Foundation Season 1 Episode 3 Breakdown | Recap & Review

Apple TV+ just released episode 3 of the first season of the adaptation of Isaac Asimov's Foundation series. This video breakdown recaps what happens in "The Mathematician's Ghost" and reviews how it compares to other episodes.

In Foundation season 1 episode 3 we get a closer look at how the Genetic Dynasty operates with the aid of Eto Demerzel. We travel back in time 400 years to meet the original Cleon I and see him planning for the dynasty. In the third episode, we also see the end of the cycle when Brother Dusk becomes Brother Darkness briefly before ending his life.

On Terminus, we see the Encyclopedists arrive after their exile from Trantor. They scuttle the slow ship and build their colony. Salvor Hardin is born and grows up to become the warden. She’s an outlier, and we’re introduced to her trader boyfriend named Hugo. Salvor has a connection with the Vault and notices that the null field that surrounds it is expanding.

At the end of episode 3, it’s discovered that ships from Anacreon are approaching. Salvor tells the Encyclopedists who are relying on protection from the Empire. The warden gets prepared for the worst, and at the end of the episode, some of the enemy warriors are on the surface of the planet.

Foundation TV series official summary:

Foundation stars SAG Award-winner and Emmy-nominee Jared Harris as Hari Seldon; Lee Pace as Brother Day; Lou Llobell as Gaal; Leah Harvey as Salvor; Laura Birn as Demerzel; Terrence Mann as Brother Dusk; and Cassian Bilton as Brother Dawn.

Foundation is executive produced by Robyn Asimov, David S. Goyer (showrunner), Josh Friedman, Cameron Welsh, David Ellison, Dana Goldberg, and Marcy Ross. The series is produced for Apple by Skydance Television.

About Isaac Asimov:
Isaac Asimov was an American writer and professor of biochemistry at Boston University. He was known for his works of science fiction and popular science. Asimov was a prolific writer and wrote or edited more than 500 books.

Asimov wrote hard science fiction. Along with Robert A. Heinlein and Arthur C. Clarke, Asimov was considered one of the "Big Three" science-fiction writers during his lifetime. Asimov's most famous work is the "Foundation" series, the first three books of which won the one-time Hugo Award for "Best All-Time Series" in 1966.

Foundation books:

I would recommend reading the series in order of publication as they’re listed here. I would advise against reading the prequels first.

This Foundation video explains everything you need to know about season 1 episode 3 and explains the ending. It discusses how it relates to Asimov’s work and draws from the source material.

0:00 Intro
0:34 Episode 3 Recap - The Genetic Dynasty
2:24 The Starbridge & The Ascension of Brother Darkness
3:47 The Arrival on Terminus
5:29 The Anacreons
7:50 Review

#Foundation #AppleTV #IsaacAsimov

[PetePeppers]

I definitely enjoyed the Cleon part more than Terminus in this one. Part of that comes from having expectations from the book, but the pacing still felt off. I thought it was interesting that Demerzel was singing to the new clone and then again when she was encouraging Brother Darkness to end it. Curious to see where they go from here. Let me know what you think.

[andynonomous]

I find the genetic dynasty to be the most interesting aspect of the show so far.

[alexsurles]

i feel like this show will be better binge watched vs one episode per week. Especially if they are gonna jump around so much in time.

[thewatchfemme]

I think the genetic dynasty is fascinating and the most interesting part of this episode. It could be that the clones are beginning to deteriorate in some subtle way. Demerzel seems to act as Mother, wife, and daughter, which is trippy and confusing. I don’t really read her devotion to Cleon as romantic; the actress gave her scenes the most nuance in this episode. Other then that, this feels like a slow build up. This show is going to be so fulfilling to rewatch. I haven’t read the books, but as an avid SF fan in both book and film this show is spectacular. Of course it could disappoint, but I’m hoping for the best. And so far enjoying the ride.

[freedomfirst]

In my long life, I don't think I've seen a sci-fi movie/series based on a book that was 100% faithful to the material. That's why I no longer go into movies like these EXPECTING they are faithful to the books, then I won't be disppointed.

[skepticaldude]

original salvor: "Violence is the last refuge of the incompetent." - this one... "i want to know what kind of violence we can muster"

[captainyossarian]

I really loved the focus on Dusk, and the actor portraying him really knocked it out of the park. The first two episodes laid the groundwork of despising the Emperor, but the first half of this episode served to show the other side, the Emperor who wanted to do great things and achieve so much, and Dusk's resignation & despair at his part coming to a close and the feeling that it echoed that the Empire itself has started to enter its own twilight, its own dusk. I would have loved the entire episode to have been just this, just back story on Cleon and the motivations of his clones. When the fall comes, it has to hit us hard and making us feel sympathy for the clones and for the first Emperor is one way to do it.

[davidlovsin]

Salvor Hardin quotes: "Violence is the last refuge of the

[tigertuft]

Yep, as a non reader of foundation, I found the lack of any link between episodes 2 and 3 really distracting. It’s glorious to watch and still interesting but I couldn’t help but feel a little let down by this episode.

[HpeverT]

I have never read the books and probably never will. I agree with everyone that says the pacing is off. It felt like we were watching a different story from the first two episodes. It would have been better if they released the entire season in one go.

