In Seldon’s Shadow – The episode opens with Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) having an extreme meltdown. Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey) identifies herself to Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) as her “daughter.” Stunned, Gaal denies having a daughter. Hari claims to have been born from her donated embryo. Both women were in “cryosleep.” Mari Hardin is Seldon’s surrogate mother. Seldon confesses her desire to know everything about Gaal and her father, Raych.
Demerzel (Laura Birn) and Emperor Brother Day/Cleon (Lee Pace) are having sex when he comes under attack. Pulling her in front of him, a blaster shot takes off her head. The attack continues until he eradicates his three assailants, suffering a serious blaster shot in the process. Demerzel assists him to his feet before taking him to Empire for treatment. The Imperial doctor (Abigail Rice) believes he will survive his injury.
Seldon’s memory – Seeing Young Hari’s (Isaac Highams) makeshift “3D object with a 2D shadow,” Kariel Seldon (Elsie Bennett) compliments his intelligence. Nolan Seldon (Sean Rigby) scolds him for damaging the book before slapping him across the face. Seldon says, “Three-dimensional shadow, four-dimensional object, four-dimensional space.” Emerging from the Vault, he walks a short distance before encountering who he believes is Yanna Seldon (Nimrat Kaur). After warning that the “galaxy is breaking,” he claims the responsibility of fixing it. He needs her help but knows she is a mere “dream.” While claiming to be real, she cannot make him believe.
Synnax – Waking up, Gaal frantically dives into the water in search of Salvor when she paddles past in a boat. Salvor confesses to satisfy her instinct to check the perimeter before going fishing. Gaal’s dreams of the future while Salvor’s dreams are of Gaal’s past. Salvor suggests it is their commonality. When Gaal rejects the idea, Salvor accuses her of lying before validating her accusation with a coin flip.
Warden Jaegger Fount (Holt McCallany) is started awake by a loud siren. He warns Director (Oliver Chris) to not access the null field as it is subsiding. Director voices disbelief at Seldon’s return while he is still alive. Warden assures him that Seldon will not return just yet. Director suggests it is in preparation for war. Warden reminds him of Seldon’s belief that war would certainly happen.
Seldon asks Oreen (Emily Stott) why she chose to portray Yanna. She says after his prolonged isolation, Yanna was a face he could trust. After some thought, he realizes that he is in Prime Radiant. Gaal confesses to putting him there. She suggests he duplicated his consciousness. Salvor questions if he has a clone. Gaal expresses her distrust of him. Salvor tells her that she fears his Plan, not him. While demonstrating the capability of Prime Radiant, Gaal senses another impending crisis. She warns that Seldon’s “Age of Darkness” may last forever if they do not prepare now.
Trantor – Refusing anesthesia, Brother Day suffers through treatment. When the lead Imperial surgeon (James Beaumont) urges him to rest, Brother Day threatens his life. Shadowmaster Greeve (Jim High) informs him that his assailants are Blind Angels. Brother Day asks if Dark Angels someone on the inside is involved before shooting Shadowmaster. He orders all shades to be interrogated. Once the room is clear, he confesses to having feared for his life. He explains how it made him feel like a “singular soul.” Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) assures him that children are not the key to immortality. Brother Day orders him and Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) to consent to a “neural audit.” Brother Dawn asks if he believes they are linked to the attack. Brother Day accuses them of being threatened by his impending wedding to Queen Sareth.
Brother Dusk and Brother Day discuss his intimate relationship with Demerzel. Brother Day warns that his aura was tampered with. Brother Dusk suggests a third-party investigator, not incompetent internal security. As Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion (Ella-Rae Smith) and her entourage approach, he says rumor has it, the Queen manufactured the incident that led to her coronation.
Synnax – Salvor expresses her belief of Synnax being a meeting place, not their future. Gaal says the sunken “Beggar” is in no condition to make the trip. Salvor assures her that the ship is durable and the damaged hull was repaired by Imperial patrol. She says rebooting the computer would allow her to resurface the ship. Diving into the water, they descend down to the ship’s computer. Gaal fills her lungs with her own air. Salvor reboots the CPU, and the “Beggar” pops up to the surface.
Trantor – Enjoiner Rue (Sandra Yi Sencindiver) presents Queen Sareth to Brother Day who is instantly enamored by her. She gifts them with rare pigments which leave them in awe. His gift to her does not leave the same impression. Demerzel pulls Brother Day to inform him of Commander Dorwin’s (Christian Contreras) body being recovered. In a pre-recorded message, Dorwin claims the omms buoy was manipulated by the Anacreons as he is being beaten. Brother Dawn questions why the Anacreaons did not deploy the “Invictus” warship fleet. Seldon’s Foundation flourished. Brother Dusk orders him to destroy them now. She urges him to implement an investigation which he agrees. Brother Dusk is none too thrilled with his decision.
Oreen reminds Seldon of Yanna and Kalle helping him design the Prime Radiant. She suggests he leave but only Gaal can release him. A childhood flashback gives him the idea to reduce the dimensions. She promises to explain further when they meet in Oona’s world. He turns to see her portrayal of Yanna before leaving.
Gaal and Salvor struggle to locate the fault near the avionics. Salvor urges her to release Seldon to help them escape Synnax when he appears. The episode ends.
Foundation Synopsis
Hari Seldon’s creation, Prime Radiant, becomes his prison. As the person responsible for Seldon’s imprisonment, Gaal is trapped in her own prison, Synnax. Alone and believing her people are no more, she discovers there is a daughter, Salvor.
Prolonged isolation had a negative impact on Seldon’s mentality. Childhood flashbacks jog his memory of dimensionality reduction. Oreen urges him to escape Prime Radiant to save the Empire.
An unexpected attack results in a life-threatening injury for Brother Day. Believing Brother Dawn and Brother Dusk oppose his impending marriage to Queen Sareth, he demands they be audited. An investigation determines the Blind Angels implemented the attack.
Director believes a war is on the horizon. He stresses the importance of their military being prepared. Remembering Seldon’s warnings, Warden agrees.
Foundation Review
The series is decent but far from perfect. Some dialogue is unnecessary, irrelevant, and cringeworthy. The subpar camera work, lackluster script, and unbelievable acting give the impression of an extremely low budget.
Utilizing bright lighting to spotlight the characters was a bad idea. The blurry glare alters visibility in more ways than one. The shots were out of sequence and too far from the target.
The episode deserves a 6. Get more Foundation recaps. Support Reel Mockery by donating to our platform. Our onsite advertising is customizable and scalable, learn more by clicking the link.
Jay Skelton is a fan of all television shows and movies. He tries his best to keep up with the latest foreign television shows and movies. Jay loves skinny dipping in the dark too.
