Foundation (TV series)

First released

Last released

1

10

September 24, 2021 (2021-09-24)

November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)

2

10

July 14, 2023 (2023-07-14)

September 15, 2023 (2023-09-15)

3

10

July 11, 2025 (2025-07-11)

September 12, 2025 (2025-09-12)

1

1

"The Emperor's Peace"

Rupert Sanders

David S. Goyer & Josh Friedman

September 24, 2021 (2021-09-24)

In the year 12,067 E.I. (Era Imperial), the prodigy Gaal Dornick travels from her academically repressive homeworld of Synnax to Trantor, capital of the Galactic Empire, to study under the famed Hari Seldon, the creator of the predictive mathematical subfield of psychohistory, as a reward for solving a complex conjecture. They are both arrested on charges of treason; Seldon because his model predicts the imminent collapse of the Empire, due in part to the stagnation caused by four centuries of rule by clones of Emperor Cleon I, and Gaal because the Empire wants her to discredit psychohistory. Gaal instead confirms Seldon's model during his trial and condemns them both, but they are spared by Brother Day (Emperor Cleon XII) after the Star Bridge, Trantor's space elevator, is destroyed by apparent terrorists from the feuding Periphery kingdoms of Anacreon and Thespis. Brother Day exiles Seldon and Gaal to the Periphery world of Terminus, where they are to build the "Foundation", a repository of human knowledge that Seldon claims will shorten the dark age after the Empire's demise from thirty thousand years to a single millennium.

2

2

"Preparing to Live"

Andrew Bernstein

Josh Friedman & David S. Goyer

September 24, 2021 (2021-09-24)

Seldon and his followers proceed to Terminus aboard a slow starship, the Deliverance, and prepare for their new lives on the barren world. A year into the trip (12,068 E.I.), Gaal reveals to her lover, Seldon's adopted son Raych, that the psychohistory model is incomplete, alarming him. Meanwhile, the Empire investigates the Star Bridge attack but is unable to identify its mastermind or conclusively attribute it to Seldon or the governments of Anacreon and Thespis. Despite Brother Dusk (Cleon XI) urging that the detained delegations from the two kingdoms should be granted clemency, Brother Day opts for a public execution of all delegates except the two ambassadors, simultaneous with orbital bombardments of their homeworlds. On the ship, Gaal finds Raych fatally stabbing Seldon in his quarters. Raych then ushers the incredulous Gaal into an escape pod with the murder weapon and jettisons her from the ship.

3

3

"The Mathematician's Ghost"

Alex Graves

Olivia Purnell

October 1, 2021 (2021-10-01)

4

4

"Barbarians at the Gate"

Alex Graves

Lauren Bello

October 8, 2021 (2021-10-08)

The Cleon lineage faces a threat to its legitimacy as Zephyr Halima Ifa, a leading candidate to become the next Proxima of the major religion of Luminism, revives an orthodox, pre-Imperial dogma that asserts clones of an individual do not possess souls. This religious issue and a violent "Sinker" insurrection in the still-ruined lower levels of Trantor fulfill two key portents of the Empire's decline that Hari Seldon related at his trial. Brother Day grows frustrated with Brother Dusk, feeling his elder seeded these problems decades ago by acting impulsively and refusing to heed Seldon's warnings. While Day departs Trantor to attend the Luminist Conclave and back Zephyr Gilat, Ifa's competitor, Dusk, orders Commander Dorwin to visit the Foundation, which has fallen silent. On Terminus, Salvor outwits the Anacreons and captures their leader, Grand Huntress Phara Keaen, who claims to only want the colony ship's navigation computer so her people can find a new homeworld. Anacreon soldiers surround Terminus City's perimeter fence and assemble a flak cannon. The Vault also begins giving Salvor sporadic visions of a child in Trantor's Imperial Library, where Seldon worked. In deep space, a ship encounters Gaal's escape pod.

5

5

"Upon Awakening"

Alex Graves

Leigh Dana Jackson

October 15, 2021 (2021-10-15)

In the past, on Synnax, Gaal was forced to participate in the execution of her former teacher, who was caught salvaging books from a condemned university. Disillusioned with the Seer's Church, she educates herself in secret and enters a math competition. In the present, Gaal awakens after 34 years of cryosleep and finds herself aboard the fully automated starship Raven, which had been prepared by Raych. She learns that Raych was executed for murdering Hari, and the galaxy believes her to be an accomplice to the crime. After deducing that the Raven is bound for Hari's homeworld of Helicon, she stumbles across a wounded yet seemingly alive Hari. At Terminus, the Imperial ship Aegis carrying Commander Dorwin, enters orbit and detects the Anacreon presence. Dorwin is informed of the captive Phara and demands to speak with her, causing the Foundation staff to bring her from her cell to Foundation Tower. Once inside, Phara disables Terminus City's fence and reveals that her true purpose is to destroy the Foundation in revenge for the Empire's neutron bombing of Anacreon, which had killed her parents and brother. The Anacreon soldiers storm the city, and their flak cannon shoots down the Aegis.

