Foundation episode 8 recap: a tale of three betrayals

Date:
Fri, 05 Nov 2021 12:00:02 +0000

Description:
Foundation episode 8 takes us on a journey of lies and internal conflicts.

FULL STORY ======================================================================

Major spoilers follow for Foundation episodes 1 to 8. Turn back now if youre not caught up.

Its quite fitting that Isaac Asimovs Foundation book series was, according to showrunner David S. Goyer, a phenomenal influence on Star Wars. About this episode

- Episode 8 (of 10), 'The Missing Piece'

- Written by Sarah Nolen

- Directed by Roxann Dawson



Why? Well, based on one particular line in Yodas famous monologue about how fear leads to the Dark Side anger leads to hate it seems that Star Wars is now the one thats influencing Foundation.

Or, at least, thats the case in the latest entry in Apples TV adaptation of Asimovs works. Episode 8, aka The Missing Piece, is one where multiple characters are left infuriated, and feeling betrayed, by someone close to them. And, if weve learned anything from Foundation so far, its that
unpopular decisions can come back to bite its main characters down the line. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Perhaps unsurprisingly, the first of those betrayals concerns Brother Day. After announcing his intention to walk the Great Spiral a 170km trek to a mystical cave known as the Mothers Womb in episode 7, Day begins his pilgrimage. And clearly, its more arduous than the Empires egotistical ruler predicted.

Without his shield-like aura or nanobots to protect him, or food and water to replenish his energy levels, the journey takes its toll on Day. Its fascinating to see Day reduced to an ordinary man struggling to survive, even if its in extreme circumstances. Hes clearly out of his comfort zone and, at various points, you do wonder if his stubborn and reckless decision to walk the Great Spiral is a worthwhile endeavour. Especially if it costs his life.

That is until he meets an older, wiser pilgrim undertaking the same journey. Bonding over the trek, the duos conversation humanizes Day in a way that we havent seen before. When he falls later in the episode, due to exhaustion,
its the older pilgrim who helps Day back to his feet. Its a poignant moment Day is visibly moved by the aid he receives and you wonder if this back-breaking journey will actually be an epiphanous moment in Days character arc.

Such a scenario looks more likely, too, when Days companion falls to his
knees some time later. Day, remembering how he was helped earlier, tries to encourage his partner to stand up again. However, the pilgrimages rules state that anyone who falls on both knees must end their journey where they drop. Unexpectedly, Days companion declines his offer, succumbs to his exhaustion and dies. Its an emotional moment and one that, again, has a profound effect on Day. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Or so were led to believe. Eventually, Day makes it to the Mothers Womb, but not before he smashes the skull of a dead pilgrim outside of the cave. It seems like a strange thing to do, but it symbolizes that Day and Cleons other clones have defeated death. Given that the original Cleon may live forever through his clones, its a clever piece of visual representation on the part
of Foundations showrunners.

But we digress. Inside the cave, pilgrims are believed to be shown a deeply personal vision from the Mother and, on their return to Maidens main settlement, its elders interpret what each traveller saw. Day makes his way back to the conclave and reveals what his vision was: a three-petaled flower, known as a birthroot, which is believed to be sacred among Maidens
population.

But, as it transpires, thats a lie. Day doesnt have a vision inside the cave he spotted a birthroot flower on Eto Demerzels desk, in episode 6, on the jump-ship before it landed on Maiden. Using the flower as a crux for his vision, Day tricks Maidens Zephyrs into believing he is a holy person with a soul, which was his plan all along. As a result, the Zephyrs crown Galat as Maidens new leader instead of Halima, ensuring that Days wish from episode 4 comes true. It seems, then, that Days fellow pilgrim didnt have as big an impact on him as we thought. As the saying goes, a leopard cant change its spots and that is evidently true of Day.

However, there are some who see through Days lies, including Demerzel. After shes instructed by Day to murder Halima as the last living intelligent robot in the universe, shes been reprogrammed to obey the Empires rulers Demerzel suggests that she knows Day lied to Maidens Zephyr council. Clearly upset at Days deception and betrayal of her trust, its ironic that Demerzel ends up showing more emotion than her more human counterpart. It appears that Days right-hand has lost faith in him, and it will be intriguing to see how their dynamic shifts moving forward. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Demerzel isnt the only person who feels betrayed in The Missing Piece. Having learned that she can somewhat predict the future in episode 7, Gaal Dornick
is told why the Raven is heading to Hari Seldons homeworld of Helicon: a second Foundation is to be established there.

Interestingly, this is one of the few occasions where Foundation lifts directly from Asimovs source material Hari creates two Foundations at opposite ends of the galaxy here, too. Apples Foundation has largely diverged from the story in Asimovs novels thus far, so its pleasing that its retained this continuity from the books.

