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Foundation, the 2021 American sci-fi series, premiered on Apple TV+, on the 24th of September, 2021. The series is an adaptation of the books written by Issac Asimov, and it has managed to pull the viewers into a galaxy where empires rise and fall under the weight of inevitability.
Foundation, by all means hasn’t simply adapted the story, it has gone further and beyond by reimagining it, breathing new life into old pages. Asimov’s legacy has been given a new medium to expand, reach, and crave more than ordinary sci-fi. Foundation, in essence doesn’t just retell his story, it transforms it into a visual and emotional experience that mirrors the scale of his imagination, making the show absolutely unforgettable.
Here is a list of 10 moments from Foundation that will always remain fan favourites.
The Star Bridge destruction (Episode 1, Season 1 of Foundation)
The opening episode of Foundation, named “The Emperor’s Peace”, sets the tone for the show’s massive scale and philosophical stakes. In this episode, we as viewers get introduced to the central conflict, The Galactic Empire, the way it is so seemingly eternal, and how it has been predicted to collapse by the psychohistorian, Hari Seldon.
The highlight or the standout element of the show is the Star Bridge destruction, which is a terrorist attack on Trantor’s massive orbital elevator, which visually underlines Seldon’s prediction. It’s an absolute masterclass in worldbuilding, it introduces Cleon's eerie cloning dynasty, Trantor’s endless city planet, and the mortal weight of predicting doom. The destruction of the Star Bridge was a foreshadowing of the fruition of Seldon’s predictions for The Galactic Empire. Viewers witnessed breathtaking visuals as explosions tore through the Star Bridge’s massive structure, turning its collapse into one of the series’ most unforgettable moments.
First view of the Vault (Episode 3, Season 1 of Foundation)
The third episode of the first season of Foundation named, “The Mathematician’s Ghost”, focuses on the arrival of the colonists on Terminus and how they encounter the mysterious Vault, which happens to be surrounded by a null field that knocks them unconscious. The Vault is actually an enigmatic artifact, and the null field around it repels all life, except for Salvor Hardin, the Warden of the Terminus, who has the power to pass through it. Salvor, while investigating the Vault, finds out that the null field is expanding and that someone happens to be trespassing, this expansion further threatens the Foundation colony, and indicates an impending crisis.
The Vault’s eerie, and somewhat otherworldly presence, adds a sense of ancient mystery and destiny. Salvor goes on to encounter a mysterious figure near the old ship and decides to follow them. This eventually leads to the discovery of the arrival of Anacreon ships. This episode highlights the impending crisis at hand and how the Foundation isn’t at all prepared for it. The fact that Salvor stands alone before the Vault, with a rifle in her hand, unshaken, shocks the other settlers. This is the episode in Foundation that makes the viewers fully in sync with the storyline for the Foundation’s future and makes it unforgettable without a doubt.
Demerzel is Cleon’s heir (Episode 8, Season 2 of Foundation)
In the episode named, “The Last Empress”, which aired on September 1, 2023, several key plot developments unfolded. The episode focused on the growing distrust in Demerzel, particularly by Enjoiner Rue, who confided in Dusk about her. In the same episode, a major revelation regarding Demerzel took place, when Dusk and Rue sought to uncover a hidden room revealing a hologram of Cleon I, and ultimately this leads to Demerzel getting exposed as the true heir of Cleon.
This revelation added a new layer of complexity to Demerzel’s character and her role in the story. The audience doesn't find out about this connection that Demerzel has with Cleon until the finale of season two, but in this episode when it finally gets revealed it makes the episode stand out. The moment the discovery about the connection is made, the show takes a different turn, for it’s clear that Demerzel’s storyline is about to change and her character is all set to face a fresh set of complications in the upcoming season of Foundation, owing to her utmost loyalty towards the Cleons, making this an absolutely unforgettable moment.
Demerzel’s conflicted loyalty (Episode 10, Season 1 of Foundation)
In the 7th episode of the first season of Foundation named, “Mysteries and Martyrs,” the main focus lies on Demerzel’s loyalty towards the Galactic Empire, and not in the least bit towards the current ruler, or Cleon in this case. In the season finale, named, ‘The Leap’, we see this theory actually being explored, when Demerzel kills Dawn after the rebels tamper with his genetic makeup, which made him a potential threat to the Cleon dynasty.
The change in the genetic makeup makes him completely different from the other Cleons, and both Brother Day, and Brother Dusk see him as a contamination that needs to be removed. Demerzel is ordered to carry out this execution. In this episode, Dawn pleads with Demerzel to kill him, but she goes on to do it anyway by betraying his trust. She kills him by breaking his neck. Prior to this, when Dawn had come to her to seek protection, she hugged him and promised that she wouldn’t let his brothers kill him, but then in the very next moment, she snapped his neck and killed him instantly. This action left both Day and Dusk in shock, leaving them to realise that Demerzel was capable of betraying even the ones she seemed to protect in order to save the fate of the Galactic Empire. As twisted as this was, this shed light on the complicated layers of Demerzel’s character, making it an absolutely unforgettable moment for the fans.
