Editor’s note: The below recap contains spoilers for Foundation Season 3 Episode 4.
The first three episodes of Foundation Season 3 laid the groundwork for several potentially apocalyptic conflicts: planetary destruction, galactic subjugation, the end of humanity, that kind of thing. Less than halfway through the season’s 10 episodes, some of these drastic, galaxy-altering events have already begun to unfold — and since the characters still have the Third Crisis, the terrifying Novacula weapon, and the Mule (Pilou Asbæk) to deal with, it stands to reason we’re just getting started. Before we veer into too much speculation about the future, however, it’s time to address Episode 4, “The Stress of Her Regard,” written by Jane Espenson and David Kob with Roxann Dawson in the director’s chair.
“The Stress of Her Regard” opens with Zephyr Vorellis (Rebecca Ineson) and Demerzel (Laura Birn) in the maze garden. As the Luminist priestess listens to Demerzel’s latest confession, Vorellis asks whether the ancient robot regrets the brutal actions she’s taken to preserve the Empire’s supremacy. Without saying “yes,” Demerzel reveals she provided the bombs that destroyed the Star Bridge in Season 1. Her calculations surmised that Empire’s continued reign depended upon Foundation flourishing, but the Cleons wouldn’t let a heretic like Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) live unless a terrifying catastrophe forced their hand. Demerzel might be the puppet master, but she doesn’t take the cost of her role lightly; she witnessed millions of innocents die that day, she remembers every lurid detail after three centuries, and she will remember it for the next three centuries, and the next, into eternity.
Vorellis suspects Demerzel’s guilt reflects a woman who’s at war with herself and desperate to regain her autonomy. Despite Demerzel’s protests, Vorellis follows up on their discussion in the premiere concerning a robot’s inability to die and be reborn (the Luminist religion hinges upon reincarnation). Could the multiple changes to Demerzel’s programming — a Three Laws robot who adopted the Zeroth Law, only for Cleon I to alter her against her will — be her version of reincarnation? Demerzel does agree that, “for the good of the galaxy,” the version of her that was the Robot Wars’ most ferocious General would have assisted Hari and destroyed Demerzel as she currently exists. But Vorellis has wandered too close to the agonizing truth; Demerzel furiously whirls on the Zephyr, slicing open her face to reveal the golden mechanical skeleton underneath her humanoid skin. Sufficiently frightened and apologetic, Vorellis flees.
The Foundation Longs for a Different Future in Season 3 Episode 4
Across the galaxy, Captain Han Pritcher (Brandon Bell) lands on Ignis, the home of the Second Foundation. He and First Speaker Preem Palver (Troy Kotsur) reunite with the kind of wisecracks reserved for old friends. Han and Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), meanwhile, are an established item, exchanging longing stares, multiple kisses, and a long hug. The ecstatic mood shifts once Han relays the details of his short-lived encounter with the Mule. Han successfully resisted the Mule’s mental invasion, aside from their nemesis plucking Gaal’s name from his mind as easily as reading a book. Preem wonders if Magnifico Giganticus’ (Tómas Lemarquis) music “amplifies [the Mule’s] powers,” and if those same powers leave the Mule isolated — even lonely. If his knowledge of other Mentalics is as limited as Preem and Han suspect, then Foundation can use that ignorance against him.
Later, Gaal swims in a nearby river to calm her nerves. Once Han arrives, feet dangling over the dock’s edge, both of them agree that Han needs to leave for New Terminus and help the First Foundation prepare for war. Gaal remains confident that Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) will attack the Mule once Dawn assumes the throne, and they can’t defeat their enemy without both halves of the Foundation — and Indbur (Leo Bill), the stubborn Mayor of New Terminus, refuses to take the Mule seriously. After a mournful conversation about resorting to premeditated violence and Gaal’s vision of the Mule haunting her every waking moment, the couple spend the night finding refuge in one another.
However, their contentment doesn’t last. Insomnia-riddled, Han wanders out of bed and into the cyrosleep area. Gaal finds him staring at her sleeping pod. As they embrace, Han wistfully reminisces about how he fell in love with her, and how he wants them to forge a meaningful life together instead of savoring whatever stolen moments she can spare while she’s awake. Gaal reminds him how little time they’ve spent together — 32 days, to be precise. Mutual affection aside, leaping into marriage would be ridiculous, especially since the Foundation must always be their first priority. She leaves without another word once Han states, “Hari wanted you to have a better life than he did.”
Brother Day Confronts His Ancestor in ‘Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 4
On New Terminus, Mayor Indbur and Professor Ebling Mis (Alexander Siddig) call Foundation Ambassador Quent (Cherry Jones) with good news and bad news. The good: Ebling suspects the Vault will open during an upcoming double eclipse. The bad comes in two parts: Han’s new recruits, Toran (Cody Fern) and Bayta Mallow (Synnøve Karlsen), are considered fugitives, and that connection won’t reflect well upon Foundation — oh, and Empire owns the Prime Radiant. Quent isn’t pleased that her “friend” Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) never deigned to share that information. During a formal audience with Dusk and Demerzel in the throne room, Quent denies any association with the Mallows.