It doesn’t feel cohesive especially with something as expansive and dense like this series.

[sparkleskye]

I also really enjoyed the Cleon part of this episode, I feel like they should have just focused on the Empire, and made the terminus story another episode. The terminus part was really jarring, I had a difficult time understanding where this fit, because of all the time jumps.
The Terminus part is interesting to me but we need more insight as to what is happening. I really hope these cliffhanger endings are not going to continue. It is aggravating. I love the cinematography, it is a beautiful show, I really appreciate the effort that was put into it. I wish I had waited for a few more episodes to drop before watching.

I feel like something is perhaps wrong with the new Dawn, perhaps there was a malfunction in the cloning process. It seemed odd for brother Darkness to say this is not right, then to see Dawn later wiping away the painting.

[HevonCZR]

Im loving the show to be honest, I never, never expected they would be doing a perfect word to word adaptation of the novels, its just impossible.

[Bland-]

I think there was momentum lost but not enough to make a differences. The two major characters with cliff hangers where ignored completely in this episode. I think a lot of people missed that the new Dawn had nights paintings erased in the episode. That seems to me to indicate he will have less empathy than his formers.

[marknovak]

I did not recall the colony being isolated for thirty years. I was getting resources from the empire until the empire withdrew from the rim. This was supposed to be a colony of very smart people who could trade on what they knew.

[Dominikmj]

So I guess, my comment includes "book spoilers"...

I actually feel puzzled - I have read basically all foundation books (there are more than three books, however written in different times of Asimovs Life).
What I like in the show: Off course it is great to see the story come to life. I also like the whole space elevator thing. Another fantastic addition is the genetic empire concept - it is on one hand not as reasonable, when compared to the real history of mankind (the in-fights between heirs of the crown) - but for a science fiction show and overall this epic adventure, it is really interesting.
At this point I though don't really think that Demerzel makes sense. The gender swap is absolutely alright - maybe it is even better (though I would have preferred a bit more androgen looks and cloth). The problem is, that Demerzel has been behind a lot: he has protected Harry from the empire. Basically hiding him and gave him the ability to develop his theory and to make it "work".
Also: It seems in the show, that only Harry Seldon understood the theory of psychohistory. His adopted son though was not only a fierce sidekick (Harry was also able in the book to really defend himself), but grew also as scientist. And we also forgot Harries wife, which has been (one more spoiler) a robot as well.
The Foundation itself is also shown as far too primitive.
But the biggest issue is the Psychohistory itself. In the book it predicted crises - and the Foundation used the science to grow and be guided - however the show depicts the device and the science basically as lost. This I guess is one of my biggest gripes.

Overall the show is very different - it highlights persons as instrumental, while the book, highlights most persons as "placeholders", which would not really much change the overall outcome.
It is a mixed bag. I think the whole early adventure of Harry, presenting THE IDEA of psychohistory - then hiding, then finding his "family" and co-worker, which developed the whole idea. But also the partly ridiculous fashion on Trantor, the different levels, which are almost different "worlds" on Trantor - this all is missing and it almost hurts. Demerzel as instrument of the galactic empire (without "yet" the twists) is also a bit of a led down.
We will see though how it all works out.

[Hozagen]

As a reader, I totally miss the real Salvor Hardin. It was one of my favorite characters in the series.

[scpatlnow]

As someone who finished the first book about a month ago, this is feeling more like a different story. The Salvor Hardin character bears very little resemblance to the book, and that is really going to change the story it seems. I'll keep it at that because I don't want to spoil the books, so I wont say much more about that. Now if I had not read the books, I would really like this, and I really like it anyway, but it is feeling like a different story. I always use as a barometer of my interest whether I wish the episode kept going or whether I was ready for it to end. I definitely wanted it to keep going, so that's a good thing.

[kimberlyrobinson]

I read the books but so long ago now that it hardly counts.

I felt the opposite: I liked this episode much more than the first two. Although I know they probably couldn’t have, I would have much rather that they had started the season with this episode. The first half with the death of Brother Dusk was incredibly moving. I liked the Terminus part a lot less but it was okay. I guess it’s a little easier, this episode, to think of this show as very loosely based on the Asimov books rather than a faithful adaptation. I think it’s easier for me because Seldon is gone, now. The differences between the books and show aren’t quite so jarring.

[Jerryjohnny]

As a non-reader, I enjoyed this change of pace from episodes 1 and 2. Those episodes were packed with events so it was nice to see them slow down a little and focus on character development within the dynasty as well as showing terminus with the foundation in effect. It also, from a writers perspective, focuses on developing another mystery in the vault, while leaving viewers mysterious about the outcomes of some characters from the first two episodes. This will make viewers most likely want to return to see what happened to them.

[OldCavtrooper]

Watching this episode, I found myself stepping back a bit from the Trilogy, and looking more at the over all story, which includes Foundation’s Edge, Foundation and Earth, Prelude to Foundation, Foundation Forward, and all of the Robot books and stories. If we can take that body of work and apply the overall theme to the show, the result makes more sense. At least it does for me. This episode was clearly a set up for things to come. It could have been a bit more tidy within itself, but I still found it very entertaining.