Foundation Season 1 Episode 8 Breakdown | Recap & Review

A lot is happening in Episode 8 of the Apple TV+ adaptation of Isaac Asimov’s Foundation. We hit all the different storylines except Brother Dawn on Trantor. On the Invictus Salvor and Lewis try to stop Phara and the Anacreons from getting control of the ship. Hugo managed to put out an SOS to Thespin, but they weren’t able to respond in time. Salvor volunteers to try to navigate the ship even though it would kill her, but they aren’t able to prepare in time. The ship jumps leaving things on a cliffhanger.

On the Maiden, Brother Dawn puts himself at great risk walking the Spiral. He is able to complete the journey and convinces the Zephyrs he had a holy vision. This settles his problems with the Luminists. He still decides to have Demerzel kill Halima before they leave and that leads to her questioning his vision.

On the Raven in episode 8, Hari explains that they need to create a second Foundation on Helicon. Because she may skew the results of Psychohistory he can’t tell Gaal more about his plan. After a long argument, she decides to compromise the ship so that he has to let her leave in the cryopod. She embarks on a 130-year trip back to Synnax.

EPISODE 8
The Missing Piece
Brother Day embarks on a journey that no other Cleon has ever attempted. Salvor prepares to make the ultimate sacrifice to return home. Premiere Date: November 5, 2021

The official Foundation TV Logline from Apple:
When revolutionary Dr. Hari Seldon predicts the impending fall of the Empire, he and a band of loyal followers venture to the far reaches of the galaxy to establish The Foundation in an attempt to rebuild and preserve the future of civilization. Enraged by Hari's claims, the ruling Cleons – a long line of emperor clones – fear their grasp on the galaxy may be weakening as they’re forced to reckon with the potential reality of losing their legacy forever.

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 episode 8 of the new series and explains the ending. It discusses how it relates to Asimov’s work and draws from the source material.

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.

0:00 Intro
0:46 Anacreon & The Invictus
4:07 Brother Day & The Spiral
9:24 Hari, Gaal, & The Raven
11:57 Final Thoughts

#Foundation #IsaacAsimov #AppleTV

[PetePeppers]

I like the new Hari involvement and am assuming his consciousness will survive. Not sure if he’ll remain on Helicon now that Gaal left. The Brother Day/Demerzel thing is pretty exciting considering Dawn’s secret will most likely come out. I suppose if Salvor is Gaal’s daughter she might stay awake during the jump, but not sure how she can control the Invictus not that it’s already started. Things are getting pretty interesting going into the last two episodes.

[Mr.RexXx]

She READ his ass with that “I wouldn’t wish that emptiness on anyone…”

[basslinr]

Empire (brother day's) story was so good this episode... The twist at the end was perfect.

[rini]

Lee Pace’s Brother Day is the best kind of villain. He is a complex villain with the ability to seem sympathetic until you see his ultimate plan. So great.

[FikriAlfathan]

The ending didn't only break Cleon, it broke me too. So sad seeing him just sat there waiting to have a vision.

[janetlynnmurphy]

This show is so good. That scene between Demerzel & Halima was incredible. So layered, so complex. So “human.” Writing & acting truly brilliant. Crazy to think that is the best scene in this ep when you also have this stuff between Brother Day and the other Luminist pilgrim dude. Lee Pace is tearing this sh*t up. This cast is outstanding. So impressed with this show. I’m SO into it.

[maryfontenelle]

The show runners are smart, they have made Hari's character immortal, the emperors are clones so they will last as long as the show wants them to, Gaal in cryo will return at some point because I'm sure there will be a big time jump of about 200 years by next season and Salvor on a jump ship can jump time to the future. So by next season we will see the completion of the second Foundation and the main characters will return as they are, also Demerzel is a robot, no problem she can survive forever. Boom....that's my theory. they all can continue for a few season. Great show, I love it and thank you for the review.

[ericpowell]

This was definitely an award-winning episode. This could literally be a one-off short film. It was amazing.

