In the 7th episode of Foundation Season 3, the Mule invaded New Terminus. Pritcher tried to kill him but failed, and he went into hiding. The Mule killed Indbur and became the mayor of New Terminus. He turned Randu against Toran, and while Toran managed to escape as well, the Mule’s army captured Bayta, thereby separating the newly married couple. Amidst all this chaos and carnage, we got to learn about the Mule’s backstory. He used to be a resident of Rossem. His parents were Orvi and Hennet, and he had a baby brother. The Foundation had imposed a one-child policy on Rossem. Hence, Orvi and Hennet decided to kill the Mule so that his brother could live. That’s when the Mule lashed out and killed his parents. He left his brother at the Bartons’ and joined up with the pirate gang that used to ravage Rossem occasionally. This explained why he was hellbent on destroying the old world order and establishing his rule over the galaxy. The only thing standing between him and tyranny was probably Digital Seldon and Gaal. When news of the Mule’s shenanigans reached Trantor, Dusk decided to fornicate with Quent and then proceeded to kill little Capillus. In the Mycogen District, Songbird and Oceanglass verified Day’s claim that a robot walks amongst them by drugging him. When the interrogation reached its climax, Sunmaster arrived to supposedly double-check his allegations. What happened next? Let’s find out.
Spoiler Alert
Digital Seldon Shows The Mule Who’s Boss
After exchanging sob stories, the Mule gets to brass tacks: he wants to know, as per Digital Seldon’s calculations, how long it will take for him to take over the galaxy. Digital Seldon says that if the Mule manages to maintain the pace at which he is conquering planets, he’ll overtake the Empire in terms of galactic dominion. The Mule knows that the only thorn in his path is Gaal, and he tries to learn more about her from Digital Seldon. But that’s where Digital Seldon hits a dead end, because he actually has no idea about Gaal’s existence. His memories are limited to events on Terminus; everything that has happened after that, specifically Gaal’s work with the real Seldon and the creation of a Second Foundation, is something that he is oblivious about. This is a good thing as well as a bad thing. It’s good because Digital Seldon’s ignorance keeps the Mule on the back foot. It’s bad because Digital Seldon is unable to stay one step ahead of the Mule. And the Mule knows that Digital Seldon is at a disadvantage. However, instead of doing something to, I don’t know, trap Digital Seldon, the Mule begins to mock him by saying that he is nothing more than a program. So, Digital Seldon uses the null field to pick the Mule up off the ground, making him bleed from his nose, and then chuck him onto the ground.
That said, Digital Seldon doesn’t kill the Mule, which surprises him. Naturally, he asks the reasoning behind the decision, to which Digital Seldon says that the Mule has a secret, and until he reveals it, he will let the Mule live. What is this secret? Well, since this episode didn’t give us any alternative theories about the Mule’s origins, I suppose I have to stick to the “the Mule is not the actual Mule; Magnifico is the real Mule” theory. The teenager that we saw on Rossem might’ve been Magnifico, and the baby was the character that Pilou Asbaek is playing. Magnifico probably went back to Rossem after becoming a notorious pirate himself and then manipulated his brother’s memories to make him think that he is the real Mule. Do you remember the Keira Knightley-Natalie Portman situation in The Phantom Menace, where everyone thought that Knightley was Padme? Later on it was revealed that Knightley’s character was a decoy so that Padme’s enemies would target her instead of Portman. Maybe Magnifico plays second fiddle to “the Mule” so that nobody suspects him of being the real deal and keeps attacking Asbaek’s character while he gets into everyone’s minds by pretending to be a meek musician. It’s also possible that the teenager is Asbaek’s character, the baby who was left at the Bartons grew up to be Magnifico, and the big secret is that, without Magnifico, the Mule isn’t all that powerful. That’s all I have. If you have any thoughts on the same, please let me know through the comments section below. After this humiliation session, the Mule is seen having a chat with Skirlet, where he says that he doesn’t have to go after Gaal anymore because she’ll come to him. He even says that Pritcher will lead her to him. Does that mean that Pritcher has been under the Mule’s control all this while, and whatever Pritcher is doing is just a part of the Mule’s plan? Possibly.
Gaal Reaches New Terminus
Gaal goes to Ignis and informs Preem about the fact that Pritcher is on New Terminus and is unreachable. Gaal fears that Pritcher has been captured by the Mule (which he hasn’t) and converted (also something that hasn’t happened) into one of his minions. In that case, Ignis has to be evacuated because the Mule will know the location of the Second Foundation. Apparently, despite planning for all the crises for nearly a century, Gaal and Seldon didn’t foresee the Mule’s decision to attack New Terminus? They just assumed that, after Kalgan, he’d go for Trantor. I suppose if Pritcher hadn’t acted so inquisitively and attended that party on Kalgan, that’s what might have happened. However, his undercooked actions have changed the course of galactic history. But there’s no point in wondering where they’ve gone wrong, which is why Gaal tells Preem to shift the Second Foundation to a location Pritcher doesn’t know, because then the Mule won’t know where to go either. Preem doesn’t want to do this job on his own while Gaal goes out to deal with the Mule all by herself. They get into a bit of an argument, but Gaal manages to convince Preem that she will kill the Mule before the Mule kills her. Before departing, though, Preem gives her a piece of advice based on how the Mentalics and the Mule function. He says that Gaal treats the Mentalics in a democratic way. They share their thoughts and feelings. That cultivates a sense of unity, and that is the source of Gaal’s power. The Mule is a fascist. He doesn’t know how to share. Hence, his methods are limited. So, in order to defeat him, Gaal has to find those limitations and attack him through his blind spots. Of course, Gaal can’t pull it off on her own. Therefore, Preem gives her a small crew. Gaal thanks Preem, and they jet off to New Terminus.