6

6

"Death and the Maiden"

Jennifer Phang

Marcus Gardley

October 22, 2021 (2021-10-22)

Brother Day visits The Maiden, the sacred moon of the Luminist faith, and tries to sway public opinion by promising a desalination system in honor of Zephyr Gilat. However, Zephyr Halima gains favor with a powerful eulogy for Proxima Opal that subtly critiques Imperial cloning. On Trantor, Brother Dawn falls for palace gardener Azura Odili and reveals a dangerous secret: he has genetic anomalies like color blindness, unlike previous Cleon clones. Meanwhile, on Terminus, the Anacreons salvage Dorwin from the Aegis wreckage and gather colonists to repair the Invictus, an ancient warship they plan to use against the Empire. Salvor escapes with help from children and attempts to destroy Anacreon corvettes to strand Phara. During the mission, she experiences a vision showing Hari Seldon's death was orchestrated as part of his plan, and that the escape pod Gaal used was meant for Raych. In her absence, Salvor's father Abbas sacrifices himself to destroy the corvettes. Later, Salvor and her lover Hugo are captured by Phara, who forces Salvor to pilot Hugo's ship, the Beggar, to the Anthor Belt with the colonists aboard.

7

7

"Mysteries and Martyrs"

Jennifer Phang

Caitlin Saunders

October 29, 2021 (2021-10-29)

Salvor and Phara's group boards the ancient warship Invictus, but the mission proves deadly. Hugo is lost during a spacewalk from the Beggar, and Dorwin is killed by Phara after unlocking the ship. With Invictus set to make a random jump that could be fatal, the remaining Anacreons and colonists race to the bridge to seize control. On The Maiden, Brother Day struggles to contain Zephyr Halima's rising influence and attempts to outshine her by undertaking Luminism's holiest pilgrimage. On Trantor, Brother Dawn, haunted by fears of replacement due to his genetic anomalies, considers fleeing with Azura, a palace gardener. Meanwhile, aboard the Raven, Hari Seldon is revealed to be a digital copy of his original consciousness, stored in the knife Raych used to kill him and uploaded when Gaal was found. Hari explains that Gaal and Raych's romance disrupted his plan: Hari was meant to die by suicide to become a mythic figure, Raych to deliver the knife to the Raven, and Gaal to lead the Foundation. Instead, Hari convinced Raych to murder him to separate the couple. Gaal is furious at the manipulation, but her anger is tempered by the revelation of her latent ability: prescience.

8

8

"The Missing Piece"

Roxann Dawson

Sarah Nolen

November 5, 2021 (2021-11-05)

mw- .mw-parser-output .ambox+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+style+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+link+link+.ambox,.mw-parser-output .ambox+.mw-empty-elt+link+.ambox,.mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- .mw- } }This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The group on the Invictus finally reaches the bridge. Meanwhile, Hugo safely arrives at a comms relay and calls for help from his people. Just as the Thespins attack, and Phara and Salvor fight each other, the Invictus jumps into the unknown. On the Raven, Hari divulges his plan to establish a secret second Foundation on Helicon. Irate and impatient, Gaal forces Hari to let her leave in the escape pod, and she sets a course for Synnax that will take 138 years to elapse. Brother Day completes the Spiral, a torturous trek to a desert cave pool, and claims to have received a vision of a sacred flower from Luminism's triple-goddess. The Zephyrs interpret Day's vision as a divine pronouncement that he has a soul, rendering any further criticism of Imperial cloning by a Luminist to be sacrilege, and also guaranteeing Zephyr Gilat's elevation to Proxima. Day seals his victory by commanding his robot majordomo, Demerzel, to covertly assassinate Halima. Demerzel is a devout Luminist who respects Halima and is greatly distressed by the command, but she is compelled to obey by her programming. As they leave The Maiden behind, Day reflects on his experience in the cave, revealing he had no vision at all, after a tearful Demerzel made him understand that she was aware of the deception and disapproved.

