Diksha Sundriyal
In the third season of Apple TV+’s ‘Foundation,’ Gaal Dornick finally comes face to face with the Mule, an adversary whose arrival she sees in a vision 150 years before their meeting. The season doesn’t wait too long to bring the Mule to us in the form of the villain played by Pilou Asbæk. The villain takes over the planet of Kalgan, which marks the beginning of his conquest of the galaxy. In the third episode, Bayta and Toran Mallow go deeper into his lair when he throws a party, where they meet someone who will be instrumental in the events to come. MAJOR SPOILERS AHEAD.
Magnifico Giganticus Holds an Important Role in the Mule’s Storyline
In the show, Magnifico Giganticus is introduced at the Mule’s party, which is attended by Toran and Bayta. Their primary mission was to allow Captain Pritcher to enter the party and meet the Mule, but when his plan goes awry, the couple decides to do some digging of their own. While Toran targets the Mule, Bayta decides to find out about him through his balladeer, who is known to accompany him everywhere he goes. The first most noticeable thing about him is that he plays the music that captivates every single person in the room.
The second thing that Bayta notices is that he is not treated well by the Master. She targets him, believing that his anger or resentment or simple naïveté might help her find out more about the Mule. By the end of their quest, Bayta has befriended the balladeer, and she even takes him along when she and her husband flee the party. The fact that the Mule is furious when he discovers that his balladeer is gone shows how much he wants him to be around. However, those who have read Isaac Asimov’s books, which form the basis of the Apple TV+ series, know that there is more to Magnifico, aka Maggie, than meets the eye.
In a shocking twist, it is revealed in the second half of the book that Magnifico is, in fact, the real Mule. He had been working from the shadows, putting someone else as the face of the warlord that everyone has come to know and fear, because his intentions of winning the galaxy were more calculated than simply going to war with the Galactic Empire and the Foundation. Thus, running away with Bayta and Toran is also a part of his elaborate plan, which eventually ends up giving him a huge advantage over his adversaries. By the third episode, the events happen almost exactly as they transpire in the books. However, the show has already taken quite a few liberties with key storylines of Asimov’s books, which means that Magnifico’s role might yet see a drastic change in the show.
Tómas Lemarquis Gives a Layered Performance as Magnifico
Because Magnifico remains a highly deceptive character, it would be important to cast someone who can play with the duplicity of the role while also demanding some level of trust and sympathy from the other characters as well as the audience. With Tómas Lemarquis, the creators of the Apple TV+ seem to have found the perfect actor to balance that sweet spot where you want to know more about dear Maggie, but also can’t help but be suspicious of him because you don’t really know what is going on in his head.
The Icelandic–French actor, who has previously appeared in high-profile projects like ‘Snowpiercer,’ ‘X-Men: Apocalypse,’ and ‘Blade Runner 2049,’ expertly navigates Magnifico’s complex nature. His introduction in the third episode doesn’t give his character much to say, but a lot is said about him through the way he disappears into the crowd, especially after the Mule mistreats him. In the books, the fact that Bayta singles him out forges a strong sense of friendship between them, and this dynamic eventually plays a crucial role at an incredibly important point in the story. Since the show is yet to reveal whether the same thing happens in the show, Lemarquis imbues his performance with a sense of vagueness mixed with dread and suspicion, which keeps the audience guessing at every single turn.
Read More: Foundation: Who is Randu Mallow? Is He Related to Hober Mallow?
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