Doomsday looms in the third installment of Apple TV+’s Asimov adaptation—but there’s still hope to be found in the galaxy.
Foundation is not a show that lends itself to casual viewing. Its nuances and details, not to mention its constantly shifting settings, mean you must pay close attention to understand what’s happening. It’s also not really a show you can decide to start watching midway through, something to consider ahead of its third season premiere.
But the rewards are worth it: it’s wildly entertaining—thanks to its writing, layered world-building, and performances—and while it’s a show that deals with very serious themes, Foundation also knows when to lighten up. Even as humanity faces extinction, it makes room for moments of levity and romance, as well as surprising twists that subvert audience expectations. That includes those who’ve read Isaac Asimov’s Foundation books, which inspire but don’t dictate the events of the series.
Foundation also makes it easier on viewers whenever it can. This is a plot-heavy show with a lot of characters to keep track of, so it makes use of helpful narration as well as on-screen text to let us know where we are on the timeline. It also makes things very clear when we’re visiting a new planet or region—something season three does a lot of, efficiently showing us just how much this story has expanded since season one.
Season three picks up 152 years after season two. Some things look the same: Empire is still ruling the galaxy with its Cleon clones and ancient android Demerzel (Laura Birn); Foundation, now relocated to New Terminus, counts down the days until its creator Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) next emerges from his mysterious vault. The Second Foundation, created in secret, has been training psychic warriors. And the Prime Radiant, Seldon’s compact supercomputer, is still predicting the fall of civilization, with an extended dark age to follow.
That last bit is obviously worrisome, but at this point, Seldon’s doom-filled prophecy—tabulated using his “psychohistory,” used to envision the fates of large populations—has been out there for centuries. As we saw in season two, Demerzel and the Second Foundation both have access to the Prime Radiant and can keep tabs on psychohistory’s progress. Demerzel keeps her Prime Radiant tucked in her chest, almost where her heart would be.
The next big event is known to be the Foundation’s Third Crisis. But Seldon’s followers are no longer the scrappy colonists we met in seasons one and two; everyone, especially the leadership, has prospered. A civil war of sorts is brewing between Foundation’s ruling elite and Foundation’s merchant traders, who are led by the wealthy descendants of season two character Hober Mallow.