9

9

"The First Crisis"

Roxann Dawson

Victoria Morrow

November 12, 2021 (2021-11-12)

This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) The Invictus appears over Terminus due to the sacrifice of Foundation director Lewis Pirenne, who plugged himself into the ship's systems at the last second. Salvor joyfully reunites with Hugo, then descends to Terminus to deactivate the Vault, which has enveloped all of the planet in its null field. On Trantor, Brother Dawn realizes Brother Dusk knows his secret and escapes into Trantor's depths to find Azura, but he falls into the waiting hands of a conspiracy. All along, Azura was part of an anti-Empire group that had altered Dawn's DNA, giving him imperfections with the expectation that he would one day choose to flee the palace. The purpose of this was to create an opportunity to extract Dawn's Imperial nanobots and implant them into a cooperative, perfect Cleon clone who would then assume Dawn's identity. As Dawn despairs, Dusk arrives with Imperial troops who dispatch the conspirators and their counterfeit Cleon. Dusk leaves Dawn's fate for the returning Brother Day to decide. On Terminus, Salvor solves the puzzle of the Vault, converting it into a portal. Before the gathered Anacreons, Thespins, and Termini, Salvor proposes harnessing the Invictus to give all three worlds leverage against the Empire. Phara tries to destroy the Vault, but is shot dead by Salvor. Before further violence can occur, Hari Seldon emerges from the portal.

10

10

"The Leap"

David S. Goyer

David S. Goyer

November 19, 2021 (2021-11-19)

11

1

"In Seldon's Shadow"

Alex Graves

David S. Goyer & Jane Espenson

July 14, 2023 (2023-07-14)

12

2

"A Glimpse of Darkness"

David S. Goyer

Jane Espenson & David S. Goyer

July 21, 2023 (2023-07-21)

Hari informs Salvor and Gaal that establishing a Second Foundation is crucial for the survival of the first and for his plan to work, but that was interrupted when Gaal fled the ship while en route to Helicon. Then, with Hari's help, they jump-start the Beggar and leave Synnax just in time before huge storm waves hit them. Over dinner, Queen Sareth discusses with Empire the particulars of their impending union while tactfully delving into the assassination attempt. On planet Siwenna, Poly Verisof, High Claric of the Foundation, and his junior, Novice Claric Brother Constant, while spreading the Foundation's mission, learn that Seldon's vault has reopened, and hastily jump back to Terminus to attend what will ensue. The Warden approaches Seldon's vault and gets incinerated before the name "Hober Mallow" appears written on the vault. Gaal peers 150 years into the future and is attacked by a telepath called the Mule, who is the source of the impending darkness, just before she sees Salvor dead beside her. After the encounter, Gaal procures from her future self the location of the Second Foundation on the planet Ignis.

13

3

"King and Commoner"

David S. Goyer

Leigh Dana Jackson & Jane Espenson

July 28, 2023 (2023-07-28)

On behalf of Empire, Lady Demerzel recruits Bel Riose, a former general now imprisoned in the Lepsis penal colony, to investigate the dissident Foundation. Riose attends an audience with Empire, where he is formally given the task and then is reunited with his husband, Glawen Curr, before leading a fleet to investigate the Outer Reach. Hari leads Gaal and Salvor to Oona's World, a desert and former mining planet, where, after persuading Gaal to carry him to a chamber up in the mountains, his consciousness is transferred into an organic body by Kalle, whose real identity, apart from calling herself a friend of Hari's, remains elusive. Just when Gaal and Salvor are about to make their ascent from the desert planet, autonomous mining machines reactivate and start attacking the Beggar. They successfully evade the attacking machines and leave the planet after retrieving Hari's unconscious body. Hober Mallow, a con man and master trader, steals the Eye of Korell by switching places with Commdor Argo using a teleportation device. His plan is foiled, and he is captured and sentenced to death. He deceives his captors again, using the same technology, and escapes Korell in the ship Poly, and Constant had just arrived in to appeal for his release.

