The Ending Of Foundation Season 2 Explained
Contains spoilers for "Foundation" Season 2, Episode 10
Apple TV+'s "Foundation" has quietly provided viewers with one of the better sci-fi series in recent history. It explores countless science fiction tropes, from intergalactic politics to interpersonal drama, overpowered human beings, and fun techy devices — lots of devices. Season 2 picked up the pace from a sluggish though interesting first season and wound its way through a ten-episode run throughout the late summer of 2023.
The season ended on a high note with a final episode that was jam-packed with action on every level. Exploding planets, cult religions, and tragic villains all played their part as showrunner David Goyer continued to defy the odds and adapt the unadaptable. For a show that spends a lot of time focusing on dialogue (which is a very Asimovian thing to do), the Season 2 finale was about as busy as it gets. Let's dig into what some of these tragedies, unexpected developments, and loose ends mean, shall we?
What you need to remember about the plot of Foundation Season 2
Adapted from Isaac Asimov's iconic space trilogy, the "Foundation" series mirrors the historical events of the decline and fall of the Roman Empire. However, in this case, the realm that is falling is the Galactic Empire set 20,000 years in the future. To prevent a catastrophically prolonged Dark Age from taking place in the wake of that event, eminent mathematician and political troublemaker Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) sets up The Foundation at the edge of the galaxy. This colony begins growing into what Seldon hopes will be a replacement for the crumbling hegemony of the Empire, led by its three-headed cloned emperor, Brothers Dawn, Dusk, and Day. Brother Day (Lee Pace) does most of the heavy lifting.
Season 1 was largely spent setting up the world and getting the basic story in motion. Season 2 quickly picked up the pace, starting with a time jump and then diving headlong into the conflict between the Empire and the Foundation. We saw the rise of the cultish religion of Scientism. This "Church of Science" is a political tool the Foundation uses to spread its authority over the outer reaches of the galaxy — until it runs into the power of Empire. This leads to an inevitable conflict, which goes down in the final two episodes of the season. (It really is inevitable. Just ask The Plan.)
In the meantime, on a distant planet, Foundationers Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) and Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey) unite with a resurrected Hari Seldon. Together, they explore the potential of creating a Second Foundation using the power of mentalics (the cognitive ability to read thoughts and shape minds) to help the original Foundation survive.
What happens at the end of Foundation Season 2?
The tenth episode of Season 2 brings the second chapter of Apple TV+'s sci-fi epic to a calamitous (though hopeful) close — and it sets the stage for much more drama to come. The episode ends with several critical plot developments, one of which is the death of Salvor Hardin, ultimately spurring Gaal and Hari to go into cryosleep together to prepare for the coming of the Mule a century and a half in the future.
Despite the unexpected destruction of Terminus, Hari Seldon's digital reincarnation also appears in space, piloting the Vault (which operates outside of time and space in the show). The strange salvific ship picks up Brother Constant (Isabella Laughland) right before she runs out of oxygen in her escape pod. Once Constant is aboard, she realizes that the ship contains the rest of the Foundationers, as well.
Elsewhere, Demerzel (Laura Birn) is revealed to be in a genuine crisis of unquestionable devotion to duty and the desire to be free. She decants three new clones simultaneously and starts the process of re-establishing their rule. She also reveals that she has come into possession of the Prime Radiant.
Finally, we get a shot of The Mule (Mikael Persbrandt) 152 years in the future. In the brief final scene, we see the powerful leader obsessing over the need to find Gaal Dornick, setting the stage for what could come. A lot happened in a few minutes there, and it points to plenty of exciting developments for a third season. Let's take a closer look.
That mentalics stuff is getting trippy
One of the biggest newer elements of Season 2 is the introduction of the concept of a Second Foundation and the mentalics to operate it. In the source material, this is the point where there's a notable change from the purely historical narrative format of the first Foundation. Things start to get convoluted, trippy, and hella confusing — and the show definitely follows suit.
By the end of the season, the re-resurrected Hari Seldon comes back from his supposed doom after being drowned and left for dead in a pool. Mentalics dictator Tellem Bond meets her gruesome fate at the hands of Seldon himself. However, before her consciousness truly fades, she manages to sabotage things from the grave by using one of her followers to assassinate Salvor Hardin. In the end, this leaves Tellem's freed followers to develop their mentalic skills for a century and a half while Gaal and Hari indirectly oversee them as god-like figures in cryosleep.
All of this may feel off-beat for a show like "Foundation." Season 1 had hints of mentalic activity, but it was mostly an "in the flesh" experience. However, the development of a Second Foundation is a critical part of Asimov's book series. It will play an absolutely vital role in fleshing out the rest of the story, not just with the Mule, but for the most critical crisis of all, one that still lies far in Humanity's future. However, we'll leave that spoilery stuff for another day.
Specifics aside, let's just say in the midst of a flashy, action-packed Season 2, some of the quietest developments with the mentalics may have the biggest payoffs down the road.
Demerzel, the Empire, and Terminus
The Empire ended the season with an unhappy fireworks display as its entire fleet was systematically wiped out by the Spacers. At the same time, the planet of Terminus trumped its opponent's demise by exploding wholesale. This epically destructive ending to the war between Foundation and Empire is unexpected, if only because it's a major deviation from the source material.
It's true that the two powers go to war, and the Empire nearly wins. But everything falls apart when Bel Riose is accused of treason and recalled to Trantor (all of which happens off-screen). The nearly destroyed Foundation breathes a sigh of relief and gets back to business as usual. It's anticlimactic, and Apple TV+'s iteration is more fantastic. But what happens now that Terminus is destroyed? The vault in the source material is just a room with pre-recorded messages from Hari Seldon. In the show, it's become an inter-dimensional super-fortress capable of evacuating planets. It'll be interesting to see where the writers take the story next. Based on the current deviation from the original narrative, it could be anywhere.
And then there's Demerzel. The 18,000-year-old robot gets plenty of backstory as the season ends — and she morphs into one of the primary antagonists. Once again, this is a deviation. The character's role in the books is mostly off-screen and is certainly more heroic. Still, the glimpse of the inner turmoil driving the robot between her inexcusable programmed duty and her desire to love and connect with humans is very Asimov. It will be interesting to see what her possession of the Prime Radiant (and possible future interactions with Hari Seldon) could lead to. For now, though, she's hellbent on resetting the empire with a new trio of clones.
What the end of Foundation Season 2 could mean for the franchise
As of this writing, "Foundation" Season 3 hasn't been confirmed. In a Tech Radar interview in July, showrunner David Goyer said that Season 3's future would depend on how Season 2 would be received. However, it seems that Season 3 is at least being entertained, which is a good thing, considering all of the loose ends we still need to see addressed. For instance, Demerzel may have re-established the tri-part head of state of the Galactic Empire, but let's not forget that in the closing moments of Season 2, the rogue Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) escaped with Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion (Ella-Rae Smith) and their unborn baby. This is an event that could undo all of the robot's careful plotting and scheming. Could we be on the verge of finally seeing the last vestiges of a severely weakened Empire crumble into dust?
We also need to see what happens to the Foundationers who were last seen floating through space in the Vault. Will they settle on a new planet? How will they resist the Mule when he shows up on the scene? They're way off course according to the source material, and there's no knowing what their next move could be.
The Second Foundation is about to come into its own, as well. This is where the future story is likely to focus. In fact, the end credit scene deliberately hinted at that, indicating that when Gaal wakes up from cryosleep, she will have a mad mentalic on her heels trying to undo Seldon's Plan once and for all. Here's hoping the powers that be at Apple TV+ greenlight the next season soon.