I was stunned by 'Foundation' season 3 and the twist that even I couldn't see coming

When I talked to the cast of "Foundation" season 3 earlier this year, there was a critical piece of information I was missing — I hadn't seen the season finale. I had watched screeners for the other nine episodes in the season, but the powers that be weren't giving out screeners for episode 10 just yet. When I tried to pry some details from the cast members, I didn't get much, other than this one word of warning from show star Lou Llobell.

"You’ll be holding your breath for the entirety of the episode, I think."

While I think I thankfully managed to remember to breathe during most of the nearly hour-long finale, there were more than a few moments where I was fully engrossed in the episode. I now get why everyone was tight-lipped about the finale. It's easily the best episode of the series so far, and it does what this show does best. This show succeeds because the writers aren't afraid to take Asimov's existing source material, which was constructed as a centuries-long history of an entire civilization, and turn it into a story more appropriate for television. In this episode, the show yet again took a massive swing on a major change from the "Foundation" novels, and it paid off.

If you haven't seen the season 3 finale, head over to Apple TV Plus and check out "Foundation" right now. Even if you're a fan of the Isaac Asimov books and think you know exactly what's coming, I promise you, you don't.

Spoilers for "Foundation" season 3 episode 10 ahead

The decision to break free from its source material pays off for 'Foundation' yet again

If you've been watching "Foundation" season 3, you're someone who falls into one of two camps: Either you know who the Mule really is, or you don't. The character was first introduced in the novella "The Mule" in the novel "Foundation and Empire," and the reveal of the Mule's true identity is a major twist in that particular story.

So if you were someone who read those stories, you've been waiting all season for the reveal that (spoilers) Magnifico Giganticus is the Mule, and not the Mule's former jester. From the moment you see Tómas Lemarquis on screen as Magnifico in episode 3, "When a Book Finds You," if you're an Asimov fan, you're primed for the twist that Magnifico will eventually be revealed as the Mule.

But "Foundation," the show, has succeeded in no small part because it's been unafraid to deviate from the source material, most famously with the creation of the Cleonic Dynasty of clones. If you've seen the season 3 finale, you know that the show's writers deviated yet again, revealing that Bayta (Synnøve Karlsen) was the Mule all along, and not Magnifico.

That's a massive shift from the novels, where Bayta is the person who ultimately plays a major part in preventing the Mule from discovering the Second Foundation. This decision left me floored, and I'm so pleased that the show writers managed to keep the Mule's deception a major part of the story while still keeping fans of the source material on their toes.

'Foundation' is officially back for season 4, making the season 3 finale that much sweeter

The reveal of Bayta as the Mule wasn't the only major twist in the season 3 finale. We also witnessed Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) make an incredible heel turn to become the villainous Brother Darkness, ending the Cleonic Dynasty with a flood of cloned body parts raining from the sky and the deaths of Brother Day (Lee Pace) and Lady Demerzel (Laura Birn). Of course, he doesn't realize that Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) is still alive, meaning that Darkness has not fully overtaken the Empire just yet.

But the most shocking twist of all might have been in the show's final moments. The robot head that Brother Day had absconded from Mycogen started to call out into the universe, and the call was answered. We learned that not only are the robots not all gone, but that at least some of them are still on a lunar base ... just a mere 238,000 or so miles from Earth.

Making it to Earth is the endgame of Asimov's "Foundation" series, so it's no surprise that it's also been in the plans of the show's producers and writers. But in the books, a return to Earth is still hundreds of years away. I was surprised to see this reveal so soon, as in theory, it could have come in the show's final chapters.

We know now that season 3 won't be the show's final chapter. Apple renewed it for season 4 mere hours before the finale, making it so that we should now get to see how the Mule's story ends next season. The question remains, though, will we also start to make a journey back to humanity's home in season 4 as well? Given "Foundation" is unafraid of diverging from its source material time and time again, I won't bet against it, and that leaves me excited for what is to come.

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Malcolm McMillan

Malcolm has been with Tom's Guide since 2022, and has been covering the latest in streaming shows and movies since 2023. He's not one to shy away from a hot take, including that "John Wick" is one of the four greatest films ever made.

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