Foundation Review: The Emperor’s Peace / Preparing to Live (Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2)
We’re introduced to a vast new world on Foundation Season 1 Episode 1, “The Emperor’s Peace,” and Foundation Season 1 Episode 2, “Preparing to Live,” and there’s quite a bit to learn.
A lot of information is thrown at us with very little time to process it all. You almost have to give up on trying to fully wrap your head around things and accept that you’ll always be a little out of the loop, which isn’t really something that you want to have to do.
While shows don’t need to hold our hands or slowly spoon-feed us information, they do need to help us follow along. No one enjoys feeling like they’re missing something, but that’s exactly what happens as you sit down to watch these episodes.
It doesn’t help matters that a huge part of the show is reacting to what Hari’s math predicts, which is slightly above our heads. But even outside of that, planets are quickly namedropped, and then there are delegates meeting with Day. It’s a little tough to keep track of who everyone is, and how they fit into the bigger picture that Foundation is painting.
On “The Emperor’s Peace,” it is okay to feel a bit out of sorts because Gaal is too as she meets Hari and attempts to acclimate to her new life on Trantor that is quickly thrown off course by her arrest. We’re along for the ride with her. But on “Preparing to Live,” we lose our guide.
There’s a time jump, and Gaal has settled into whatever role she now has on the spaceship with the foundation. Now, we’re trying to catch up to her, while figuring out how the foundation is operating currently and preparing for Terminus.
Thankfully, Day and Dusk’s storyline of trying to find who is behind the bombing is easier to follow, so there’s less confusion there. We’re able to settle in and get to know the brothers, and see how different they are, despite all being clones of the same man.
The first two episodes do succeed in setting up an intricate and stunning new world and giving us time to get to know the main players, showcasing different sides of them. We see Gaal come into her own on the foundation spaceship, and we see the complexity of Hari — who he is to his closest friends/associates vs. his followers vs. when he’s alone.
The end of “Preparing to Live” finally injects some mystery and shock into the series, which Foundation desperately needs.
Things are a bit grave in this world and with that gravity comes a lack of excitement. Things haven’t necessarily been boring, but there hasn’t been a sense of urgency to where you have to keep watching to discover what happens next.
Sure, there’s this curiosity as to how Hari’s plan will work (if it does), but it’s not a pressing need to watch the next episode immediately. Now, there is. You can’t wait to try to figure out what in the world is going on that prompted Raych to attack/kill Hari and send Gaal out into space.
This mystery, despite us not knowing everything, helps make us feel like we’re on the same page as Gaal again. We don’t feel like an outsider anymore, trying to keep up with everything that’s going on, which is a huge relief.
What did you think of these episodes of Foundation? Share your thoughts in the comments below!
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New episodes of Foundation premiere Fridays on Apple TV+.
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Allison Nichols
Allison is in a love affair with television that doesn't seem to be letting up anytime soon. Slightly damaged fictional characters are her weakness. She loves to spend her free time curled up with a cat and a show to binge-watch. Allison is a Tomatometer-approved critic (Rotten Tomatoes).
One thought on “Foundation Review: The Emperor’s Peace / Preparing to Live (Season 1 Episodes 1 and 2)”
You are too kind. This awful mash-ups of old Star Wars stuff (space battles!) and newer Game of Thrones (intrigue!) is trash that dishonors the legendary “Foundation” Trilogy by Isaac Asimov (written between 1942 and 1965). The only things with has in common with the source novels are the character names. Being beholden to SJW PC gender and race swapping was so important, they forgot to write interesting plots or dialog and seeming don’t even understand the plot or ideas from the novel.
Drier and stupidest than “Dune” but more boring.
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