With those diplomatic gymnastics out of the way, she brings up the Radiant, quietly imploring Dusk to be honest with her for both their sakes. Dusk orders Demerzel to relinquish the Radiant; she reluctantly obeys. Leaving Demerzel behind, Dusk escorts Quent to another room. It takes him two tries to activate the Radiant, which lets Quent sneak in a dirty joke about these things taking time, before she marvels at the Radiant’s display. Quent’s wonder turns into dismay once she sees the path’s abrupt end. Dusk, wearing a fond expression, comforts her by resting his cheek against hers.
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Elsewhere on Trantor, Brother Day (Lee Pace) requests an audience with the original Cleon’s memories. The program activates and projects an image identical to the white-haired, wrinkled body preserved inside its transparent container. Once the memory learns that Day’s question involves his ancestor’s younger self, Cleon I switches his image to match: shaved face, shorter hair, outfitted in gold, and imperious. Day seeks information about Cleon I’s trip to Mycogen, the birthplace of Day’s lover Song (Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing) and her robot-worshiping religion, the Inheritance. According to Cleon I, even though his predecessor tried to eradicate “all the robot sympathizers,” a handful of survivors escaped. Generations later, their descendants formed the Inheritance. As for Cleon I, he visited Mycogen to retrieve “a set of […] very old tools” that belonged to Demerzel — and when the Inheritance resisted, cherishing those devices as “holy relics,” he massacred over 20,000 citizens. However, he refuses to admit why he ruthlessly pursued those tools. The glimmer of annoyance when Day disdainfully refers to Demerzel as “it” is eclipsed only by Cleon I’s indignant shock when Day spits at his progenitor’s feet.
With one unsavory conversation under his belt, Day bursts into Demerzel’s chambers while she’s performing maintenance on the wires inside her neck; her decapitated but functioning head hangs within arm’s reach. Once she uses her tool kit to reattach her head, Day grabs her by the throat long enough to examine her “flawless” work. He dives into a prolonged outburst (mocking her robotic design, reiterating his love for Song, declaring Demerzel incapable of emotional connection) and steals one of Demerzel’s tools while she’s distracted by his performance. She takes the time to refute Day’s last point, because robots always formed emotional bonds: “[We] shared one mind when we wanted. It was called a clasp.” Demerzel also reasserts her argument that erasing Song’s memories ensures Day’s safety. Day doesn’t buy it, of course, leaving Demerzel to meet her own eyes in the mirror.
The Younger Two Cleons Flee the Empire in ‘Foundation’ Season 3 Episode 4
Day continues his chaotic visitation streak by visiting Commander Mavon’s (Ibraheem Toure) home unannounced. The pair embark on their planned escape trip, which now involves Day rescuing Song from Mycogen. Mavon escorts Day across the city to the outer ward’s spillway, each man equipped with armor and the Foundation version of a motorcycle. Pausing, Day extracts his nanites into a portable container, as agreed. The two men barely finish their farewells before Day shoots Mavon twice in the chest and once in the head. Day recognizes Mavon’s tells thanks to their years of gambling together, and Mavon’s loyalty isn’t to the wayward Emperor. Day fills Mavon with his nanites and dumps his corpse in the water as a decoy to throw Demerzel off his scent, which had always been the plan — although, like Demerzel, a solemn Day regrets his limited options. “No one can escape Empire,” he thinks. “Not even Empire. But I’m going to see how far I can go.” Immediately after Day rides away, his expression determined, Demerzel receives word that his nanites have stopped transmitting. Trusting her intuition, she checks her toolbox, finds an empty slot, and realizes she’s been fooled.
Meanwhile, Dawn receives one of Gaal’s coded messages and disguises himself accordingly. At their tea shop rendezvous point, he brings her up to speed on his awful discussion with the Mule and his brothers preventing him from assembling the Galactic Council. They tried their best, and Gaal knew “we were always going to have to do this the hard way.” Her current plan requires Dawn to flee Trantor with her. He protests, days away from assuming the middle throne, but the soldiers who followed him without Dawn’s knowledge make the decision for him. Dawn and Gaal sprint through the sewers, only avoiding the guards thanks to Gaal’s psychic abilities. They board her ship, and with that, two Cleons are on the run. As Gaal pilots her craft out of Trantor’s atmosphere, a terrified Dawn watches the only home he’s ever known vanish.
Foundation Season 3 is available to stream on Apple TV+.
Foundation
Demerzel grapples with guilt over her past actions, while the Cleons make desperate moves to escape the Empire’s grasp.
- Release Date
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September 23, 2021
- Network
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Apple TV+
Pros & Cons
- Demerzel continues to be the series’ most fascinating character.
- Two Cleons committing treason this early in the season is a bold and compelling move.
- Lee Pace playing two radically different iterations of the same character, in the same scene, is worth the price of admission.