As Hari explains, it was always the plan to create two Foundations. The
first, which was built on imperial charter, would bear the brunt of the Empires spying and draw fire from the Outer Reachs other civilizations. Meanwhile, the second Foundation was developed in secret, but Hari refuses to explain its purpose. Foundation spoiler-filled recaps

- Foundation episode 1 recap

- Foundation episode 2 recap

- Foundation episode 3 recap

- Foundation episode 4 recap

- Foundation episode 5 recap

- Foundation episode 6 recap

- Foundation episode 7 recap

Furious that Hari continues to keep her in the dark and betrayed her trust, since she believes he considers her to be a means to an end Gaal destroys
the Ravens heat shields to try to coerce him into letting her leave. Hari refuses, almost in a manner befitting HAL from 2001: A Space Odyssey, and the pair angrily trade verbal barbs.

Eventually, though, after Gaal pleads to chart her own path in life, Hari relents and allows her to head back to Synnax in the Ravens stasis pod. Its a pretty sad end to what could have been a complex but powerful friendship between the two, albeit Hari now only exists as a digital construct now due
to his death in episode 2. Will the pair ever be reunited again? Its unclear, but we wouldnt bet on it. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Episode 8s final betrayal is more telegraphed than its other two storylines, but its one born out of necessity rather than anything else.

With the Anacreons still hell-bent on using the Invictus to enact revenge on the Empires stronghold of Trantor, Salvor Hardin attempts to concoct another plan to try to escape their clutches.

After the group works together to take down one of the Invictus sentry
drones, Salvor takes her chance. Opening the final security-locked door to
the Invictus cockpit, Salvor spots a rifle in the next room. Grabbing it, she opens fire on the Anacreons and, in the ensuing chaos, drags fellow
Foundation member Lewis Pirenne onto the ships main deck and locks the door behind them. (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

Given Salvors penchant for trying to escape on numerous occasions already, youd think that the Anacreons would be wise to her tricks by now so why do they keep letting her get away with it? Its understandable that, from a suspense perspective, Foundation wants to maintain some semblance of tension in this particular storyline. But this plot point feels pretty forced, so
lets hope that the Salvor escapes from the Anacreons story beat is done and dusted after episode 9.

Why wait until then? Because the Anacreons force their way into the cockpit, kill Lewis and try to stop Salvor from piloting the Invictus to Terminus.

If Salvor is successful, she would have a planet-killing weapon that may
force the Outer Reachs other planets, including Anacreon, to fall in line and leave Terminus alone. As it turns out, though, Salvor and the Anacreons fail to stop the Invictus from jumping to its next random location somewhere in
the galaxy. Thats despite Hugos best efforts yes, hes still alive following his apparent death in episode 7 to call in reinforcements from Thespis to
aid Salvor, too. Well find out where the Invictus ends up next week. Our verdict (Image credit: Apple TV Plus)

As its title suggests, The Missing Piece is (hopefully) the final piece in Foundation season 1s puzzle before two potentially explosive final episodes.

Its a decent episode that fills in plenty of gaps in the narrative, but it feels a bit too long by the time the credits roll. Thats primarily down to
its Invictus-based storyline, which is currently Foundations weakest
narrative and almost feels like filler material at this point. Half of the content in this story arc could've been cut from episode 8 and it would have made for a tighter plot.

Still, Foundation episode 8 delivers plenty of compelling drama to keep viewers engaged. There are some cool call backs to Asimovs source material, which show Apples adaptation hasnt completely deviated from the books on
which the series is based. And, given that Foundation has already been
renewed for a second season, were likely to see more nods to the novels in
the future.

However, Foundation season 1 needs to give us something genuinely fun and thrilling in its final two episodes. Providing us with a couple of big action set-pieces, unexpected character crossovers, or a merging of some of its
story strands would go a long way to giving us something to look forward to
in Foundation season 2. Youve done the hard work in retaining our interest, Foundation dont throw it all away now. Foundational facts (Image credit: Apple TV Plus) The Missing Piece is the final episode that Elliot Cowan, who plays Lewis Pirenne, appears in. Unless he comes back as a digital construct like Hari Seldon, which seems very unlikely. Episode 8 also marks the end of the road for T'Nia Miller's Zephyr Halima. It's disappointing that she's murdered by Demerzel, but Foundation did need to put a cap on its Maiden storyline, and this was the most fitting way to do so. Foundation's eighth entry is the first time that Cassian Bilton's Brother Dawn hasn't appeared since he took over the role from Cooper Carter in The Mathematician's Ghost. This is the first of two episodes directed by Roxann Dawson. The former actor has helmed an episode in another Apple TV Plus series The Morning Show in the past, as well as other big productions including This Is Us and The Americans. Strangely enough, episode 8's writer Sarah Nolen also worked on The Americans. However, the duo didn't work together on this TV show as they wrote and directed different entries. The Missing Piece is the only episode that Nolen has written for Foundation, but she's also been the story editor
on every other entry in Apple's adaptation so far, too. The revelation that a second foundation is to be built on Helicon won't be a surprise to fans of Asimov's novels. The third book in the author's Foundation trilogy is titled Second Foundation. So it seems that we'll eventually see that novel play out on the small screen, though we suspect that won't be for a while.

New episodes of Foundation debut exclusively on Apple TV Plus every Friday.



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Link to news story: https://www.techradar.com/news/foundation-episode-8-recap-a-tale-of-three-betr ayals/


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