for viewers who’ve become invested in the show. Things are barreling toward a face-off that’s now years in the making—centuries in the making, if you’re going by Foundation’s fluid approach to time—but the pacing carefully makes room for all the different characters, all of whom are new aside from Seldon, Gaal, and Demerzel.
That includes the three Cleons, who look familiar but are all-new, all-different versions of the same man we’ve met over and over again across Foundation’s run. Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) is dreading his imminent “ascension”—he’ll soon be incinerated to make way for a new baby Brother Dawn—while the current Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) will become Brother Day, the Cleon with the most power. That’s problematic because the reigning Brother Day (Lee Pace) has completely fucked off from his official duties, preferring instead to get high, gamble, and laze around with the concubine he’s chosen as his permanent companion.
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