‘Foundation’ Recap: ‘Mysteries and Martyrs’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

Caution: This article contains spoilers for Episode Seven of ‘Foundation’.
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There are a great many reasons to celebrate the AppleTV+ series, Foundation. For this is a saga that is epic and sweeping in nature, one that pays proper tribute to Isaac Asimov’s source material and even expands upon it, thanks to the arrival of The Vault. Plus, it’s also visually stunning through and through, something that comes courtesy of the technology available to us now for special effects. Which has allowed for the special effects team to properly realize the potential of this story and encapsulate the scope that Asimov intended. And of course, this is a series that is also incredibly intelligent, since it keeps finding new ways to tie this future galaxy to our modern world. But above all else, what we truly need to celebrate about this series… is its understanding of how to tell a story.

Because some science fiction tales just pour on the commentary and concepts and technobabble, losing the audience in the process because it is just too much to process. But this series, understands the importance of balance and that sometimes the narrative needs to step away from such matters to give the audience time to sort what they’ve seen and that’s precisely what this show does best and for proof… look no further than this week’s entry. For ‘Mysteries and Martyrs’ broke away from the heavy commentary to advance the plot and celebrate some character themed moments so our minds can noodle on all the commentary the show has recently sent our way, while still enjoying the wonder of this adventure, and well, let’s talk about some of the more lighthearted and beautiful moments present in this tale, first, since they really did the finest job of clearing our mental palate.

For everything involving the Cleons in this tale was just… pure. For Brother Dawn finally got a proper taste of the world by spending more time with Azura, which allowed for him to learn what passion feels like and what the world is really all about, since she offered to help him see it through her eyes and this was just… beautiful. Because you can never go wrong with a storyline that examines the wonder of life and the majesty it brings us, and Brother Day’s adventure also lifted our spirits up. Because for the first time ever, we saw him abandon the brooding nature and furious actions that Dusk tended to partake in at that age. Instead, he finally broke rank in this tale and opted to really show the Luminists’ how much he wanted them to apart of the Empire, by offering to set out on the dangerous pilgrimage taken by so many believers and it really was quite incredible to finally see these boring clones indulge in more than the Cleonic edicts laid out before them. 

As for moving the plot forward, well that was accomplished by both Salvor and Gaal. Since Salvor and her friends and enemies finally arrived at the Invictus and boarded it at great cost. Since Hugo was lost to the depths of space during the breach and so many more died at the hands of the ship’s defenses, and more trials awaited the survivors. Since it was discovered that the ship’s jump drives were broken and it’s been bouncing about the galaxy because of that, and everyone aboard was faced with a race against time to stop that from happening again, so they wouldn’t end up in a terrifying and unknown place. And as for Gaal, well she came to learn a great deal about herself and Hari’s plans. Since a digital Hari finally explained that his death was part of the plan to get the Foundation to function, since an idea could never die. But this holo-Hari had more to offer than mere exposition, he was also filled with digital concern, since the plan had gone awry and he needed to know why and with a little noodling with Gaal, it turns out she may have an unexpected variable coming into play.

But while we wait to see if her musings are correct, we can just take a moment and celebrate one entertaining tale. One that really did just move things along and celebrate the rich characters that populate this universe and that’s just fine. Since it really does serve to remind us that television’s job is to entertain us above all else, and the deeper stuff is simply a bonus, and this episode also deserves a genuine round of applause for knowing when to let up on the heavier concepts and revert back to the basics. So that we can appreciate the wonder of what we are watching and well, now that this adventure has come to a close, the only question that remains is what awaits us next. Will it be more commentary? More adventure? We simply don’t know, and that’s part of the majesty of this show, in that… we don’t have a clue what is coming and that will allow for us to be genuinely surprised. Until next time.

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