Spoilers

Brother Dusk prepares to die and the colonists on Terminus receive unexpected visitors.

The episodic, time-spanning nature of this adaptation of Asimov’s Foundation series is apparent in this week’s episode which focuses on two distinct places and times. And because we’re not flitting rapidly between the two, we get the opportunity to learn more about the characters and their situations.

The first third of the hour is devoted to Brother Dusk, who has reached the end of his prescribed life and must die to make way for the incumbent Emperor Cleon, the new Brother Dawn. This is 19 years after the bombing of the Starbridge, meaning we have already moved on from the shock ending of episode 2, which isn’t addressed this time. Dusk is concerned that the legacy of Cleon the 1st’s Starbridge will be lost, but Demerzel reassures him otherwise

After a brief 17 year jump to see Cleon the 14th erasing his legacy, we get up to date, which looks to be a further 15-20 years in the future. We’re on Terminus, where the colonists have established Hari Seldon’s Foundation settlement, close to the enigmatic The Vault. Only warden Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey) can approach the phenomena without being disabled by its defences and she’s concerned that its perimeter is expanding at a rate that may require the evacuation of the village. We meet Hardin’s parents and interplanetary explorer Hugo, with whom she spends a night of passion before a threat looms on the horizon – three Anacreon gunships in orbit.

Verdict: A change of pace and a new set of characters makes this feel like another opening episode, but the world building is compelling and the ‘unfilmable’ book series is proving to be anything but. 7/10

Nick Joy