14

4

"Where the Stars are Scattered Thinly"

Mark Tonderai

Leigh Dana Jackson & David S. Goyer

August 4, 2023 (2023-08-04)

Sareth and Dawn walk the palace gardens while benignly questioning each other on the recent events of violence on their respective families, resulting in them confirming their mutual honesty. Dusk and Rue reminisce about their time together back when she was a concubine at Gossamer Court, and Dusk offers to show Rue recordings of their encounter, as her memories of the event were presumably wiped before leaving Trantor. Riose and Glawen infiltrate Siwenna to meet with the informant Ducem Barr, who reveals information about the 'Magicians', their advanced technology, and their connection to the Foundation, though Riose remains sceptical. They escape after a local mob, alerted by their presence, tries to break in. Barr poisons himself to prevent getting captured before Riose delivers a coup de grâce. Poly, Constant, and Hober arrive on Terminus, enter the Vault, and meet with Hari Seldon, who instructs the clarics to attempt peace talks with the Imperium to prevent a war, but gives Mallow a different set of instructions; Hober leaves in their ship with Constant's pet Beki onboard. Sareth employs the service of a palace claviger to discover the reasons behind her family's deaths.

15

5

"The Sighted and the Seen"

Alex Graves

Joelle Garfinkel & Jane Espenson

August 11, 2023 (2023-08-11)

Hari awakens aboard the Beggar, facing an apparition of Raych, which dissipates after a brief confrontation. Hari, Gaal, and Salvor discuss how his organic body came to be before the Beggar enters Ignis' atmosphere, where it is hit by negative ions and crash lands on the planet. Salvor leaves the ship to investigate a possible observer. On Trantor, Sareth accesses Cleon's bed chamber to learn more about the assassination attempt, but is discovered, which leads to her accepting Brother Day's marriage proposal. Dusk and Rue spend more time together. Concerned about memory audits, Dusk and Dawn visit the Memorium to inspect their memory hoards. While inspecting the memory audit of an Asclepieion caregiver, Sareth and Rue discover Demerzel's robotic nature. Salvor seemingly reunites with Hugo Crast on Ignis, to her elation and Hari's suspicion, but who is subsequently revealed to be a telepath, assaults the Beggar alongside other telepaths and captures Salvor, Hari, and Ga. The trio is brought before the telepaths' leader, Tellem Bond, who reveals Ignis to be a refuge for Mentalics (telepaths), who is already aware of their plans for a Second Foundation.

16

6

"Why the Gods Made Wine"

Alex Graves

Story by : David S. GoyerTeleplay by : Jane Espenson

August 18, 2023 (2023-08-18)

This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Salvor meets a young Mentalic named Josiah, and learns through his visions how Tellem have saved Mentalics from persecution throughout the galaxy and brought them to Ignis. After Tellem verbalises her opposition to establishing the Second Foundation on Ignis, Gaal shares her visions via prescience with Tellem, though she refuses to accept the knowledge of an inescapable future. Tellem offers to train Gaal and offers leadership of the Mentalics after Tellem passes, but gives her the ultimatum of choosing between Hari and the Mentalics. Hari's distrust of Tellem grows. After a heated argument, Hari appears to leave the planet on the Beggar, but in actuality is captured and restrained in a tidal pool where Tellem plans on killing him. As the water rises and he slowly drowns, Hari is taken back to his past and has visions of his childhood, his early research on Helicon, and his life partner, Yanna, who was carrying their child but died at the hands of the Empire. Brother Day introduces his bride-to-be to the people of Trantor, but Sareth upstages him, wins the crowd, and leaves Brother Day feeling unsettled. Hober Mallow arrives at the coordinates Hari had given him and finds the Spacer mothership and climbs onboard. Constant and Poly arrive on Trantor on behalf of the Foundation and are arrested.

17

7

"A Necessary Death"

Mark Tonderai

Eric Carrasco & David Kob

August 25, 2023 (2023-08-25)

This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) After Queen Sareth undergoes a mandatory medical inspection, Demerzel strongly insinuates her involvement in Sareth's family's murder; Sareth later confronts Brother Day and confirms his involvement. Hober Mallow approaches the Spacers on behalf of Foundation with an offer to free them from the Empire by providing them with the Opalesk, a synthesised micronutrient they are dependent on. However, after weighing the risks, the Spacers reject Hober's offer and turn him over to General Riose. With the help of Beki, Hober escapes on his whisper-ship, while demonstrating Foundation's jump technology. General Riose, at the behest of his husband, considers their options of defying Empire, but ultimately decides against it. Sareth proposes to Dawn that he impregnate her instead of Day, reflecting their growing connection. Constant and Poly are finally granted an audience with Empire. Constant unwittingly carries an interface of Hari Seldon, who confronts Empire and unnerves Brother Day, causing him to order a blockade around Terminus. On Ignis, Salvor remains suspicious of the Mentalics' motives and Hari's sudden departure, but her suggestion of leaving is rejected by Gaal. She continues to investigate and discovers the tide pool and Hari's drowned body, only to get caught by Tellem, who, after saying that death is necessary at times, renders Salvor unconscious.

