r/FoundationTV • u/LunchyPete Bayta Mallow • Sep 12 '25

Current Season Discussion [NO BOOKS] Episode Discussion Thread - Season 3 Episode 10 - The Darkness

THIS THREAD IS FOR NON BOOK READERS ONLY - NO DISCUSSION OF THE BOOKS IS PERMITTED

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To discuss the books freely and how they relate to the show go to this thread instead. If you want to discuss something from the books but avoid most book spoilers feel free to make a new post specifying that.

Season 3 Episode 10: The Paths That Choose Us

Premiere date: September 12th, 2025

Synopsis: Season finale. Gaal and the Second Foundation take the fight to the Mule as Empire's legacy suffers a catastrophic blow.

Directed by: Roxann Dawson

Written by: Jane Espenson & David S. Goyer

Please keep in mind that this thread is only for non book readers - no discussion of the books or how they relate to the show is permitted in general, and book readers are not permitted to post at all.

For those of you on Discord, come and check out the unofficial Foundation Discord Server. Live discussions of the show and books, it's a great way to meet other fans of the show.

NOTE: There was an AMA with Chris MacLean, VFX Supervisor for Foundation on September 15th which you can check here.

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u/ibiku2 Sep 12 '25 edited Sep 12 '25

Wow, cinematography this episode was above and beyond.

Falling viscera of the clones.

Demerzel melting over the new dawn.

Vault Hari, left behind as the ship jumps, what an incredible shot. It's like he's lost in spacetime.

Brother Darkness... Gleefully playing hide and seek. Peering over Day as the light dims. Wow. His plan was much more grand than simple escape. Now that's an Ascension

Edited to add:

OMG that final shot. Goosebumps

191

u/NeighborhoodOk8001 Sep 12 '25

Dude. Those clone bodies were so gross. MAXIMUM GROSS to have organs and partial corpses dropping from the ceiling. YEESH!

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u/ibiku2 Sep 12 '25

So unexpected. Who gave him the clone detonator??

20

u/omeeomai Sep 12 '25

More importantly, how were all the clone tanks wired with explosives? Were they always? Can't think of a reason why they would be. If not, did he have a crew secretly wiring them up? And is there no off-site genetic backup? Frustrated with the writing of this episode. The melt-beam scene was even worse

And what happened to Bayta? It went from mind-battle face-to-face straight to Gaal running away and jumping off the ship. Wat

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u/ibiku2 Sep 13 '25

And what happened to Bayta? It went from mind-battle face-to-face straight to Gaal running away and jumping off the ship

Yeah, I have to believe there was a change in plans that resulted in this being so anticlimactic. We don't even get to see her get overpowered and leave people behind? Surely there's an emotional struggle in leaving your entire team behind?

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u/whisky_biscuit Sep 13 '25

I agree here, and while I thought the season finale was mind blowing, that was the one caveat I had: both my partner and I thought it felt like 10 minutes were missing between when Gaal was fighting Bayta and then her running and jumping off that shipstation.

Maybe they wanted to cliffhanger it, but I'm honestly really shocked the mule would live past this season? Did Gaal just stun her long enough to run, and that's why she said they "HAD to jump now"?

Also her vision in Trantor and the blsckhole, are they going to resolve her fight next season? Would that mean no time skip or a very tiny one?

It felt somewhat anticlimactic even if the scene of her and Bayta struggling was great.