Foundation Series Season 3 Review
Foundation is a science fiction television series created by David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman for Apple TV+ It is based on the Foundation series of stories by Isaac Asimov. The first Season of Foundation was released on 24 September 2021 followed by the second season on the 14th of June 2023 with the third season dropping on the 11th of July 2025.
Season 3 follows the tale of intergalactic empire, as the Foundation faces its third crisis while a new unpredictable threat in the form of The Mule threatens to derail the grand plan and plunge the world into darkness..
The Good
As in earlier seasons, the acting is on point. Laura Birn continues to be standout as Demerzel shifting from simply being Cleon The First‘s Forever Empress to a multifaceted character bound with conflicting programming to be slave, tyrant and survivor.
The Cleon Clones (Brother Day, Dawn and Dusk) and their dynamics remain one of the show’s most compelling threads… alike yet unalike, each pursuing different courses of action, pulling the thread of this intergalactic tale into intricate patterns with Lady Demerzel in the centre as an almost all knowing, all-seeing all present but not without limits.
Compared to the previous seasons, Season 3 of Foundation has a tighter narrative and follows a more compact arc, with more action, clear antagonists and higher stakes especially with the introduction of The Mule who has been teased at in previous seasons turning up the heat.
Psycho-history is no longer the absolute truth and charcaters must weave through paths and their consequences and making improvisations that sometimes require hard choices in the realm of moral ambiguity.
The show continues to deliver in terms of production values, set design, special effects, costuming and scope. The universe feels large, lived in, and constantly changing.
The Bad
The first half of the season builds up slowly and then gains momentum, till there is too many things happening all at once and makes your head spin with the plot twists and reveals and by the time you realise, somethings were never really answered, the series is over and gotta wait another 2 years. Reading the books wont help since the show took some creative liberties and only the show runners know what comes next….
Fans of Assimov’s work might feel like the season undercuts the essence that made the book series stand out.
Its an attention demanding show, blink and you miss an important detail that will make it harder to unravel the plot twists and reveals.
The Ugly
The show continues to cast a gloomy view of humanity’s future and our capacity for being self-destructive unless machines intervene and save us from ourselves or annihilate us while hinting at the illusion of choice and freedom..
Final Thoughts
Season 3 is Foundation at its most ambitious; philosophically rich, visually opulent, emotionally charged and not afraid to challenge canon. The finale ends on an ambiguous note that will leave you wondering what you will do with yourself for the next two years, yet thankful that the show was renewed for a fourth season.
Have you watched this show or read the books?
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