Lee Pace's Brother Day confronts Jared Harris' Hari Seldon in a first-look image from Foundation season 2. The Apple TV+ show adapts the series of stories of the same name by author and biochemist Isaac Asimov, which is considered by many to be a major landmark of the science fiction genre. Foundation season 1 premiered in September of last year, with news of the season 2 renewal coming before all ten episodes had aired.
Set in a distant future governed by a Galactic Empire, the show's premise hinges the fictional discipline of psychohistory, developed by Seldon, in which a mathematical algorithm is used to predict the future of large populations. After discovering that the long-reigning Empire, headed by cyclical trio of clones of Emperor Cleon, is doomed to collapse, Seldon and his followers work to execute a delicate plan that could shorten the subsequent Dark Age to a single millennium. In adapting the literature, which spans 1000 years, for television, Foundation follows multiple characters across skewed timelines, including Seldon's protégé Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell), Terminus Warden Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), and various iterations of Pace's adult clone, Brother Day.
Now, in a new Foundation season 2 image shared by Apple TV, one of these clones played by Pace confronts Seldon while holding the Prime Radiant that contains his psychohistoric algorithm. It is difficult to know with certainty when this takes place, given the show's propensity to move through time, and it is possible that this confrontation happened either just before or after Seldon's banishment to Terminus. However, it is more likely this scene takes place following Seldon's death, meaning he is depicted here as one of his digital copies. Check out the image below:
The photo suggests exciting potential for Foundation fans, on multiple levels. The performances of Harris and Pace, the latter in particular, have been among the show's most praised elements, and the prospect of them sharing a scene again is certainly enticing. In terms of story, a lot hinges on when this conversation is set, since the Brother Day who walked the Spiral is far more intrigued by Seldon's theories than was the clone who presided over his sentencing years prior.
Of course, it is also possible that this Brother Day is generations removed from any Foundation viewers have seen thus far, with the presence of the undying andriod Eto Demerzel (Laura Birn) offering no clues in that regard. The Empire is coming ever closer to collapse, and both the non-palatial setting and Brother Day's rugged appearance could be evidence of a galaxy under siege, centuries after the events depicted in season 1. Though no release date has yet been announced for Foundation season 2, fans will be hungry for more promotional material such as this to get a better grasp of what lies in store for them.
Source: Apple TV