Gaal Dornick emerges from cryosleep and Salvor Hardin defends her home.

SPOILERS

After two Gaal-heavy opening episodes, the assumed-to-be-lead-character has been off screen, giving us time to build up our knowledge of the other players, but she’s back with a vengeance. The math genius was ejected in a lifepod and the vessel has since been picked up by another ship. She’s been in cryosleep for 35 years and has to reacclimatise herself with what’s being going on – significantly Hari’s death at the hands of her lover, Raych.

We travel in time and space to Gaal’s homeworld and witness the religious dogma she’s railing against when applying for her scholarship with Hari Seldon. Back in the present, she’s limited by the ship as to what information she can be told and takes a spacewalk to navigate her position.

On Terminus, things have escalated. It was always Phara’s intention to be captured by the colonists, and she detonates a device to bring down the township’s defences. The Anacreons confess to destroying the comms buoy to get Imperial attention, and when help arrives in the shape of a vid right cruiser, the warlike race are ready to bring it down.

There’s some great visual effects work with the destruction of the town and the starships, and Warden Salvor has an exciting hand to hand skirmish with Phara.

Verdict: While it’s a show that could easily be overwhelmed by its big ideas, Foundation doesn’t skimp on the drama, action and visual effects that such a property deserves. 8/10

Nick Joy