18

8

"The Last Empress"

Roxann Dawson

Liz Phang & Addie Manis & Bob Oltra

September 1, 2023 (2023-09-01)

This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) On Trantor, Brother Dusk catches Enjoiner Rue in Demerzel's quarters, and Rue reveals Dominion's memory restoration capabilities. This makes Dusk suspect her in the attempt on Day's life, which Rue promptly denies. Later, while Dusk and Rue are conversing by the Mural of Souls, they notice an odd section on the wall, but are interrupted by news of the execution. Just when the clerics are about to be killed, Hober Mallow's whisper-ship appears on the palace platform and causes an explosion, ensuing chaos. Hober manages to rescue Constant, though Poly is left behind, and Brother Day is almost killed by Beki before she is gunned down. Immediately afterwards, despite Dusk and Demerzel's stern opposition, but with Sareth's tactful support, Day decides to travel to Terminus. On Ignis, while being held captive, Salvor links with Hari Seldon in the Vault via the radiant, and he aids her in escaping. Gaal is being held captive by Tellem, who is preparing for a ritual to transfer her psyche into Gaal's body. Constant and Hober (inside the whisper-ship) and Sareth and Dawn (in the heat sinks on Trantor) consummate their respective relationships, while Dusk and Rue discover a passageway behind the mural that leads to a hidden chamber, where they are greeted by Cleon I's projection, offering to reveal details of Demerzel's origins.

19

9

"Long Ago, Not Far Away"

Roxann Dawson

Jane Espenson & Eric Carrasco

September 8, 2023 (2023-09-08)

20

10

"Creation Myths"

Alex Graves

David S. Goyer & Liz Phang

September 15, 2023 (2023-09-15)

This episode's plot summary may be too long or excessively detailed. Please help improve it by removing unnecessary details and making it more concise. (July 2025) (Learn how and when to remove this message) Brother Day orders the imperial fleet to jump to Foundation's allied worlds and destroy them. After Day relieves General Riose of his command when he refuses the order, She-Bends-Light, using a jump sequence smuggled onboard by Hober Mallow, sets the ships to jump into one another, which will inevitably consume the entire fleet and free the remaining Spacers from Empire. Riose throws himself between Day and Hober when Day tries to kill Hober after he reveals the ruse. Their fight ends after Day throws Riose out of an airlock, only to have Riose swap places with him at that moment using Hober's castling device. Knowing they are now trapped on a doomed vessel, after a tearful farewell, Hober puts Constant in a cleaning module and ejects her into space in the hope that she'll be rescued. On Trantor, Demerzel returns and confronts the trapped Dusk and Rue. After realizing that their fates are sealed, Dusk, unbeknownst to Demerzel, marks her neck in green before she reluctantly kills them. After speaking with Demerzel, Dawn realizes what has been unfolding and frees the imprisoned Sareth, who is with child, before they escape from Trantor. With all three brothers either gone or dead, Demerzel decants a new one of each and activates the copy of the Prime Radiant given her by Seldon. Near Terminus, Hari's vault pulls Constant's pod inside, where she discovers that it is carrying the entire population of Terminus within (along with Glawen), reuniting her with Poly and her fathers. On Ignis, after Gaal recounts the events to Salvor of how she helped Hari escape from drowning, the trio finds out that up until now, Tellem has been bending all Mentalics to her will, and that her death has freed them. However, before dying, Tellem's psyche had fled into Josiah, whom she forces to attempt to assassinate Gaal. Salvor foils the attempt and kills Josiah, but dies taking the shot meant for Gaal. Salvor's death gives Gaal and Hari hope and evidence that the future is not set. They agree to enter cryo-sleep, waking for a short time each year to teach and guide the Second Foundation and prepare them for the battle in the future. One hundred and fifty-two years in the future, a crazed Mule becomes aware of Gaal's presence.

