Foundation 3.5: Cleaving Closer to Asimov's Trilogy

Gaal's words to Dawn near the end of Foundation 3.5 say it all:

[Spoilers ahead ... ]

Hari Seldon's Plan did not account for such a strong Empire at this stage of Galactic evolution.  Meta-note: Of course it didn't.  There was no Cleonic triumvirate DNA-enabled clonal rule of the Empire in Asmov's trilogy or its sequels.  So, in effect, Gaal is speaking for Asimov here.

And we can see at this point of the third season of this television adaptation of Asimov's masterwork now playing out on Apple TV+,  that the forces of television, Asimov, and narrative logic are giving the clonal triumvirate quite a beating at this point: Dawn has been cast out in a space suit into outer space, unkempt Day who has already all but abdicated has fled the Trantor scene, and back home on Tranter, Dusk is just about set to move into death to keep the Empiric rotation going.

Now, of course, not only is none of this written in Seldon's Plan, none of it is written in stone.  As I often say in my reviews, unless you see a character's head blown off or body blasted to smithereens, there's a chance he or she is still alive (see 24 for many examples).  Someone or some force could rescue Dawn from deep space; Day could get homesick and come home; Demerzel could decide to give the current Dusk more time for existence.   But the movement towards a weakened Empire, as called for in Seldon's Plan, is undeniable.

Meanwhile ...  in episode 3.5 we learn that Magnifico's music may be a weapon used in the Mule's capturing and control of people's emotions.   My friend Joel McKinnon thinks Magnifico may actually be The Mule, and Magnifico is controlling the cardboard villain who has announced himself as The Mule.  This is an interesting theory, but it would have to account for what we saw when the villainess Mule -- that is, The Mule with hair -- actually did his palpably fatal damage on Kalgan.

One thing is sure:  there'll be some powerful, game-changing events ahead in this third season of Foundation.

See also Foundation 3.1: Now We're Talkin'! ... 3.2: "The Fault, Dear Brutus, Is Not in Our Stars" ... 3.3: Dawn and The Mule ... 3.4: Cleon Knows His PKD

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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