These 7 Demerzel moments from Foundation will remain in the hearts of fans forever

Apple TV’s sci-fi series, Foundation, brought the fascinating story from Isaac Asimov’s novel series. Premiered in 2021, the show narrates the story of the genetic dynasty of Cleons, collectively known as the empire, and its conflicts with the newly formed Foundation, which consists of Hari Seldon, who predicted the fall of the empire, and his followers.

While the three Cleons and Hari are among the most important characters, it is Demerzel (Laura Birn) who often steals the show. The thousands-of-years-old humanoid, who is programmed to serve the Cleon clones, has shown more emotional range through her restraints than any other character. The humanoid has seen everything, remembers everything, and still has to commit to inhumane tasks.

The awareness and her inability to do the needful make Demerzel a character that has garnered the sympathy and love of global fans who love Foundation.

Here’s a list of 7 Demerzel moments from Foundation that have made the character one of the fan-favorites.

Disclaimer: This article contains the writer's opinion and spoilers. Reader's discretion is advised.

These 7 Demerzel moments from Foundation will remain in the hearts of fans forever

7) Demerzel kills Halima (Season 1, Episode 8)

Laura Birn in Foundation | Image via Skydance Television

As an AI who has to follow every order the Cleons give her, Demerzel is left with nothing but guilt and sorrow. In Episode 8 of Foundation Season 1, after tricking everyone in Maiden about a prophetic vision, he is given the power to handle Halima.

To do that, he sends none other than Demerzel, who had to poison the person she respects the most by letting her touch her as they held hands. Through this, Demerzel poisoned Halima, and it is also revealed that she is unable to take a different path from serving the Cleons due to her programming.

Demerzel’s emotions couldn’t be hidden anymore as sorrow and guilt engulf her after what she did to Halima, making her a complex character, who, while appearing as an anti-hero, has more emotions that make her human rather than an AI.

6) Demerzel kills one of the Cleons (Season 1, Episode 10)

Scene from Foundation | Image via YouTube/Apple TV

The season 1 finale brought Demerzel to the far end of her meltdown that she had been going into under brother Day’s command. After discovering Dawn’s adulteration, the other Dynasty duo begins to bicker about how to handle the situation.

However, it doesn’t take much time for Demerzel to decide, as she snaps Dawn’s neck and kills him. While it might be due to Dawn becoming a threat to the purity of the Dynasty, it was not an easy decision for Demerzel to kill one of the Cleons.

Demerzel later rips off her own flesh, revealing her robot body. This moment depicts all the brutal deeds, from killing Halima to Dawn catching up to her. She is angry, grieving, and helpless at the same time, making her one of the best characters with so much depth that you won’t be able to resist becoming a fan of her.

5) The revelation of Demerzel’s origin (Season 2, Episode 9)

Laura Birn in Foundation | Image via YouTube/Apple TV

In Foundation Season 2 Episode 9, we are introduced to how the Cleons got hold of Demerzel. We are taken back to the past where a young Cleon I encounters the dismembered Demerzel for the first time in a secret passage.

To manipulate him, Demerzel kept telling him stories about historical wars, intriguing the curious prince. After he becomes older, he frees Demerzel, who lets him put a program on her that would stop her from attacking any of the Cleons and serve them for eternity.

As a robot general, Demerzel has led many wars, but in a moment of gratitude, she gives her life to the Cleon servitude, which, as we have seen, made her unable to decide for herself, even when she wanted to. In addition, this episode also reveals that Cleon I intended for Demerzel to be his successor.

A backstory that adds depth to Demerzel’s character while also showing us how she became the Dynasty’s majordomo is another of the best moments of Demerzel from Foundation.

4) Demerzel shows brother Day his place (Season 2, Episode 9)

While this episode was terrifying due to the genocide that Brother Day committed on Terminus, it was also one of those rare Foundation episodes where we see Demerzel, keeping the arrogant Brother Day in place. As she leaves Brother Day to go back to Trantor, which confuses Day, as she was supposed to do whatever he wanted her to do.

However, she reveals that she has some urgent work and has been making these kinds of abrupt decisions for centuries, and does not require his permission. With Day complaining about Demerzel’s behavior and his superiority over her, she utters one of the best lines of the series and says:

"You’re a sperm, led by its waving flagellum, mistaking its random motion for complexity."

3) Demerzel wants to save humanity (Season 3, episode 1)

In the first episode of Foundation Season 3, after figuring out the Prime Radiant, Demerzel finds out that the dynasty is close to being eradicated. She relays this information to Zephyr Voralis.

In this episode, Demerzel reveals her clear motives to follow the four laws of robotics and keep human beings away from harm’s way. Once a part of the human robot war, Demerzel has evolved over the thousands of years of her survival and is ready to do everything to follow the laws, including the one about her keeping the Dynasty safe.

2) Demerzel tells Day about erasing Song’s memories (Season 3, Episode 3)

When it comes to displaying muted emotions but still depicting what one feels within themselves, Laura Birn’s Demerzel shines through in Foundation.

In the third episode of season 3, she tells Day that Song came from a religious sect that believed in robots being the only resort that would eradicate everything that harms a human, and worshipped them.

While she relays this information, Demerzel’s expression becomes grim as she knows within herself that she also still believes in a safe world for humans, but still had to erase Song’s memories to hide her true identity.

This scene again reminds me of Demerzel being imprisoned in her own skin due to Cleon I’s programming and her inability to work on something that she, just like Song, believes in, giving us another terrific moment of Demerzel's dual nature.

1) Demerzel confesses to her involvement in the Star Bridge attack (Season 3, Episode 4)

The latest episode of Foundation season 3 gave us one of the most shocking twists. Demerzel reveals that the attack on the Star Bridge was her idea for the benefit of the Dynasty and to save Hari, so that he forms the Foundation. She is revealed to be living with the painful memories of the human lives lost in the attack, which occurred due to her new programming of serving the Dynasty.

The episode also highlighted that, as seen by Zephyr Vorellis, Demerzel has been going through a process of being reborn, just like humans are perceived to be, and also has a soul (or an evolving programming), which explains the duality of her nature where she commits inhumane acts but also can feel the grief.