21

1

"A Song for the End of Everything"

David S. Goyer

David S. Goyer & Jane Espenson

July 11, 2025 (2025-07-11)

152 years after the Second Crisis, the Empire has given up control of the Outer Reach, and the Foundation has amassed over 800 planets. The Mule, a powerful Mentalic, uses mind control to seize control of the independent planet Kalgan. Brother Dawn (Cleon XXV) and Demerzel meet with the Galactic Council with a plan to undermine the Foundation by covertly providing weapons to the Traders, a disgruntled faction of merchants within the Foundation. With ten days left before Dawn's Ascension to Day, Dusk (Cleon XXIII) contemplates his impending immolation, and Day (Cleon XXIV) continues ignoring his duties in favor of a hedonistic lifestyle. A new timeline appears within the Prime Radiant, which Demerzel realizes will unavoidably cause Seldon's psychohistory models to fail in four months. Foundation's Captain of Information, Han Pritcher, and his partner Sephone, attempt to collect evidence that the Empire is assisting the Traders. They fail, but Pritcher is convinced that the Mule, and not the Traders, is the real threat to the Foundation. Mayor Indbur of New Terminus rejects his plan to investigate the Mule. Pritcher steals Indbur's ship and heads to Kalgan anyway. Gaal wakes from cryo-sleep, knowing that a confrontation with the Mule is imminent.

22

2

"Shadows in the Math"

Tim Southam

Leigh Dana Jackson & Caitlin Parrish

July 18, 2025 (2025-07-18)

On Ignis, Hari and Gaal awake from their cryo-sleep. Realizing their task to train the Mentalics in time for the Third Crisis is large, Hari remains awake whilst Gaal returns to sleep. When she next awakens, Preem Palver is the leader of the Second Foundation and an elderly Hari disappears with Kalle, the mysterious woman who gave him physical form. On Trantor, Brother Dusk campaigns, first with Demerzel and then with Day, for his forthcoming immolation to be delayed due to the imminent threats facing the Empire. Brother Day continues his nihilistic lifestyle and refuses to attend Brother Dawn's Ascension. Dawn and Dusk meet with the Foundation ambassador. On Kalgan, newly-wed social influencers Toran and Bayta Mallow enjoy a holiday from a mountaintop villa, while the Mule continues to demonstrate his extraordinary powers of persuasion to the military class. In secret, Dusk commissions a new secret mega-weapon. Meanwhile, Dawn (Cleon XXV) has his own secret - a discussion with Gaal, to discuss the coming threat of The Mule.

23

3

"When a Book Finds You"

Tim Southam

Eric Carrasco & Greg Goetz

July 25, 2025 (2025-07-25)

The origins of Dawn's interest in psychohistory are revealed with his first meeting years ago with a projection of Gaal Dornick. In the present, Gaal requests that Dawn 'enclose' Kalgan to stymie The Mule's ascent. Pritcher uses Toran and Bayta as a way into a lavish party given by the Mule, but leaves when he is psychically overcome. After Toran angers the Mule at the party, he and Bayta escape with Magnifico Giganticus, a mistreated balladeer within the Mule's entourage. The Mule begins reprisals to punish those who did not prevent the escape, confessing he doesn't feel in control of himself before murdering a soldier. On Trantor, fearing the imminent end of history, Day seeks the Imperial Garrison's help to leave Trantor covertly. Thwarted from stronger action against Kalgan by his brothers, Dawn is only able to order continued surveillance. Demerzel removes Day's companion Song and her memories after he reveals to her Demerzel's true robotic nature.

24

4

"The Stress of Her Regard"

Roxann Dawson

Jane Espenson & David Kob

August 1, 2025 (2025-08-01)

25

5

"Where Tyrants Spend Eternity"

Christopher J. Byrne

Caitlin Parrish & Leigh Dana Jackson

August 8, 2025 (2025-08-08)

Day disappears into Mycogen. Demerzel investigates Claviger Mavon's body, deducing Day's escape. On New Terminus, Captain Pritcher is berated by Mayor Indbur for his meeting with the Mule and is imprisoned. The Mallows' ship, damaged by The Mule's fire, returns to the planet Haven, where it crashes after being targeted by planetary defenses. Gaal and Dawn travel to Clarion Station, where Dawn blackmails the local leader, Vynod Tarisk, to sway votes for the Imperial enclosure of Kalgan. Mallow and his party are rescued by his uncle Randu. Bayta and Randu discuss the effects of Magnifico's music and the role this could play in allowing the Trader faction to control the Foundation. The Imperial armada encloses Kalgan, but the Mule has already left, and he utilises Kalgan's star's power to destroy the planet and the Armada. Dawn forces Gaal to reveal he was set up for the enclosure to fail, to bring the Empire's age to a close, in an attempt to return to psychohistory's intended timeline. Dawn sends a message to Dusk before he is attacked by a vengeful Tarisk and sucked out of an airlock into space. Demerzel boards Gaal's ship.