Brother Day fights off assassins (Episode 2, Season 2 of Foundation)
The second episode in Foundation, titled “Glimpse of Darkness”, focuses on the failed assassination attempt that Brother Day encounters and a subsequent naked fight. The near-death experience and the revelation that the Foundation is actually still active solidify Day’s determination to eliminate any sort of threat to his dynasty. The scene where Brother Day fights the assassin was originally used as a teaser for the season two promo, but the actual episode, and the scene in it, make it even more intriguing. The scene can be duly credited for its remarkability to showcase the show’s visual language, lighting, and cinematography, besides other things. The actual significance of this scene doesn’t come to light until the very end of the series, but for obvious reasons, Brother Day is furious about the fact that anyone even dared to send an assassin after him. It gets revealed later that it was in fact Demerzel who sent the assassin to kill Day, because Day had the intention to marry and have an heir which would compromise the future of the Empire, and thus this scene further became even more unforgettable for the underlying meaning i.e., Demerzel’s loyalty lies solely with the Empire, and has got nothing to do with the Cleons.
Hari is killed by Raych (Episode 2, Season 1 of Foundation)
In the second episode of season 1, Hari Seldon is killed by his adopted son, Ryach Foss. Raych used to be one of Hari’s closest confidants, and he began a relationship with Gaal soon after they met. He kills Hari in the second episode of the show, and gets sentenced to death for his crimes. This unnecessary killing leaves the audience confused about the reason why Raych decided to betray Hari like this. But it gets revealed later that it was Hari’s plan from the beginning, since he knew that he’d be dying soon anyway, he decided to encash this fact in order to get elevated to the status of a martyr.
Gaal feels immensely betrayed by Raych, upon witnessing Hari’s death at the hands of Raych. This scene in Foundation sets the tone for the rest of the series and makes the audience aware of the fact that any character, be it a lead or support, is vulnerable, and that the narrative was just getting started; there were several more twists and turns in store.
Salvor is Gaal’s daughter (Episode 10, Season 1 of Foundation)
Salvor kept getting visions of Raych and Gaal, and this led her to believe that she needed to find Gaal to uncover the truth behind the visions. It wasn’t until the season finale that the truth about her lineage came to light. It is revealed that she is in fact, the daughter of Raych and Gaal, who had plans for raising her together when they arrived on Terminus. What makes the scene completely stand out is the fact that the mother and daughter are of the same age, since Gaal had been in cryosleep.
This revelation came as just as much of a shock for the audience as it was for Salvor herself. The revelation further explained Salvor’s unique abilities and her connections to Gaal’s visions. She further learnt that she was conceived on the slow ship by Raych and Gaal, with the help of a donor. It was Mari who carried Salvor to term after she as an embryo was safeguarded on the Deliverance.
Gaal’s vision of the future and the death of Salvor (Episode 2, Season 2 of Foundation)
Gaal starts getting visions, and she doesn’t understand how to make sense of those; she fears their power and the answers they hold. Hari, on the other hand is keen on using these visions, and intends to see the Foundation’s path in the future, and pressures her to go even further and discover their fate. Gaal does as Hari asks her and delves deep into her visions, only to find that there is a war at play, and she gets visuals of hardship, devastation, along with something extremely disturbing: the death of her daughter, Salvor. She finds out that Salvor was fated to die at the hands of The Mule, who happens to be a mentalic.
But, regardless of this inexplicably exquisite skill of hers, the visions couldn’t always be trusted. This moment is significant because it emphasizes the fact that fate can’t always be prejudged or known beforehand, even if one has otherworldly skills to predict it. Gaal’s vision got proven wrong when Salvor did die, but way before Gaal had predicted and not at the hands of The Mule. This incident takes place by the end of season 2.
Gaal and Hari’s audience with The Empire (Episode 1, Season 1 of Foundation)
The first episode of Foundation, presented the audience with a backstory for Gaal and shed light on the diabolical nature of Hari, letting the audience know about his plans. Gaal is asked by Hari to come to Trantor after she gets noticed by him for solving a complex math equation. Gaal finds herself in the heart of danger for her connections with Hari, but she soon realises her purpose and how it is important to save the universe from destruction.
The central conflict of this episode lay in the question of whether or not Gaal was to appear with Hari before the Emperors, so his claims that the future was heading for an extended period of war and darkness could be backed up. Gaal eventually decides to back Hari up for his claims about the destruction of the future. This episode sets the tone for the rest of the show.
The population of Terminus is in The Vault (Episode 10, Season 2 of Foundation)
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The season finale of the show “Foundation”, revealed that the audience still had reasons to hope for a better outcome for Hari, Gaal, and the Foundation. Invictus got released on the planet’s surface, and the population of Terminus needed saving from it. They decided to stay inside the Vault, and that’s how they managed to save themselves. The earlier episodes have revealed that the Vault was capable of altering and transforming matter. This meant that the safety of the Foundation was related to the safety of the Vault. This was Hari Seldon’s plan all throughout; he intended to sacrifice the planet Terminus in order to save the Foundation’s people. The Vault acts as a time stasis, which can preserve the population and allow them to survive in the future seasons. This was, without a doubt, a great season finale, making the season absolutely phenomenal. The visual of the entire population being safe in the Vault, is unforgettable because it’s visually breathtaking, and undoubtedly symbolically loaded and this moment fulfils a promise the show had teased since its very first episode.
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