Foundation 3.3: Dawn and the Mule

Foundation 3.3 on Apple TV+ continues to very much please, as the TV series progresses on its course of being much closer to Asimov's trilogy, with the addition of the clonal Cleon triumvirate, now aka Empire.

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Dawn's role is especially pivotal and powerful this season.  His meetings with Gaal and his growing interest in The Mule are beginning to point to some very exciting possibilities.  One of the weakest parts of the otherwise masterful Second Foundation in Asimov's trilogy is the hokus pokus way Preem Palver beats The Mule, distracting the arch manipulator so Palver could turn the tables and manipulate The Mule himself.  I'm thinking Dawn could play a crucial role in ultimately bringing down The Mule, either with or without Palver.

Speaking of The Mule, in addition to being able to rearrange people's minds, he's a sadistic piece of work, isn't he, on the screen.  Which gets me to another divergence from the trilogy, which could be significant.  In Asimov's books, Magnifico the clown was The Mule in disguise.  On the screen, Magnifico and The Mule are clearly two people.  The Mule of course could easily manipulate Magnifico, but could The Mule in effect teleport his mind into Magnifico, so the "clown" could do the damage he does in the Asimov trilogy?

What I'm also very much continuing to really enjoy is the ambience and the pacing of the third season Foundation on the screen.  The first twos seasons just didn't feel to me like I was watching anything approaching an enactment of what I've read three times already in my life on paper pages.  But watching episode 3.3 on my laptop last night, I really felt like I was in Asimov's universe, watching his story play out -- albeit in a different way than Asimov had it -- and that was a fine nearly hour to savor, indeed.

See you back here next week.

See also Foundation 3.1: Now We're Talkin'! ... 3.2: "The Fault, Dear Brutus, Is Not in Our Stars"

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

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