![]() We also learn plenty more about the few established characters and get some big revelations along the way, too. New characters such as cleric Brother Constant (Isabella Laughland) and the rogue-ish Hober Mallow (Dimitri Leonidas) have charm to spare, the space battles (when they come) are suitably fun, and the peerless production design almost enters "The Fifth Element"'s orbit in terms of its spectacular excess. If screen space opera can be measured on a scale between the Kubrickian rigor of "2001: A Space Odyssey" (notably one of the best sci-fi movies ever made) and the adventure serial action of " Star Wars", season 2 is drawn more and more to the gravity of George Lucas's galaxy far, far away. Yet, for all that, the show really finds its space legs in the second half of the run. It's something of a cliché that science fiction can lose sight of humanity among all the spaceships, but "Foundation" season 2 does little to dispel it. In this version of the distant future, the art of telling jokes seems to have been forgotten along with myths of planet Earth. They're not helped by the over-seriousness of the writing. Although Jared Harris is always an engaging screen presence, the various incarnations of Hari – who sacrificed himself for his vision in season one, and is now seen as a prophet by members of the Foundation – can feel overly belligerent and cryptic. Meanwhile, there's just not enough chemistry between Gaal and Salvor in what is – in theory, at least – the emotional anchor of the show. Lee Pace's performance as Brother Day has too many echoes of his stern turns as Thranduil and Ronan the Accuser in "The Hobbit" and " Guardians of the Galaxy" respectively. (Image credit: Apple)Īnd characters who have returned are not always well served. Here we see Brother Dawn, Brother Day, and Brother Dusk sitting on thrones. Plotlines that felt extremely significant in season one – such as the arc about a Brother Dawn falling in love and running away from the royal palace – are now merely mentioned in passing. Other shows, most notably "Game of Thrones," have featured a rapid churn of characters, but few have ripped things up and started again quite as "Foundation" does here. And, with an almost entirely new cast, you don't even get the safety net of familiar faces to anchor you to the story. As an entity, the Foundation is nebulous and tricky to define – not so much a place as an ideal – so it can be hard to get a handle on who's fighting whom and why. ![]() Meanwhile, a well-timed reawakening from cryosleep has allowed Hari's protégée, Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), to come face-to-face with Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), former Warden of the Foundation on Terminus and the child Gaal never knew she had.įor much of this new run of episodes "Foundation" remains ponderous and talky, the direction of travel frustratingly vague. However, when would-be assassins interrupt a very close encounter with robot aide/lover Demerzel (Laura Birn), his in-built paranoia is magnified. He now has plans to find himself a queen and produce an heir the old-fashioned way. There's a new Cleon in charge and – despite having DNA in common with his predecessors (he's still played by Lee Pace, of course) – this one's a little different. Most of this still applies when "Foundation" season 2 picks up the story 138 years later.
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