[And there will be big spoilers ahead .... ]
Here are some of the highlights of what I think I just saw:
1. Demerzel was destroyed in Dusk's rampage. But I don't completely understand what the robots now have left. We also see the head that Day brought back to Trantor flickering into life, and there apparently/presumably are other robots out there in the galaxy, so perhaps the Demerzel we've known and (at least for me) not especially loved, could conceivably be back.
2. The Cleonic clonal triumvirate isn't quite destroyed, but certainly disfigured or maybe fundamentally altered is a better way to put it. Dusk can live forever, because he has his nanites intact and working. Day is dead. And Dawn is still alive, if not quite kickin'. This new combination, combined with what happened to Demerzel, should make for a fascinating next season.
3. The man we thought was The Mule -- the older brother in that previous episode -- was killed by Gaal. But it turns out that Bayta is The Mule? Or is The real Mule (Magnifico?) indeed controlling Bayta, in the same way he was controlling the older brother whom we first met on Rossom? One thing is certain: Pritcher was indeed converted by The Mule (whoever he/she is), thus fulfilling what Asimov had in store for him.
4. The Second Foundation and Preem Palver are in the Library on Trantor, thus fulfilling another Asimovian detail.
5. And the Hari we've been seeing is indeed not alive. But, as I've been saying, I think it's more correct to call him some kind on android, since holograms are reflections or representations, and have no independent agency.
I mentioned a "next" season above. Today it was announced that Apple TV+ has indeed given a next season the green light. See you back here when that 4th season begins streaming.
And, if you'd like some more assessment of this season, check out the conversation I'll be having with Joel McKinnon and Cora Buhlert next week, as we continue our tradition of dissecting each season of this series.
Note added September 18, 2025: Here's our conversation -- followed by earlier conversations about the first and second seasons of Foundation.
Joel McKinnon, Cora Buhlert, and I discuss the 1st season of Foundation
Joel McKinnon, Cora Buhlert, and I discuss the 2nd season of Foundation
See also Foundation 3.1: Now We're Talkin'! ... 3.2: "The Fault, Dear Brutus, Is Not in Our Stars" ... 3.3: Dawn and The Mule ... 3.4: Cleon Knows His PKD ... 3.5: Cleaving Closer to Asimov's Trilogy ... 3.6: Finally! But ... 3.7: The Origin of The Mule ... 3.8: Deconstructing Concepts ... 3.9: Munn tracht un Gutt lacht
And see also Foundation 2.1: Once Again, A Tale of Two Stories ... 2.2: Major Players ... 2.3: Bel Riose and Hari ... 2.5: The Original Cleon and the Robot ... 2.6: Hari and Evita ... 2.7: Is Demerzel Telling the Truth? ... 2.8: Major Revelations ... 2.9: Exceptional Alterations ... Season 2 Finale: Pros and Cons
And see also Foundation 1.1-2: Mathematician, Man of the People, and Cleon's Clones ... Foundation 1.3: Clonal Science Fiction, Hari Seldon as V. I. Lenin ... Foundation 1.4: Slow Hand, Long Half-Life, Flipped Coin ... Foundation 1.5: What We Learned in that Final Scene ... Foundation 1.6: Folded Variations ... Foundation 1.7: Alternate History/Future ... Foundation 1.8: Divergences and Convergences ... Foundation 1.9: Vindication and Questions ... Foundation Season 1 Finale: Right Up There
2 comments:
I look forward to our conversation. Much to say about all of this.
Me too!
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