I spoke to the cast of 'Foundation' season 3 about last week's shocking moment and tomorrow's epic finale

"Foundation" season 3 has arguably delivered everything Apple TV Plus could want from this formerly "unfilmable" sci-fi epic. A quick look at the Rotten Tomatoes rating for the season shows an impressive 90% "fresh" rating from critics and a 77% from audiences, which is the best yet for the show across its three seasons so far.

Having watched season 3's nine episodes to date, I've been impressed with what the show has managed to accomplish this season, with episode 7 and last week's penultimate episode particularly impressing me.

I got to talk to some of the cast of Foundation earlier in the year to preview season 3, but at that point, I had already watched screeners for every episode, excluding this week's season finale. So I decided to ask them about last week's shocking moment and what to expect from this week's (hopefully) epic season finale.

Spoilers for "Foundation" season 3 episodes 1-9 ahead

Terrence Mann on why Brother Dusk unleashes the Black Hole Bomb

First, let's focus on last week's penultimate episode, which, aside from episode 7's reveal of the Mule's backstory, provided the most stunning moment of the season to date. In it, Terrence Mann's Brother Dusk is dealing with the fact that those around him are about to sell him out to the Mule in exchange for his promise not to utterly destroy Empire. It's revealed that they promised the Mule Trantor, as well as Brother Dusk, as part of the deal.

So Dusk takes matters into his own hands and unleashes a black hole bomb on the worlds of those who were about to betray him. In an instant, those worlds and everyone on them are gone, and even the Mule is dissuaded from pursuing Trantor further for now, instead refocusing his attention back onto the newly conquered Foundation on New Terminus.

But when I asked Terrence Mann about why his Dusk unleashes this horror on the galaxy, he declared it wasn't about self-preservation — but instead, it was about love for his brother.

"Now, why does he unleash the Black Hole Bomb?" Mann asked me. "Because that’s the last option. It was just going to be a deterrent. When he hears that Dawn has died, all bets are off. He’s now in a rage. He is King Lear on the mountaintop, on the ledge, going 'Rage! Blow, winds, and crack your cheeks! I’m going to fuck it up now. All bets are off, I’ve lost the only thing I’ve loved the most.'"

As we know, though, Dawn isn't dead. Instead, the Mule has him, making Dawn a key pawn in the Mule's efforts to conquer the known galaxy. It remains to be seen if the Mule springs a trap with his pawn in the season finale, or if he's too wary of Dusk's world-breaking weapon to make a move just yet.

Hopefully, season 3 ends on a high note — and leads to a season 4

As for what the Mule might do in the season finale, I asked Pilou Asbæk about his character's planned endgame for season 3.

"If you read the books, you’ll know that Asimov is not a very optimistic person regarding how we treat the world, " he explained. "Out of Empire came Foundation. Out of Foundation and Empire came the Mule. And chaos will end up ruling if there’s no order. And those two worlds need to collaborate to bring order back. Because Mule, he does not accept the order that the world is living under, now, at this moment. And therefore it justifies his role in the story and in the series."

In short, neither Empire nor Foundation can survive if the Mule is to be satisfied. Both have brought him the pain and trauma that we saw laid out in episode 7. He thinks he has Foundation beat, and is at a temporary impasse with Empire. But Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) also haunts his thoughts, and she's now right on his doorstep.

She's not alone either. The copy of Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) in the Vault on New Terminus is with her and is helping spring a trap on the Mule. But in return, he wants the one thing he doesn't currently have: a physical form.

Unfortunately, Llobell and Harris's defenses were nearly as difficult to penetrate as Seldon's vault when I tried to pry some information about the upcoming finale. "You’ll be holding your breath," was all Llobell would tell me. "You’ll be holding your breath for the entirety of the episode, I think." Harris was even more tight-lipped, saying that to reveal Seldon's plans would risk tipping "where story might go in the future."

I hope the story does have somewhere to go in the future. Having some knowledge of Isaac Asimov's "Foundation" series of books, I am expecting a massive twist to be revealed in tomorrow's finale, but I'm unsure if this season will fully close the chapter of "Foundation," the TV series, that was begun with the Mule's arrival.

I hope it does, though, because at present, the show still hasn't been renewed for season 4. Reporting earlier in the year from Deadline said a writers' room was "underway" and that a renewal was likely, but I haven't heard anything since to confirm or deny a potential "Foundation" season 4. Hopefully, after the season 3 finale, we'll not only know the Mule's fate, but the fate of the show as well.

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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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