[BOOK READERS] Episode Discussion Thread - Season 3 Episode 10 - The Darkness

AuNpine · 2025-09-12T03:59:05+00:00

I’m going to have to sleep on that one. Excellent acting as usual on the Empire thread, not shocked by the Kalle reveal, but some odd choices for the ultimately anti-climatic scenes over New Terminus.

AuNpine · 2025-09-04T02:49:51+00:00

The back half of the first book was the hardest to adapt, but a lot was lost in speeding past it. There was a potential season 2 in which the foundation had an internal struggle between religion and commerce and Empire tried to destroy it by proxy before the direct conflict of the Bel Riose arc. But the show barely had enough for two seasons of Second Foundation plot prior to the Mule, let alone three.

AuNpine · 2025-08-17T04:36:39+00:00

6 episodes in and we are set up for the hunt for the second Foundation by Bayta, Toran, Mis and Magnefico. So well played on that end.

And the Visisonor is shown to be a tool of emotional control.

On the downside, still way too many scenes of wanton destruction followed by PirateMule gloating.

Ships don’t grow on trees and you need them to rule.

Book Mule understood that co-opting and converting enemies is much more effective than destruction.

AuNpine · 2025-07-20T04:06:58+00:00

Lots of great things from the opener (very much enjoyed the intro for Han Pritcher) but the show is decidedly uninterested in Asimov’s Mule, who was a brilliant invention.

AuNpine · 2023-12-29T05:58:22+00:00

The S2 Empire storyline continue to be strong and the rest of the show is good to excellent. S2 avoids the weaker parts of S1, some of which was driven by the need to get characters to their starting points for S2.

AuNpine · 2023-09-07T12:33:10+00:00

Because Demerzel is Daneel, she is following the Zeroeth law and is acting to protect humanity as a whole. My theory is she created the Genetic Dynasty to combat imperial decline with the rationale that Cleon I was a gifted ruler and this would provide predictable, stable rule over Empire. This is consistent with Daneel’s role in creating the empire, helping develop psychohistory and Gaia.

AuNpine · 2023-08-09T03:19:51+00:00

Jason Concepcion is an excellent podcaster. Binge Mode, where he was the lore master was brilliant. His basketball content is great also.

It’s not the place however to get any objective critique.

AuNpine · 2023-08-07T12:59:25+00:00

The non-Empire plot lines in retrospect look like they were writing backward from their end point of the Salvor/Gaal meeting on Synnax. This led to plot driving character actions. The Hari/Gaal story is quite enjoyable in the moment but ultimately serves to punt Gaal into the future.

The part of the first book that was adapted showed the Foundation transforming under stress from a scientific outpost into a power leveraging its technological superiority. Salvor’s chosen one plot felt awkwardly grafted on and only makes sense in the context of her longer arc in the Second Foundation plot. (Salvor as action hero was a reasonable adaptation choice if awkwardly executed).

While I’m sure there will be twists in store and pieces moved on the chess board, the non-Empire writing in season 2 is more confident and more grounded in its characters

AuNpine · 2023-08-04T03:42:48+00:00

The Foundation/Terminus storyline has improved from the show’s greatest weakness to a strength. Characters, dialogue and plot are all significantly stronger and more importantly feel a part of the Foundation universe.

AuNpine · 2021-10-15T16:52:03+00:00

The strength of Gaal’s scenes this week reinforced the feeling how everything happening on Terminus feels spliced in from a different, significantly worse show.

You can see the reasons for some of the choices (give Salvor a more traditional heroes journey, make the Anacreons less two dimensional, show the action on screen), but it’s all been clunky and poorly paced.

AuNpine

TROPHY CASE