‘Foundation’ Recap: ‘The Emperor’s Peace’ & ‘Preparing to Live’

Written by John Edward Betancourt

‘The Emperor’s Peace’

Caution: This article contains spoilers for the series premiere of ‘Foundation’.

​There was a time in television and cinema’s past… where adapting a popular science fiction epic, was quite the risky affair. For special effects could only take a filmmaker or television director so far and that could limit the scope of the screen story and potentially harm it as well. Since audiences have always made it clear that they want to truly be immersed in a story and refuse to accept anything less than perfect visuals to create the world the trailers are selling. But that didn’t stop some from forging ahead to try and bring these tales to life in an era where limitations were present, with mixed results of course. For David Lynch’s Dune, while ambitious and engaging in nature, feels cheesy at times because of the limitations that special effects suffered from back in the 1980s. 
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But as time has marched on and computer-generated graphics have become ridiculously refined and realistic, more and more studios and filmmakers are opting to bring epic and sweeping stories from all genres to life and well, their decision to do so now, is paying off. Because we genuinely believed we were in Middle Earth in Peter Jackson’s Lord of the Rings trilogy and Dune is getting a second chance on the silver screen and even Apple TV is getting into the epics game. For today sees a grand and sweeping and ambitious Issac Asimov tale, come to the network in adapted form and well… Apple TV definitely deserves a round of applause for bringing the world of Foundation to life. For the visuals present here do a phenomenal job of creating the galaxy of the future that Asimov envisioned in a realistic manner.

With of course, Trantor being the centerpiece of that work. Since its stunning sky bridge is brought to life here perfectly and the planetary city below, one filled with life and bustling with billions of people is just as realistic and engaging. For every single corner catches your eye and feels organic and natural and at times you easily find yourself lost in what you are seeing since the show holds back no details when it comes to this majestic world and the others we are introduced to in this premiere. But what is more important is that once you’re comfortable with what you’re seeing, you are eager to embrace the story that awaits and that doesn’t disappoint either. Since David S. Goyer and Josh Friedman’s powerful script… does a fine job of bringing this powerful tale into the modern era in a shockingly relatable fashion.

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‘Preparing to Live’

For this story’s grand and ambitious plot, one revolving around the reveal that the great empire of the galaxy is dying and will soon collapse and put mankind into eons of dark times… unless Hari Seldon’s plans to save the foundation of mankind is given a green light, takes on new life in 2021. For it serves a grand allegory to the problems we currently face, such as climate change. Since our own dark age is awaiting us unless we act now and seeing that parallel here and seeing the fight that the government of the galaxy puts up over making any changes… really does leave the viewer uncomfortable. Since that comparison strikes a little too close to home, as do the challenges that the empire faces in this particular set of tales as well. Since ‘The Emperor’s Peace’ and ‘Preparing to Live’ dive deep into how the empire is being challenged at every turn by outside forces.

Which in turn serves as a parallel to the various challenges that the United States of America currently faces, since it has seen new enemies rise from the shadows to challenge its military might and embarrass it as the empire is embarrassed here and it even throws in a little sour and deserved commentary on American Imperialism and exceptionalism and how that too, has only contributed to the cause those new enemies have taken up. If anything, all of this just goes to show that Asimov’s writing is timeless and prophetic and this premiere also hammers home the fact, that television is the perfect home for this story. Because now, the story can take its time in weaving its tale and as an added bonus, the surprises it sends our way, such as the one that pops up at the end of episode two… will have gravity. Since we now have to wait a week to see what will become of Gaal and to learn if Hari is okay and how the journey to Terminus will end.

But while we wait for those answers, we can truly revel in the wonder of a flawless series premiere. Because this felt polished at every turn and immediately immersive, which is no small feat since so many shows feel different when you compare the pilot episode to its second entry. But that just speaks to the love and care that went into this particular story and the end result benefits the audience through and through. Because it means that we are going to be treated to a wonderfully engrossing and powerful tale, one that sees a select handful of good people… that know what it is at stake, engage in a grand fight to save humanity’s future and really in the end, this is simply science fiction and its finest and it doesn’t hurt that the cast is stellar and turns out top-notch work from beginning to end and it will be quite interesting to see what other powerful commentary and stunning visuals and moving moments await us… as this grand journey continues on. Until next time.  

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