Diksha Sundriyal
The pieces in Hari Seldon’s grand plan start to move in the fourth episode of Apple TV+’s ‘Foundation’ as the new characters introduced this season start to reveal their layers and chart the path laid out for them. The previous episode focused on the journey of Hari Seldon, Gaal Dornick, and Salvor Hardin, who take a detour from Ignis and get back on their journey with something completely unexpected and seemingly impossible. They are nowhere to be seen in this episode, as the show shifts focus towards other players that will eventually become an important part of the Empire’s fate. Here’s what the events in this episode and its ending mean. SPOILERS AHEAD!
Foundation Season 2 Episode 4 Recap
Picking up the events in Trantor, we find Sareth on a mission to find out what happened to her father. As expected, her motivations in coming to Trantor are much more than just considering Day’s offer to marry him and bear him children. She wants to know if Day had anything to do with what happened to her family, and for the answers, she goes to Dawn, who already seems to have developed a soft spot for her.
Meanwhile, Bel Riose reaches Siwenna, where he and Glawenn land on the planet while their fleet waits. The Empire has not kept in touch with Siwenna for a very long time, and Bel doesn’t want to raise any flags all of a sudden. This is supposed to be a quick mission where they’ll find the informant and get the necessary information. They are to leave as quietly as they arrive, but there is a hitch in the plan. They are found, and Bel is in no mood to end things peacefully.
Hober Mallow arrives at Terminus with Poly and Constant and is taken to the Vault. After Mallow discovers that the last person who got in touch with the Vault was burned alive, he tries to run away but is taken in by the Vault. Constant, Poly, and Constant’s father follow and discover that time moves faster inside the Vault. What took them two minutes was two days for Mallow.
Foundation Season 2 Episode 4 Ending: Where Does Seldon Send Hober Mallow?
Since the beginning of ‘Foundation,’ Hari Seldon has proved to be an all-knowing person who used psychohistory to figure out exactly how the future will unravel for the Empire. He used the Prime Radiant to factor in any straying from the original plan and how it would affect the future from the point of divergence. Not only did he correctly predict what would happen centuries later, but he adapted according to it. So, when he calls for Hober Mallow, despite the con man’s reputation, the people of the Foundation have no option but to follow the directive.
In the Vault, Seldon appears in front of Mallow and the others. He tells them that their mission is to stop the next war from happening. If the war is not stopped, it will lead to the Second Crisis, which will throw the Empire into an age of darkness. Salvor Hardin and her people stopped the First Crisis. This time, the responsibility falls on Hober Mallow and the others.
Seeing Poly and Constant makes Seldon realize that the Foundation has reached its religious stage. He intends to create a channel between Foundation and the Empire. He tells Poly and Constant to go to Trantor and spread the word of Seldon. The more people join the church, the more possibility there is to stop the war. For Mallow, however, he has different plans.
While the church is the handshake he is offering to the Empire, he knows that a backup needs to be in the cards in case things don’t work out. In that case, he needs Mallow to be the knife that strikes, so he sends him somewhere else. It is not revealed where Seldon sent Mallow or what he told him to do. Whatever it is has to be something that will put a massive dent in the defense of the Empire.
In her vision, when Gaal went a hundred and fifty years into the future, the Mule referred to Mallow as the one who pierced the Empire’s hide. It means that wherever Seldon is sending him has to be something that can create many problems for the Empire. Seldon intends to use Mallow’s “influence.” He also reveals that “a passing ghost” mentioned his name. Considering that psychohistory does not consider an individual’s actions and personal arc, how did the Radiant tell Seldon to find Mallow? Who is this passing ghost?
Seldon mentioned that the Radiant exists in superposition, meaning it can be with Salvor Hardin at some other end of the galaxy while simultaneously being in the Vault. It is possible then that the Radiant found out about Mallow from Gaal, who dropped Mallow’s name after her vision from the future and forwarded it to the Seldon in the Vault. The events did happen in that order.
Perhaps then Seldon intends to send Mallow to someplace like Siwenna or any other planet in the outer reach that has been out of touch with the Empire for a long time. It could also be the Dominion, whose queen is currently in Trantor, planning to get revenge on Day as soon as it is confirmed that he got his family killed. It is also confirmed that Sareth was behind Day’s assassination attempt and is angry about how it failed in the first place. This means that she will not wait to have confirmation about her family’s murder before making another move. Could this be the knife that Seldon was referring to?
Parallel to this, Bel Riose discovers that the magicians in Siwenna are Poly Verisof and Brother Constant, who have shields like the one Day and the other Cleons use to protect themselves from physical attack. He is also shocked to discover that they have the space-fold technology that was barred by the Empire a long time ago. This proves that the Foundation has been getting stronger while being neglected by the Empire. When Day finds out about it, it will further push him to declare the war Seldon wants to stop.
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