The clerics get an audience with Empire and Sareth comes under great scrutiny.

The previous episode ratcheted up the jeopardy for the various opponents of the Empire, and this week we get to see the consequences of their actions in another exciting hour.

The clerics are taken from their prison cell to meet the tyrannical Empire, and he’s not pleased by what he hears, or the person who decides to crash the interrogation. The despot’s greatest fears are coming true – that the Foundation has greater technology than the Empire.

Sareth undergoes varies indignities to confirm that she is fit to be mother of Empire’s children, and Demerzel makes it very clear where her loyalties lie. Is the new queen in the same danger that led to the death of her parents? She may have an unlikely ally.

But the best scenes are between Hober Mallow and the Spacers (blind angels), with whom he has made contact. Even though their space jumps are random, Hari Seldon has predicted their coordinates, and uses Mallow to create dissent among this poorly treated race. Will they fight back against their oppressors?

Verdict: Another engrossing episode, with multiple plates spinning and stakes higher at every turn. 8/10

Nick Joy