26

6

"The Shape of Time"

Christopher J. Byrne

Eric Carrasco & David S. Goyer

August 15, 2025 (2025-08-15)

The Mule states he has been tormented by what he now knows to be Gaal's face, and he must destroy her. Demerzel tells Gaal that Dawn has died. After a physical confrontation, Gaal tells Demerzel of the Second Foundation and her mentalic abilities, and her need to protect it from The Mule. Demerzel investigates Gaal's vision, revealing it to take place in the Imperial Library, and discovers that it incorporates the infrasonic signature of a black hole. Day explores an exotic marketplace in Mycogen and meets with Song, offering to restore deleted memories of their time together, but she refuses and insists that she wants nothing further to do with him. The ship carrying the Mallows and Magnifico arrives at New Terminus, where they are detained with Pritcher. Magnifico is allowed to play his visi-sonar instrument, unifying competing Foundation interests. An eclipse occurs, and the Vault opens as Foundation leaders gather there. Seldon appears and alludes to the Foundation's internal divisions and a merchant class; however, to their dismay, psychohistory did not predict the rise of the Mule, and Hari knows nothing of him. A hologram of the Mule appears and shows a battle in the skies above, as his forces attack New Terminus. Seldon withdraws and the Vault closes, while its visitors deal with the perils of the null field and aerial bombardment. Demerzel predicts that the Mule will capture the Foundation's whisper ships and put Trantor in peril.

27

7

"Foundation's End"

Christopher J. Byrne

Jane Espenson & Greg Goetz

August 22, 2025 (2025-08-22)

In flashbacks, a farmer's family on Rossem protects their infant child from the Foundation's assessors, who enforce calorific limits on its citizens; attempting to drown their older child to save the baby, the child's mental powers manifest and he ruthlessly kills them. In the present, New Terminus is torn apart by the Mule's forces, while Foundation ships attack each other as a result of the Mule's psychic influence. The Mule lands, victorious, and is met by Mayor Indbur's surrender. In Mycogen, under the effect of hallucinogens administered by Song, Day reveals his early interactions with Demerzel, who revealed she has had many past lives and names, including Eto and Daneel. Sunmaster-18, a spiritual leader, meets the captive Day. Dusk protects Quent, the Foundation ambassador and an old friend. Pritcher escapes from custody. Escaping in their ship, the Mallows are confronted by Randu, now a Mule convert; Toran escapes, while Bayta is captured and Randu is killed. Indbur drowns himself on the Mule's orders. At the Vault, Hari Seldon finally meets The Mule.

28

8

"Skin in the Game"

Roxann Dawson

Caitlin Parrish & Tyler Holmes

August 29, 2025 (2025-08-29)

The Mule seeks information about Gaal's location from Seldon at the Vault, but Hari uses the null field to demonstrate his powers and repel him. In the Mycogen sector, Day is tried by Sunmaster-18 in the Sacratorium; the trial includes performance art that recalls the role of robots in the Inheritance Sect, and Day learns that Daneel is their savior. Day is able to unwittingly initiate a digital handshake with a robot relic, while Sunmaster-18 sentences Day to death. Demerzel returns to Trantor, informing Dusk that Dawn is dead. With only two days until his demise, Dusk is met by a delegation from the Galactic Council, the Luminists, and the Cloud Dominion, who inform the outraged Dusk that they plan to give Trantor to the Mule, to preserve a more sustainable yet smaller Empire. Dusk attempts to talk Demerzel out of decanting new Cleons and tells her of his superweapon, the Novacula. Demerzel renounces her Luminist faith to Vorellis. Dawn wakes up in a hospital facility orbiting New Terminus, being treated for horrific injuries, alongside Bayta. The Mule visits, seeking information about Gaal. On Ignis, Gaal tells Palver that they must evacuate the Second Foundation because the Mule will use Han to find them. Gaal and a crew travel to New Terminus to confront the Mule.