[MobiusCoin]

Cleon is so far the most I'm getting out of this show. This may be the best version of the "clone" trope, I've ever seen. He's an individual, but he's not. He shares his lifecycle with his brothers, although not simultaneously. He's sheltered and aloof, but not an idiot. In fact, he's quite smart. He's unbelievably cruel, but isn't without the capacity for kindness (or at least the appearance of it). I was surprised that he held out his hand for his traveling companion and even urged him on. I was thinking he would have to fight against his own selfishness to conserve energy. But I guess that was the point of this particular story arc. It looked like he was moving towards redemption, only to realize there was none for him (or his brothers).

[isabellerunkledelavega]

I just rewatched the end of the episode, as Brother Day gets ready to jump. He definitely has tears in his eyes. I don't think he is the same man he was when he arrived at Maiden. He has had Demerzel there for him all of his life - and went into her chambers, even as a child, differentiating him from other Cleons. First, he feels she betrayed him, and now he knows she suspects that he lied about having a vision, and thinks less of him for not having had one. So the one person, robot, whatever, he could always count on he may not feel he can count on so much anymore. Then, he must remember his friend on the spiral. A man who freely helped him when he most needed it, without knowing who he was, nor expecting anything in return. And he died. He has known true, selfless friendship- perhaps for the first time in his life. Given his differences with Brother Dusk, he must feel terribly alone .- more so than before the trip. Could he also feel remorse about being "soulless"? He accomplished what he set out to do - and he did it brilliantly. But I think he is feeling the price. He seemed as confidant as ever when we first saw him at the start of his meal, but the way he swallowed when Demerzel left him - was it because he knew she thought he had invented the vision, or was it because he felt empty? Both? In any event, his tears must reveal that he will be returning to Trantor sadder than when he left.Triumphant, but with a taste of a hollow victory. Demerzel will certainly be returning sadder. Is Empire a man, or simply a role played by clones? Will this be the question Brother Day asks himself? There is no doubt in my mind that, as M Villa has said, these two are sustaining the episode, perhaps the series. This is also due to a large extent to the superb acting of Lee Pace, and Laura Birn.

[cecagna]

I enjoyed this episode of the Cleon show.

[gerardojg]

I didn't like Demerzel at first. She was mechanical and cold but the reveal brought it into perspective. I can't help but think of her exchange w/ Cleon I, "Will Empire be loyal to you?". A spiritual android is an intriguing idea. I suspect there will be interesting developments between Demerzel and Brother Dawn.

[macbere]

I have noticed two things about Demerzel. The first thing is she always says that she lives to serve the empire but the empire and Cleon are two different things. The second thing is how the cleons are so dependent on Demerzel and they cling to her for confidence

[D_isco_D_ancer]

The Robot with Halima is one of the best sci fi scenes I've seen. Up there with the tears in the rain monologue. In that bunch, you can add scenes from Stalker and Solaris.

[justpeachee]

In what futuristic fantastical world does destroying a glass screen render a whole system useless. That’s the only thing that bothered me.

[robertalaverdov]

I hate myself for believing Brother days redemption arc. I figured he would do something shady. And I was expecting him to betray the old man when he fell to his knee. But no that was just a misdirection. And towards the end I was like ok maybe he's not that bad. But then the plot twist! Oh, I'm so mad. But in a good way. Very good episode based on that aspect.

[marcofava]

Demerzel is by far the most interesting character in this show, to find out she's over 11000 years old is astonishing

[madnessends]

Am I the only one who doesn’t like the idea of Cleon being “soulless” just bc he is a clone? I feel it basically says we are bound to the circumstances of our birth. Not to mention he felt compassion for the old man. Tried to help him. If thats not having a “soul”, then what is?

[StevenIngram]

Something I noticed in this episode that made me smile. You know the bow the Anacreon woman uses? It was the gift the emperor returned 35 years before after decimating their planet and sending their emissaries home. Also, whenever we see Demrezel doing her maintenance... it's because she's returning from doing Brother Day's dirty work and she's patching up the damage she incurred. There is so much nuance in this series. I'm really loving it.

[MikeRooker]

It was a beauty of an episode...Apart from Gaals reaction to the second foundation. For a logical mathematician, Gaal seems totally irrational.