Warning: Includes potential SPOILERS for Foundation season 3 based on the source material.One character in Foundation season 3 is giving me flashbacks to Game of Thrones‘ decline, but I believe it’s intentional. Foundation season 3 is off to a fantastic start, and I’m loving most of the new season so far. That said, I have some gripes with a critical character addition.
The primary new Foundation season 3 character is Pilou Asbæk’s “The Mule,” a mentalic mutant pirate warlord who has set out to conquer the entire galaxy, and whom we know very little about at this point.
Pilou Asbæk’s The Mule Is Very Similar To GOT’s Euron Greyjoy
Pilou Asbæk Is Essentially Playing The Same Character
Obviously, when you have the same actor playing a similar archetype to a character he’s already played before (evil pirate with selfish plans for world domination), you’re going to get similar results. When I heard Pilou Asbæk was taking over the role of the Mule, I anticipated that this would be his performance, and that’s fine.
The Mule is over-the-top, loony, and his scenes haven’t been particularly strong so far.
I certainly don’t think Pilou Asbæk is a poor actor; he’s far from it. That said, Euron Greyjoy in Game of Thrones season 8 left a particularly sour taste in my mouth, and watching someone who’s essentially the same character on a new show reminds me of that feeling.
The Mule is over-the-top, loony, and his scenes haven’t been particularly strong so far. We’re two episodes in, and all that’s been accomplished is two demonstrations of powers we already know he had. He’s been a flat villain so far, but I think that’s purposeful, and I think I’ll ultimately be very satisfied with the reason why.
Euron Greyjoy Was One Of Game Of Thrones’ Biggest Failures
Euron Never Felt Like He Fit In Westeros
If you’re a Game of Thrones fan, you’ve probably heard plenty of opinions about why Euron Greyjoy wasn’t well-received. Much of that is that he just didn’t live up to the complexities of his counterpart in George R.R. Martin’s A Song of Ice & Fire books, and another part is that he was frequently just used as a one-note plot device.
Related
GOT Actor Teases His “Childish Character” In Foundation Season 3 After Character Recasting
Exclusive: A prominent Game of Thrones actor’s acting choices shake up Foundation’s third season.
In my opinion, Euron falls into a clichéd category of villains: the unnerving antagonist who is crazy because he acts erratically and has strange quirks. It began with Gary Oldman in Léon: The Professional, it peaked with Heath Ledger, and it’s been rolling in its grave for over a decade now.
Pilou Asbæk’s Character Likely Isn’t The Real Villain Of Foundation Season 3
His Character Is An Intentional Distraction
I have an inference and a hope that are drawn from Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books, which is that Pilou Asbæk’s character is not the Mule. In the novels, the Mule wages war in the background while readers are introduced to a clown named Magnifico Giganticus, who claims to be a runaway jester from the Mule’s court.
Of course, Magnifico ends up being the Mule in disguise, with the dangerous warlord trope used as a distraction while the real threat is right under the reader’s nose. Since Magnifico is cast in Foundation season 3, I’m hoping the show will follow suit, allowing Pilou Asbæk’s over-the-top performance to be purposeful misdirection.