29

9

"The Paths That Choose Us"

Roxann Dawson

Jane Espenson & Eric Carrasco

September 5, 2025 (2025-09-05)

Gaal and her followers capture New Terminus' warden, but the warden dies while Gaal probes her mind. Through scattered street fighting, Gaal, joined by Pritcher, is led to a hiding place where they find Toran, Ebling and Magnifico, who is still in thrall to the Mule. Day plummets into the catacombs beneath the Mycogen sector, but is freed by Song; Day escapes and kills Sunmaster-18 to obtain the robot head. During a conference with the Mule, Demerzel, Ambassador Quent and the three offworld representatives, Dusk withdraws the offer of Trantor and unleashes his Novacula weapon, destroying the homeworld of the Galactic Council, the minor planets of Cloud Dominion, and the Luminist faith's holy world, the Maiden. The Mule surmises that the Novacula cannot reach New Terminus. Demerzel reveals her uncertainty and distress to Dusk, while Quent confronts Dusk about the billions murdered by his weapon. Demerzel examines Kalle's Ninth Proof of Folding, enters the Prime Radiant, and meets Kalle herself, who tells her that Trantor's Library was a haven for survivors of the Robot Wars. Gaal and her followers visit the Vault Seldon. Hari agrees to help her reach the Mule, under condition that he is to be taken to the other Seldon, unaware the latter is already dead.

30

10

"The Darkness"

Roxann Dawson

Jane Espenson & David S. Goyer

September 12, 2025 (2025-09-12)

Day returns to the palace and presents Demerzel with the robot head from the Inheritance cult. On New Terminus, Gaal and her forces attack the Mule, using the Vault to travel to the orbital station. As Seldon provides a distraction, Gaal confronts the Mule that she knows, a mental battle that leaves him dead from her blade. She soon realizes that he was only a cypher; the real Mule is still alive and is actually Bayta Mallow. Controlled by Bayta, Pritcher shoots Gaal and prepares her for conversion, but Bayta is instead overwhelmed by the music from Magnifico's visi-sonar, allowing Gaal to re-board her ship and escape the station. Vault Seldon realizes Gaal has lied to him in promising him a physical body. On Trantor, a now deranged Dusk destroys the successor chamber, preserving only a single baby, which later dies along with Demerzel, who is programmed to try to save the child by any means necessary. Now in possession of the Prime Radiant and free of Demerzel's influence, Dusk murders Day, believing Seldon's prophesied fall of Empire meant his rise to lead the Empire himself as Brother Darkness. However, acting on Demerzel's final instruction, Quent presents Kalle's book to the librarian Nee Tellamarus, who along with Palver welcomes her into the Second Foundation, now in hiding on Trantor itself. The robot head recovered from Mycogen activates and sends a clasping signal to another part of the galaxy, which is received by Kalle, revealed to be in hiding with other robots on the Moon orbiting the long-lost Earth.

1

72% (89 reviews)

62 (25 reviews)

2

100% (26 reviews)

79 (6 reviews)

3

91% (22 reviews)

83 (9 reviews)

Art Directors Guild Awards

March 5, 2022

Excellence in Production Design for a One-Hour Period or Fantasy Single-Camera Series

Rory Cheyne (for "The Emperor's Peace")

Nominated

Visual Effects Society Awards

March 8, 2022

Outstanding Visual Effects in a Photoreal Episode

Chris MacLean, Addie Manis, Mike Enriquez, Chris Keller, Paul Byrne (for "The Emperor's Peace")

Won

Outstanding Created Environment in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

Samuel Simanjuntak, Melaina Mace, Benjamin Ruiz, Alessandro Vastalegna (for "Trantor Cityscape")

Nominated

Outstanding Effects Simulations in an Episode, Commercial, or Real-Time Project

Giovanni Casadei, Mikel Zuloaga, Steven Moor, Louis Manjarres (for "Collapse of the Galactic Empire")

Won

Golden Reel Awards

March 13, 2022

Outstanding Achievement in Sound Editing – Series 1 Hour – Comedy or Drama – Dialogue and ADR

Tyler Whitham, Paul Germann, Dave Rose, Steve Baine (for "The Emperor's Peace")

Nominated

Critics' Choice Super Awards

March 17, 2022

Best Science Fiction/Fantasy Series

Foundation

Nominated

Best Actor in a Science Fiction/Fantasy Series

Jared Harris

Nominated

Lee Pace

Nominated

American Society of Cinematographers Awards

March 20, 2022

Outstanding Achievement in Cinematography in Motion Picture, Limited Series, or Pilot Made for Television

Stevie Annis (for "The Emperor's Peace")

Nominated

Primetime Creative Arts Emmy Awards

September 3–4, 2022

Outstanding Main Title Design

Ronnie Koff, Zach Kilroy, Danil Krivoruchko, James Gardner, Brandon Savoy

Nominated

Outstanding Special Visual Effects in a Season or a Movie

Chris MacLean, Addie Manis, Mike Enriquez, Victoria Keeling, Chris Keller, Jess Brown, Nicholas Hernandez, Richard Clegg

Nominated