Diksha Sundriyal
As the second season of Apple TV+’s ‘Foundation’ inches closer to its end, things get tense for the Empire and its subjects. In the previous episode, Hari Seldon’s visit to Ignis didn’t go as planned. It turns out that the leader of the Mentallics, Tellem, has her own plans, and Hari isn’t a part of them. His sudden disappearance becomes a cause for concern for Salvor, aggravated by the fact that Gaal doesn’t seem to care about it at all. While she tries to get to the bottom of what Tellem is hiding, Hari Seldon’s other plan is put in motion when Constant, Poly, and Hober Mallow end up exactly where he wanted them. Here’s what the events of this episode, titled ‘A Necessary Death,’ mean for the characters and the future of the Galactic Empire. SPOILERS AHEAD
Foundation Season 2 Episode 7 Recap
In the last episode, Constant and Poly Verisof landed on Trantor and were arrested due to their connection to the Foundation. While waiting in prison, Poly feels guilty about running the plan. But Constant tells him that perhaps, they are precisely where they are supposed to be. Meanwhile, Sareth gloats about making Day feel small in front of his subjects when he introduced her as the future queen.
She also pokes at Demerzel about her true nature and knows about Day and Demerzel’s secret liaison. In return, Demerzel confirms that she was the one who killed Sareth’s family and that she can be just as discreet again. Later, when Sareth confronts Day with this finding, he sheds all pretenses and makes it clear that Sareth will have to do what he wants; otherwise, she will be killed as well.
Hober Mallow arrives in Home Swarm to get Spacers on the Foundation’s side. He offers them Opalesk, a rare substance necessary for their survival. It is provided to them by the Empire in return for their services in space travel. Mallow points out that once the Empire catches up with the Foundation’s technology, where they don’t need spacers for space travel anymore, Spacers will become redundant, and the Cleons will not bother with them again. On the other hand, Foundation can produce all the Opalesk in the world for them while giving them their freedom.
At Ignis, Gaal dives deeper into her powers with Tellem’s help. By the beginning of this episode, she has already learned to use mind control as a means of self-defense, which is quickly turning into offense. She is so focused on getting better at her powers and saving Salvor 150 years from her time that she completely disregards the fact that Hari left Ignis so quickly without them. Salvor, however, is not convinced, and she can’t shake the feeling that something untoward is going on around them.
Foundation Season 2 Episode 7 Ending: Does Salvor Hardin Die?
Salvor might not have been able to look into the future, but she knew she was good at reading people. She used this power several times on Terminus, and it helped avert the first crisis. On Ignis, however, it feels like she never had that power. She seems to be shut out from everyone, leaving her unable to read anyone and discern their intentions. Instead of stopping her, this only motivates her to dig deeper and find out what Tellem is hiding.
After some sharp observations, Salvor discovers a boat with all its data wiped away, meaning its previous journeys cannot be tracked. Despite being warned by Gaal not to poke around, she finds a way to get into the boat’s history and ends up where Hari Seldon was seen in the last episode. By this time, the water has done its job, and Hari has drowned. But it’s Hari, and we still don’t know exactly how he came back after their visit to Oona’s World, so we wouldn’t be so sure he is dead just yet.
For Salvor, however, things get more dangerous. Tellem had been keeping an eye on her. So, when Salvor found Hari, Tellem found her. She reveals how important it is for them to have Gaal at Ignis, and she won’t let anyone mess that up. She uses her powers to render Salvor unconscious, who falls face-first into the water. With no help around, Salvor risks drowning. Does that mean she will die? Is this the last we’ve seen of her?
The great thing about seeing one’s death in a future far away is the confirmation that that person won’t die sooner than their time. Gaal saw Salvor die 150 years from their time, which means that Salvor must stay alive by them. While Tellem tells Gaal that a vision is never a foolproof thing and can be changed, Hari warned Gaal that her efforts to change the future will prove fruitless, as it is probably bound to happen that way. Considering that Hari has rarely been wrong this far, we choose to believe him, which means Salvor isn’t going to die just yet.
At Trantor, things heat up as Day finds himself attacked on various fronts. After Sareth gets the confirmation she was looking for, she decides to sabotage Day’s plan of continuing his legacy via biological children. Instead of having his children, she tempts Dawn and suggests she should bear her child. She calls it a “bloodless coup,” which would ensure that Dawn’s legacy goes forward, not Day’s. Even though they are genetically identical, she sees Dawn as a kinder person. Moreover, she cannot bear the thought of having kids with the man who killed her family. This is her way of exacting revenge on him.
Things don’t go down well for Hober Mallow, who is imprisoned and brought to Bel Riose by the Spacers he was trying to befriend. He escapes in the nick of time, but it confirms two things for the Empire. First is the confirmation that Foundation is way ahead of Trantor in technology, so much so that they don’t need Spacers for their spaceships. Second is the confirmation that they consider themselves powerful enough to go to war with the Empire. This is why they could go behind the Empire’s back and try to make a deal with Spacers.
When Constant and Poly Verisof are brought in front of the Cleons, Hari Seldon shows up. It turns out he had hidden his consciousness inside Constant so he could talk to Day face to face. He warns Day about Foundation’s increasing power and their confidence in winning the war against the Empire. Instead of being scared, Day uses this incident as the confirmation he was looking for to attack Foundation. He gives the order to Bel Riose, putting the Second Crisis in motion.
Read More: Foundation: Who is Seldon’s Wife Yanna? What Happened to Her?
You must be logged in to post a comment.