TL;DR – The culminating catastrophe coalesces.

Disclosure – I paid for the Apple TV+ service that viewed this episode.

Foundation Review –

I was captivated back in Season 1 of Foundation. This book was challenging to adapt, and the show did it interestingly. This season has been a bit of a rollercoaster, and I wonder if they have a plan of where it is going. Today’s episode might be the answer, maybe.

So to set the scene, deep in the capital of Trantor, Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) finds someone in Demerzel’s (Laura Birn) quarters who should not be there. Rue Corintha (Sandra Yi Sencindiver), enjoiner to Queen Sareth (Ella-Rae Smith), is rummaging through all of the android’s personal effects, but is she just an opportunist, or is she a threat? Meanwhile, on Ignis, Gaal (Lou Llobell) is desperate to find out what happened to Salvor (Leah Harvey) and confronts Tellem Bond (Rachel House), only to discover just how powerful Tellem is. Now from here, we will be looking at the episode as a whole, so there will be [SPOILERS] ahead.

This is probably the first episode of the season where all the major players and most of the collective cast appear. We have the three plot lines on Trantor, the three coming from Terminus, and what is happening on Ignis. While I have not felt strongly about many of the build-up episodes we have been through to get here. But without them, we could not have had all of the reveals we had here and have them work nearly as well as we get.

What I liked the most about this episode was how they managed the tension. We see that in the short term with the whole execution scene. Watching it from the start, I suspected it would end with Hober Mallow (Dimitri Leonidas) coming in to save the day. However, the show went out of its way to make me wonder if I was right. I honestly did think that Brother Constant (Isabella Laughland) was going to die at times, and that comes down to pacing, how Brother Day (Lee Pace) is nailing every moment, and how Isabella Laughland brings the emotion.

The long-form tension comes from what is Demerzel’s prominent role in this Galactic Empire. If you have read the later books, you will know the importance of the Solar System cameo on show here. Indeed, a lot of this season has been adding things from the later books to help balance the tone shift that happens in the book series. But just when you think that is what they are doing, you understand just who of the many people the title The Last Emperess is talking about.

However, part of the show still has not clicked for me yet. I get why they are exploring the founding of the Second Foundation because it would not have worked as a surprise reveal as it did in the novels. With that being said, so far, it feels like this section of the show just exists because they kept Salvor and Gaal from the first season. Not even the addition of Rachel House has helped on that front. While this week has at least shown its hand, and hopefully, it will come together soon. I’m not feeling it yet.

In the end, do we recommend Foundation: The Last Empress? Yes, I think this is the point in the season where everything gets accelerated, and I look forward to seeing where it goes.    

By Brian MacNamara: You can follow Brian on Twitter Here, when he’s not chatting about Movies and TV, he’ll be talking about International Relations, or the Solar System.

Have you seen Foundation yet ?, let us know what you thought in the comments below, feel free to share this review on any of the social medias and you can follow us Here. Check out all our past reviews and articles Here, and have a happy day.    

Credits – All images were created by the cast, crew, and production companies of Foundation
Directed by – Roxanne Dawson
Written by – Liz Phang, Addie Manis & Bob Oltra
Created by – David S. Goyer & Josh Friedman
Based On – Foundation by Isaac Asimov
Production/Distribution Companies – Skydance TV & Apple+
Starring – Jared Harris, Lee Pace, Lou Llobell, Leah Harvey, Laura Birn, Cassian Bilton & Terrence Mann with Ben Daniels, Isabella Laughland, Dimitri Leonidas, Ella-Rae Smith, Sandra Yi Sencindiver, Rachel House, Dino Fetscher, Oliver Chris & Kulvinder Ghir and Haqi Ali, Kit Rakusen, Eva Bradley Williams, Michael Akinsulire, Isabel Adomakoh Young, Luis Torrecilla, Wade Briggs, Anthony Barclay, Petra van der Voort, Noah Taylor, Sandra Guldberg Kampp, Jordan Stephens, Michael S. Siegel, Emily Stott & Mahmoud Aldachan