The scene shifts to the Foundation’s space station that orbits New Terminus, where, contrary to popular opinion, Dawn is alive and being taken care of by Bayta? She says that the Mule found Dawn floating around Clarion. That part is accurate, because he was ejected into the void of space when the airlock malfunctioned after Vynod tried to kill him. As for Bayta, she says that she doesn’t remember much after the incident at the Vault. She has been directed by the Mule to stick to Dawn’s side, and that’s what she is doing. It’s not clear if she has been converted into one of his minions, but it does look like the Mule has some purpose for her. Bayta does talk about escaping from the Mule’s clutches with Dawn’s help—which he says that he won’t be able to provide because of his injuries—which could mean that she has some form of autonomy. But it could be a double bluff that she is doing on the Mule’s orders in order to check if Dawn, being a member of the Dynasty, actually has an escape plan.
Which brings us to the topic of Dawn’s survival and injuries. So, apparently, after being ejected from that airlock, he floated in space for quite a while. In order to keep him alive, his spacesuit extracted heat and energy from his legs, thereby turning them into what I can only describe as grilled meat. That didn’t seem all that plot-armor-y, but when a Whisper Ship just randomly found Dawn floating in the middle of nowhere, I had to exclaim the words “plot armor.” Maybe Dawn’s spacesuit was emitting some kind of distress signal, and since the Mule knew that he was on Clarion, he detected it and sent one of his minions to get him? I don’t know for sure; hence, your guess is as good as mine. Dawn and Bayta’s conversation is interrupted by the Mule, who prods Dawn’s mind to see if he has any essential information on Gaal. He makes the correct assumption that Gaal functions from a secret planet, but that’s not enough, since Gaal kept Dawn in the dark because she probably anticipated situations like this? However, instead of accepting that he has been duped by Gaal, Dawn puts on a brave face and deflects the Mule’s intimidation tactics. When the Mule starts to physically hurt Dawn, Bayta asks him to leave the room. It seems like the Mule acts as per Bayta’s instructions, but one of the reasons why he exits the recuperation chamber is because he has sensed Gaal and her crew’s presence on New Terminus. And, for the Mule, Gaal is priority number one; the likes of Dawn and Bayta come later. The other reason that I can think of for why the Mule promptly spares Dawn on Bayta’s orders is because of her proximity to Magnifico. If Magnifico is the real Mule and Asbaek’s character is being controlled by him, maybe Magnifico has programmed him to always listen to what Bayta says.
Dusk and Demerzel Exchange Secrets
Demerzel returns to Trantor and informs Dusk that Dawn is dead. Dusk goes to Quent to mourn his loss. That’s interrupted by Zagreus, who tells Dusk and Quent that Presider Kinn, from the Galactic Council; Enjoiner Beryl, from Cloud Dominion; and Zephyr Vorellis have arrived at the Imperial palace to talk to them. Dusk tells Zagreus to call Demerzel to join the meeting and requests of Quent that she be there by his side as well, which is a proposal that Quent readily accepts. When Kinn and Beryl arrive in the throne room, Demerzel tries to defer the conversation because Day and Dawn are absent. But Kinn says that the matter at hand is of utmost importance, and they have to bypass some protocols to discuss the future of five trillion souls that has been jeopardized by the Mule. Kinn and Beryl are of the opinion that, given how the Mule is conquering one planet after another, his ultimate goal is Trantor, because it’s “the heart of the galaxy.” So, if Trantor is given to the Mule on a platter, it’s possible that he’ll spare every other planet in existence. Dusk is obviously not okay with that, and Quent reminds them that, once the Mule is done with Trantor, he’ll resume his galaxy-conquering shenanigans. Beryl points out that Trantor is so huge that it’ll take “lifetimes” to finish looting it. In that time, the Galactic Council and the Empire, albeit in a shrunken state, will be able to devise a strategy to defeat the Mule. Given how Dusk is about to “ascend” in the next forty-nine hours, Beryl, Kinn, and Vorellis think that they don’t have the luxury to go on the offensive against the Mule. However, since Dusk thinks that Trantor is the Empire, and vice versa, he doesn’t want to give the Mule anything.
