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Apple TV+'s Foundation is a show that deals with intelligence, mathematical talent, and superhuman consciousness. These themes are perhaps the main characters, who are also distinguished by how their brains work.
This premise is why Emperor Cleon, or Brother Day, appears to be a significant character. He is a different presence in the show in that he is not an expert mathematician or a seasoned fortune teller. But to Lee Pace, this view is not a full understanding. Pace has a better backstory that may connect some dots.
Lee Pace of Foundation has an interesting context for his character's human intelligence
The tale of Foundation stems from Isaac Asimov’s popular science fiction stories. The story unfolds when the universe is ruled by the Galactic Empire with a genetic empire of cloned emperors.
At the heart of the show's plot is a mathematician named Hari Seldon, who uses psychohistory skills to predict the downfall of the Galactic Empire. While incidents happen across centuries, the core conflicts remain over power, autonomy, and intelligence.
Most of the Foundation’s central figures rely on their brilliance, and it's quite palpable.
Foundation usually treats intelligence as something measurable and planned. Cleon doesn’t work that way. According to Pace, Brother Day is an instinct-led character who likes to take a moment and reflect first, then react. This one of Cleon's qualities puts him at odds with the show’s more openly cerebral figures without making him less capable.
Pace explained to Wire about his decision-making:
“I feel like what is true about Cleon is that he's got this instinct of, That's the right way. That's it. That's my opportunity. He puts himself in trouble in messy situations, and then he gets a hunch. I'm gonna follow that. He does, and most of the time it works out for him.”
Pace has noted that Foundation is deeply intelligent, whichever form it may manifest in. Cleon stands apart because in a story where everyone trusts data, he trusts his gut and instinct.
This is a trait that ultimately guides him to one of the most important discoveries, including the truth about Demerzel’s long-hidden sacrifices. In Season 3, this trait sharpens and exposes Cleon’s emotional instability. Despite ruling trillions, Pace describes him as deeply unsettled:
“What I've unlocked, what I found to be really true about him, is that he's a mess. He's human and deeply flawed. He thought he was the hero of the story, but in reality there was another hero, and he was the bad guy and he didn't even consider it.”
That realization fractures Cleon’s self-image. No amount of power can prevent him from being fractured and encountering the truth.
A crucial part of this internal framing comes from Cleon’s cloned nature. Pace explains this vividly:
“That goes back to the inherited nature of Cleon is that he gets this hunch of, I'm gonna get out of the palace, and I don't know what I'm going to find there, but I have a good feeling about it. [...] Although it's not rationality in any way, it's not logic, I do think it describes a kind of intelligence.”
The Foundation Season 3 has an interesting ensemble. The main cast includes:
- Jared Harris plays Hari Seldon
- Lou Llobell plays Gaal Dornick
- Laura Birn plays Demerzel
- Lee Pace plays Brother Day
- Terrence Mann plays Brother Dusk
- Cassian Bilton plays Brother Dawn
- Pilou Asbæk plays The Mule
- Alexander Siddig as Dr. Ebling Mis
- Troy Kotsur as Preem Palver
- Cherry Jones as Foundation Ambassador Quent
- Synnøve Karlsen as Bayta Mallow
- Cody Fern as Toran Mallow
- Brandon P. Bell as Han Pritcher
- Tómas Lemarquis as Magnifico Giganticus
- Yootha Wong-Loi-Sing as Song
- Leo Bill as Mayor Indbur
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Foundation Season 3 aired last year on July 11. The season launched with its first episode on that date, with new episodes released weekly on Fridays.
The series followed Apple TV+'s standard rollout pattern, meaning episodes were not released as a full box set.
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