1x10 The Leap

So, Seldon is the Vault, he tells the colonists and the Thespians and the Anacreons that they have to work together in secret to build up an army to eventually overthrow the Empire. And what about the second foundation? At least all his planning came true in a roundabout way, since Salvor turns out (what a surprise) to be Gaal's daughter. Though, why would Mari carry Gaal and Raysh's child and not her own? She can get pregnant, that much was clear on the ship, so why not choose your own eggs but those of a supposed murderer? Again, an ill-explained plotdevice, only to explain Salvor's weirdness and then have a reunion on deserted Synnax (who will they leave that planet now?).

Then we have the Empire... Day struggles over killing Dawn - or maybe he just appears to be struggling, and Demerzel simply snaps Dawn's neck while he's ruminating. And he learns that the genetic defects didn't start with Dawn, but that everyone, save maybe Cleon I's genetic material has been affected. Again, Day and Demerzel are the highlights of this show.

Overall, average ending to an average/uneven season. I think if it weren't for the Empire trinity I'd have long since abandoned this show.

More mediative and focused on the relationships between characters than the previous episodes. I liked all the mother-daughter talks between Mari and Salvor, her peace-making with the Anacreon leader when they plant together a tree native to Anacreon planet also had some Tolkienian vibes.

The digital Hari Seldon continues his pep talk and reveals that the murder of the Anacreon huntress on her wedding day to the Thespian prince, which started the long-lasting enmity between these planets, was in fact orchestrated by the Empire, afraid of the unity of these planets. It is a bit surprising that both nations quickly believe this new story and are open to the suggestion of peace Hari presents to them, urging them to unite against the Empire, do the very thing the Empire was scared of. This is of course good that they choose peace but I don't think very realistic psychologially after long centuries of strife between nations. Hari also advises them to use the Invictus to create a cosmic flare so that the Empire thinks they are all dead, which is promptly followed under the command of Hugo, who now has the captaincy of the Invictus. It is only a pity the actual flare is never shown in the show. After learning that Hari never sent her her visions, Salvor continues to have them and in one of them sees a young girl whom we viewers know to be Gaal. Salvor's mum confirms that Gaal and Raych are really Sal's biological parents, and she want to immediately set off to search of Gaal, without saying goodbye to Hugo. Hugo catches up with her, however, and they say their goodbyes. I guess they never see each other again. Later on, Gaal is shown to arrive on her home planet where everything looks flooded. She notices a little red light under water and plays a bit of Witcher 3 here, diving to find the blinking red point ;) it turns out to be Sal's casket, and in this way biological mother and her daugher meet for the first time. I guess travelling in cryo pods makes one immortal in some sense, since one doesn't age while in the pod and so can survive centuries being still young? Poor Hugo is probably long dead by now.

Things go west for the clone brothers and their situation is more serious than they thought before. Day releases the youngest brother and then takes the gardener girl for a walk, explaining to her that the thing he wants the most is for all the clones to be identical and she destroyed it all. He claimes to have tracked all people that ever had anything to do with her and informs her that they are all killed on his order so that nobody would remember her. She is to be kept in some sort of sensory deprivation tank till he dies. As for Dawn, Day is inclined to show clemency, whereas Dusk would prefer to kill him straightaway, and the brothers begin to fight, which seems to something new among them. The robot woman kills the youngest clone, in what looks like her own decision, taken according to her to protect the dynasty as itself and not as an individual clone. Though maybe she feels sorry about it later on as removes all her fake skin so that she looks like a metal robot. Day definitely looks sorry for Dawn being dead. Though it turns out that the underground managed to contaminate the original clone, so that all new clones, including Day, are corrupted. I wonder whether they would now be killed by the robot lady (her name is still hard to spell for me).