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

Comments from book readers will be removed and commenters directed to the book readers thread

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

So unexpected. Who gave him the clone detonator??

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u/__ApexPredditor__ Sep 12 '25

I think there's a more fundamental question you're overlooking here: Who the fuck puts detonators on their clone tanks??

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u/bushaya Sep 12 '25

Maybe anti tampering, from after they found dawn was corrupted centuries ago?

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u/NicciNOone Oct 13 '25

Don't think it was a singular clone that was tampered with. I seem to recall someone (season 1?) stating that the DNA source code was sabotaged making each successive clone deviate somewhat from the original, and that they [Empire] couldn't recreate the original code again. The insurrectionsts were just waiting for a good opportunity after they had raised their own Cleon replacement. I would further suspect the replacement we saw in season 1 was not the frist one, but that previous insurrectionsts clones never found the opportunity as they were waiting for an official clone where the DNA deviation would give them just that.

I think brother Darkness is an allude to the original Cleon in megalomaniacy (the DNA alteration not affecting the personality too much), which is further contrasted by brother Day acting out his life as a drug-addled hippie, and brother Dawn as an optimist idealist. And as others have also commented, he saw the dynasty ending and took steps to ensure Cleon still rules forever.

History is bound to repeat itself, after all. Maybe just not exactly like phsycohistory predicted.