Foundation (Season 3) Review

The distant future. An interstellar Empire ruled by the genetic Cleon dynasty (Brother Dawn, Brother Day, and Brother Dusk — the same person in three faces) has existed for thousands of years... but everything eventually comes to an end.

More than three centuries ago, a prominent scientist named Hari Seldon predicted a series of inevitable crises and the decline of humanity—unless the crown graciously allowed the creation of an isolated repository of knowledge: according to the psychohistorian’s calculations, this would reduce the dark age to a thousand years. Cleon XII didn’t like it, but approved the initiative on the condition that Seldon himself go into lifelong exile. But the cunning mathematician had plans of his own—and time proved the old man right.

Centuries and many adventures later for Seldon himself and his young companion, Gaal Dornick, the time of peace has still not come. The Cleons are coping worse and worse with their duties, but a new threat has appeared on the horizon—one no one had calculated for. An incredibly powerful mutant telepath named the Mule defeats entire armies—and he will not stop until he crushes the Empire. Worst of all, Gaal Dornick sees a future she cannot prevent. And it is more terrifying than the fall of a thousand-year monarchy.

Let me say right away: “Foundation” is not a simple thing. For those hearing about it for the first time: it’s a series by David S. Goyer, an experienced screenwriter of “Blade,” “The Dark Knight,” and “Man of Steel,” based on the works of science fiction classic Isaac Asimov (you’ve surely heard of the “Three Laws of Robotics”—or seen the meme with Will Smith and “Can a robot write a symphony?”). It’s a tangled, complex, almost intellectual spectacle with very expensive visuals that from the first frame evokes the feeling of true “book-like” science fiction. And for the most part, it’s an original story: from Asimov it takes only the general conflict, the concept of psychohistory, a few names and toponyms—everything else is entirely its own.

Yes, the characters here are not as important as the ideas and concepts being presented. In the first (and, to a lesser extent, second) season, this approach inspired such delight that one could forgive some logical issues in the events and overly simple characterizations. Here, two people—a proud scientist and an arrogant autocrat—decide the fate of the galaxy in mental duels, playing four-dimensional chess—what need is there for character depth?..

But the third season is noticeably different from the previous ones. It’s more камерный and dramatic (especially at the end!), explaining some things (Lady Demerzel...), but complicating others. The breathtaking scale is gone, time jumps have almost disappeared, some plot twists are left hanging, and the plot itself is as overcomplicated as possible. Key twists are unpredictable, and the characters’ next actions are not obvious. The main villain turns out not to be who he seems, the Empire collapses from within for entirely different reasons, and Seldon and Dornick once again end up separated (and not on the best terms). It’s interesting, but the show has become genuinely difficult to watch—not because of entertaining or intellectual complexity, but because of structure for the sake of structure, twists for the sake of twists. The scale and epic quality used to compensate for this flaw, but now it works less effectively.

Especially when the main character mostly remains in the shadow of a younger protagonist. Yes, Gaal Dornick is smart, cool, and quite compelling, and her mentor Seldon definitely shouldn’t constantly be a “deus ex machina.” But reducing his presence to an “almost-cameo” isn’t right either. He is the backbone of the story. The trope of a “genius scientist against the world” is an artifact of a bygone era, when science was seen as a way to solve problems, not create new ones, and the future inspired hope rather than fear.

But that doesn’t mean the third season lacks clear strengths. The Cleon storyline is the best it’s ever been. From the very first scenes, you can see how “the local nobility has dwindled”: Grandfather Dusk desperately doesn’t want to crawl into the graveyard (even though the rules say he must), Brother Day looks like a hippie Jesus Lebowski, loves sniffing glue mushroom spores, and wants to run off happily into the sunset with his vestal, while only young Brother Dawn—who is about to assume imperial duties—takes his work and life seriously. The cloned emperors’ storyline is the most dramatic, deep, and pays off in the very end. The season is worth finishing just for the final episode and the scenes in the palace on Trantor.

But a warning: if in previous seasons you didn’t understand what was happening but everything came together perfectly in the final episode, here it’s a bit different. You’ll feel surprise, frustration, and a need to rewatch at least some scenes with specific characters because of a “what a twist” moment that doesn’t really feel logical.

So news about a change of showrunner might benefit the series: if in the fourth (out of the planned eight...) season the story becomes more coherent and richer, the scale returns, along with time jumps and clever strategic maneuvers between opposing sides, then there will be no need to inflate the rating or force yourself to overlook awkwardly absurd elements like a space Katy Perry ('is math a science?') and her influencer husband with an interesting choice of low-cut wardrobe.

Yes, it’s still an interesting and at times very cool show that might have pleased Isaac Asimov himself (after all, one of the producers is his daughter, Robin Asimov), but the flaws are noticeable. Still, I can’t criticize it too harshly. At least for the scientific accuracy of certain details: where else will you see an artificial stellar flare used as a weapon, a physically accurate explosive decompression of an airlock, and a black hole inside a Dyson sphere?..

Rating: 7.5/10, convoluted, puzzle-like, occasionally heavy. The ending, however, is excellent: victory turns into defeat, you feel sorry for everyone, and the Empire’s crisis has finally arrived. The Dark Ages lie ahead, and the Foundation has yet to prove itself as the great Hari Seldon intended… where has he disappeared to again? How many more mysteries are there?..