I liked the first season of Apple's TV+'s "Foundation," but thought it had some serious flaws, mostly to do with how much trouble it had dramatizing certain characters and concepts from the source novels. The second season is a significant improvement, though it still has some of the same difficulties with handling such heady, philosophy-driven subject matter. I strongly suspect that veteran genre writer Jane Espensen joining the writing team made a big difference - she's credited on six episodes this season - but maybe the whole show just finally found its groove.
Many new characters are introduced this year. We've time jumped several more decades into the future, where the Foundation has become a religion, being evangelized by a pair of con-artist clerics, Poly (Kulvinder Ghir) and Constant (Isabella Laughland). They get mixed up with Hari Seldon's latest prophecies which involve a roguish trader named Hober Mallow (Dimitri Leonidas). Empire is turning its attentions toward Terminus again, refortifying its fleet and bringing back a disgraced general, Bel Riose (Ben Daniels) to lead it. However, the current Brother Day is more occupied with a plan to end the genetic dynasty, choosing to continue his line by marrying young Queen Sareth (Ella-Rae Smith) of the Cloud Dominion. Gaal and Salvor, meanwhile, are reunited with a version of Hari Seldon, and on their own quest to stop another major crisis that will be caused by a psychic named The Mule (Mikael PersBrandt). This eventually brings them to a community of psychics, led by the sinister Tellem Bond (Rachel House).
I think the biggest difference between the last season and this one is that this year puts a lot more focus on characters and relationships over plot. A lot of work went into humanizing characters like Hari Seldon and Salvor Hardin so that they're not just exposition machines this time around. I no longer think it was a mistake to expand Hari's role, since the show leans into the sketchy nature of his existence, and gets a lot of mileage out of putting him in multiple storylines. It's Lady Demerzel (Laura Birn), however, who emerges as the most fascinating character this season. Her relationship with the Cleons and her curious role in the preservation of the genetic dynasty take center stage as the Empire reaches a dangerous new phase in its inevitable decline. Lee Pace and Jared Harris remain the clear standouts among the cast, but Birn and several others get a chance to leave more of an impression. I especially liked Laughland and Leonidas as Constant and Mallow, and Ben Daniels as Bel Riose - not a very large role, but boy does he make it count.
The action and spectacle is also handled better. There are fewer shoot-em-ups and more one-on-one fights between characters we're actually invested in. The premiere episode treats us to Brother Day fending off assassins in hand-to-hand combat while stark naked. Meanwhile, the show's production values remain very high, showing off grandiose science-fiction environments and plenty of the Empire's pageantry. The show has more fun being a space opera this year, with cults, modified humans, alien beasties and all manner of wild costuming. "Foundation" is a very talky, old fashioned kind of a science-fiction, modeled on classical literature in many respects. It can seem stuffy and technobabbly at times, but it also allows the show to enjoy a sense of immensity and scale that I really enjoy. When Hari Seldon talks about the future, it's in the very grandest terms, and without an ounce of cynicism.
And frankly, that's the kind of genre fiction I enjoy best these days. Along with "Star Trek," "Foundation" is probably the best science-fiction television currently running, and seems to represent a nice shift away from grungy realism and back toward a more aspirational, romantic mindset. The show is moving farther and farther away from Isaac Asimov in terms of style, but not in spirit. I don't know how well "Foundation" is doing for Apple TV, but I'm very much looking forward to the next season, and I no longer have any doubts about the creators being able to see this centuries-long story through to the end. It's not likely, given the state of streaming these days, but the possibilities are intriguing.
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