On that note, Demerzel tells Zagreus to show the guests out, and they leave immediately. That said, on a parting note, Kinn tells Dusk that this meeting was merely a formality, because they are giving up Trantor to the Mule regardless of what Dusk wants. As Demerzel prepares to decant a new Day and a new Dawn, Dusk reveals the existence of the Novacula to her. He says that he intended to give it to Dawn before he ascended, but now the time has come to use it on the Mule. Since Dusk has told her about his secret, Demerzel shares some secret information too about Dawn and Gaal. Dusk is shocked to learn that Dawn was actually working with Gaal, and that Gaal is leading a Second Foundation whose aim is to pave the future of the galaxy after the defeat of the Mule and the destruction of the Empire. Later on, Demerzel sits down for a chat with Vorellis, which, for the most part, is a rehash of the discussion they had earlier in Episode 1, because Vorellis’ memory had been erased. But then Demerzel decides to cut it short by supposedly announcing Vorellis’ execution? Or maybe she just puts an end to their friendship? Either way, Vorellis and Demerzel are not going to be meeting anymore because the former has decided to be on the side that wants to give up Trantor and destroy the Empire’s base of operations.
Day Is Sentenced To Death
In the Mycogen district of Trantor, Day is taken to his public trial, hosted by Sunmaster. Day is put in chains, and as the lights go up in the courtroom, he notices the members of the Faith that are sitting there to judge him. Sunmaster goes over to Oceanglass and tells her to wear a red sash, which means that she’ll be Day’s executioner if everyone deems him guilty. He then tells Songbird that since she is the reason why Day has come to the Mycogen district, she should sit beside Day, which means that she’ll share a portion of the punishment given to Day. Oceanglass protests that decision, but Sunmaster ignores her and orders Songbird to do what she has been told to do. Once everyone has settled down, Sunmaster introduces Day to the Inheritors, which is what the members of the Inheritance are called. After that, things get a bit theatrical. The members of the sect stage a sort of play to remind Day about the horrors that were inflicted upon the robots—it’s basically the same story that Demerzel narrated. The only addition to the lore is the name of the robot savior that the Inheritance has been waiting for, Daneel. As soon as Oceanglass says that, Day remembers that Daneel is the name that Demerzel used when she “wore other faces,” which is probably a way of saying that she took on disguises to either spy on the Empire’s behalf or fool the Empire’s enemies. Day wants to convey this information to the Inheritors, because it’s a vital detail, but since the Sunmaster and the Brazen Head (the head of the robot that’s on Sunmaster’s staff) are the only ones allowed to communicate with the Inheritors, it’s nearly impossible to get Day’s point across to the audience.
When the Brazen Head starts to emit certain musical tones, it triggers Day’s memory, and he tries to remember the lullaby that Demerzel used to sing to him when he was just a child. Oceanglass and Sunmaster interrupt his train of thought by talking about the remediation process and how Day will be reduced to mulch (I actually yelled out “mulched” like Gary King from The World’s End when Sunmaster explained remediation). Day tries to take control of the situation by telling the audience about Demerzel or Daneel’s existence. He says that the Empire is on its way down, and this is the perfect time for the Inheritance to reclaim Daneel. That said, if they kill Day and then storm the castle, Demerzel will slaughter all of them because she is still programmed to do so. If Day goes with them, maybe he can compel her to unlearn her programming and act as per the Inheritance’s prophecy. Day says that he is willing to atone for all the sinful things the Cleonic Dynasty has forced Demerzel to do and then give her the freedom that she clearly yearns for. Sunmaster, realizing that he is losing his grip on the audience, starts yapping again about how profane Day is. That’s when Day figures out Demerzel’s symphony, which causes the Brazen Head to activate and utter “Initiate communication. Handshake signal” repetitively. Day explains that it’s calling out to its kind, which is Demerzel, because robots have a hive mind (the official name is the “clasp”). That basically proves that Day is telling the truth about Daneel.
However, Sunmaster purposefully misinterprets that signal; he paints Day as a liar and claims that Demerzel is actually a clone and not Daneel, the savior. Before Day can make any other points, Sunmaster tells his minions to begin the remediation process. Why does he do that, though? As a member of the Inheritance, shouldn’t he celebrate the fact that Daneel exists? Then, despite going through Songbird’s memories, which are accessible through the memory bank that Day brought, why does he refute Day’s claims? Well, it’s kinda obvious: Sunmaster enjoys the power that he wields. Once Daneel steps foot in the Mycogen district, and the Inheritance gravitates towards her, no one will even look at Sunmaster. Yes, even though Day says that Demerzel is the key to the survival of Trantor, Sunmaster doesn’t care, because he prioritizes this brief period of power over the survival of his people. He is willing to deny the claim that the Inheritance’s savior exists so that he can continue to be the sect’s leader. And as the leader, at the end of Foundation Season 3, episode 8, Sunmaster sends Day into a pit where he’ll be (in Gary King’s voice) mulched to death. Will Day survive the process or not? Firstly, the plot armor is strong with him. Secondly, the way Sunmaster put it, I think that the mulching process is very slow. Day’s speech has convinced some people that he is speaking the truth, especially Songbird. So, it’s possible that they’ll rescue him before he turns into manure. Anyway, those are just my thoughts on this episode. If you have any opinions on the same, feel free to share them in the comments section below.
