Gaal and Salvor were still stuck on Ignis, and in the previous episode of Foundation, we saw how they had conflicting views about how they should be going about things. Tellem, on the other hand, had some other plans that she hadn’t told anyone about. Poly and Constant were on death row in Trantor and Hober Mallow was still out there, as he had managed to escape after he was taken into custody by the spacers and then Bel Rios. So, let’s find out what happened in Foundation Season 2 Episode 8 and how the recent occurrences impact the predictions made by Seldon for the future.
Spoiler Alert
How Did Hober Mallow Save Brother Constant?
Poly Verisof and Brother Constant, after being caught in the seventh episode of Foundation Season 2, were going to be executed, as Brother Day wanted to set a precedent and let everybody know what happens if one tries to go against the Empire. Poly and Constant were peace emissaries, and they had come to form a peaceful alliance with the Empire, but they were still Hari Seldon’s men at the end of the day, whom Brother Day despised. Brother Day had decided that the execution would be broad-beamed through all planets so that people would think twice before trying to go against the Empire.
Constant started saying her prayers, and back at Terminus, her father, Sermak, stood in front of the virtual screen, hoping that some miracle would happen and he would be able to see his daughter once again. Sermak’s prayers were answered as Hober Mallow made a dramatic entry in his whisper ship, which caused a tremor that threw everybody off balance. Hober had come back to save his fellow Terminus residents. Becky also came down from the ship and wreaked havoc on the guards who were trying to stop Hober Mallow.
There was a moment in Foundation Episode 8 where we felt like Becky was going to kill Brother Day, but the royal guards got to her before that and killed the beast. For the first time, it felt like the Empire was not infallible. Fear was evidently visible in the eyes of Brother Day when he came face-to-face with Becky. Brother Day was petrified, and it brought about a change in his war strategy as he decided to go to the Terminus and have a talk with the people there. He said that he was not scared of change and that he wanted to see what was going on in the Outer Reach himself. Meanwhile, Hober Mallow and Brother Constant indulged in an intimate moment, something that we did expect to happen. But the party was spoiled by the arrival of an unwanted guest. Belrios had finally gotten the better of Hober Mallow, and he took control of his whisper shop and took Mallow and Constant under arrest.
What Did Tellem Want From Gaal?
Gaal was being kept in a sort of mental prison, just like Salvor Hardin, and at the beginning of the episode, we didn’t know what it was that Tellem wanted to achieve through that. Gaal had really changed after she learned to harness her power. All this time, she knew that Hari Seldon was dead, yet she didn’t say a word to Salvor Hardin. Josiah, the little kid, went to see Salvor Hardin and told her that Gaal was being taken to a place called the table. Salvor had no clue what it was, but she had a hunch that something bad was going to happen to Gaal. Salvor remembered what Hari Seldon had told her about the prime radiant and how another copy of him existed inside the vault.
Salvor Hardin had the radiant with her, and she used it to project her digitized version inside the vault and have a conversation with the second Hari Seldon. This version of Hari Seldon had no clue that he was a copy or that another Hari Seldon existed in the world. Salvor told him about the ongoing situation and how she needed his help to escape from that mental prison. Hari Seldon was surprised beyond any measure as he slowly figured out everything. He asked Salvor to be very cautious about not telling him something that she shouldn’t, according to the psychohistory. But Salvor did tell him about Hober Mallow and how Gaal had seen that he would bring down the Empire. Hari Seldon wrote the name of Hober Mallow on his table, and it appeared on the outside walls of the vault, just like it had earlier when Poly and Constant were sent to rescue him.
We realized in Foundation episode 8 that Tellem wanted to take all the powers of Gaal, which is why she had been training her to become more powerful. Tellem told Gaal that with time, her body had grown weak and fragile, and that’s when she selected a child and, in a way, embodied them. Gaal was tied to the table, and she was petrified, not knowing if she would live or die after that process. Tellem assured her that she kept visiting those children whose powers she overtook, but they probably ceased to exist in physical form after that. Meanwhile, Salvor has found a way to escape the mental prison, and we hope that in the next episode, she will be able to find Gaal and save her life.
What Was Demerzel Hiding From The Brothers?
Queen Sareth wanted Brother Day to go to Terminus so that she would have time to conspire with Brother Dawn and get to know more about the Empire. Sareth took two pigeons with one bean; at one end, she vouched for Brother Day when nobody supported his decision and gave a testament of her loyalty, and on the other hand, she was able to send him away to a place where she knew that he might not return alive from. Demerzel saw through her intentions, but she knew that it was not right to speak against her. Rue Corintha wanted Sareth to talk about the implications of having an affair with Brother Dawn, but Sareth was in no mood to listen to her. Rue’s point of view was that if she was able to ascertain that something was happening between her and Dawn, then it wouldn’t take long for Demerzel and Brother Day to know about it. Sareth once again met Dawn secretly after Brother Day left, and they indulged in an intimate moment, expressing their love for each other.
Sareth was entertaining the possibility that Brother Day might never return from Terminus, but Dawn told her that he couldn’t think like that because, at the end of the day, they were still his brothers. He said that Demerzel would protect the genetic dynasty at all costs because he was programmed to do that. That’s when it came to Sareth’s mind that someone would have programmed Demerzel, too. Brother Dawn figured out that Demerzel only had one true master, i.e., Cleon I, and for all these years, she had been serving only him and not the genetic dynasty. In Foundation episode 8’s ending, Rue and Brother Dusk entered a secret passageway that existed behind the chroma wall paintings. He told Rue that Demerzel had made great efforts to keep it a secret from everyone else.
Rue and Dusk, just like Queen Sareth, wanted to know about Demerzel’s origin. They met a projection of Cleon I inside the secret passageway, who told Rue and Dusk that the place, among many other things, was a prison. It was then that we realized that Demerzel was the one true heir of Cleon 1, and all this time, she had been carrying out her duties in the capacity of the first empress. This revelation completely changes the dynamics, and it would be interesting to see what Brother Dusk and Dawn are going to do with it. Sareth also realized that her real battle wasn’t against Brother Day but against Demerzel, who was way more powerful than she had expected her to be. The genetic dynasty was being controlled by Demerzel, and people until now thought that she was the puppet who was acting on the orders of her masters. In the upcoming episodes, we will get to know what impact this realization has on Sareth’s strategy and if Gaal, back at Ignis, is able to get the better of Tellem.
