A visit to a planet reveals an unlikely old friend, and intrigue runs deep on Trantor.

I suggested that the previous episode of Foundation merely spent a lot of time adding detail to already-established plotlines, the positive side now being that following episodes can spread their wings somewhat quicker. Episode 5 is a case in point, which focuses solely on the ‘A’ stories.

Hari Seldon is having a flashback to when he effectively left Raych Foss to die – the guilt getting to him – but a bigger issue is his ship making a crash landing on Cygnus. Is someone stalking them, and is the unlikely friend outside too good to be true?

Back on Trantor, Sareth is discovering more about the attempted assassination attempt on Cleon; the current leader of the Foundation in turn realises that she’s onto him. The unrest within the triumvirate (Brothers Dawn, Day and Dusk) is creating an instability within the leadership and could mark the prophesied crack from within.

Verdict: Solid storytelling and a greater sense that what we’re watching will be most significant to the bigger picture.  7/10

Nick Joy