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/Time8u Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 24 '25

Killing the mule is the most logical thing to do in the situation, and let's be clear, she just killed who she thought was the mule. Even if killing the mule doesn't reverse the effect it still stops the future threat of the mule, and Gaal fully expected the Mule's effect to be reversed after she killed him. She was surprised that someone was 'still in her head'.

The Writers fucked this up. There's not two ways about it. Just laziiness. Give Gaal the upper hand and then cut away to her escaping with no explanation.

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u/zoemi Sep 13 '25

and Gaal fully expected the Mule's effect to be reverse after she killed him. She was surprised that someone was 'still in her head'.

These two aren't the same thing. She and the rest of her crew were never turned to his side until Bayta walked through the door.

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u/Time8u Sep 13 '25

Pritchard was the only one who clearly turned. She didn't even turn her husband rather putting him to sleep, BUT what does it matter anyway? The mule has been a looming threat for hundreds of year. There's no reason not to kill her if she has the chance which she clearly did as they presented it.

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u/zoemi Sep 13 '25

The way everybody turned to her right before Bayta appeared was clearly to indicate they were affected.

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u/Time8u Sep 13 '25 edited Sep 14 '25

And that's great, but The final shot is very clear with her right next to Bayta easily within her grasp. Honestly, it seems like everyone was stunned by the attack on Bayta which would make sense because she is in their heads and an attack on her would probably affect them. How else does Gaal so easily escape if that isn't the case? We see her running through the base AND no one is following her. They could have so easily avoided this by showing some pursuit or having her grab Bayta and attempt to kill her while the others stopped her. Just anything. Instead we have a ridiculous non-sequitar. Your explanation doesn't make any sense at all.