The Anachreons land on Terminus and warden Salvo Hardin must do all she can to protect her home.

I’m really enjoying Foundation. While it’s forging its own path rather than closely following Asimov’s books, it still uses enough of the concepts to make it feel authentic. And after all the world building and info dumps of the opening episodes, it’s good to settle in to some human drama. The movements in time and place are also becoming less frantic.

The cracks are starting to show in the Empire. Brother Dusk is being criticised by Brother Day for not acting decisively 35 years previously, when Hari Seldon shared his prediction of the collapse of civilisation. He was treated like a charlatan, but the movement he created continues to gather more followers.

On Terminus, Salvo Hardin meets the belligerent  Anachreons, who are trespassing on Imperial soil. Led by fearsome warrior Phara (Kubra Sait), they claim to be scavenging for a navigation module. Hardin is forced at gunpoint to take Phara through the Vault’s force field, but the aggressor blacks out, only to become the colonists’ prisoner. But this is all part of the plan, to have her on the inside, as her squad levels its artillery at the town. In the closing moments, we see Gaal’s lifepod again, suggesting we’ll be picking up her story again soon.

It’s the scenes on Terminus that bring the show to life, with Salvo and Phara locking antlers as worthy adversaries. The tech is believably weather-beaten and there’s good use of location shooting on Fuerteventura. The scenes on Trantor, while showcasing the political machinations of the Empire, are less engaging, inevitably feeling similar to Game of Thrones or Rome.

Verdict: Solid sci-fi action that’s not bogged down by its environment’s complex mechanics. 8/10

Nick Joy