Several big secrets are revealed in the seventh episode of Foundation season 2, and the quests of many of our main characters are starting to seem a little out of reach.
This recap follows the seventh episode of the show, which aired on Friday, August 25.
The episode, A Necessary Death, follows many different characters in this Apple TV Plus show, ditching the previous few episodes' styles of focusing only on certain plot threads for each installment. It's starting to feel as if we're speeding towards a conclusion for the season.
If you haven't seen A Necessary Death yet, or the previous episodes, here's how to watch Foundation season 2, as lots of this recap will be confusing if you don't already know what the characters have been through this season!
So here's our Foundation season 2 episode 7 recap, following all the main beats of A Necessary Death, though we've re-ordered some of the information so it's easier to read about!
Mallow and Rios clash
We finally catch back up with Hober Mallow (Dimitri Leonidas) in the 'swarm' of the Spacers race of bioengineered humans. He's offering them opalescence, a hard-to-obtain creation that the Spacers consume to survive. Currently, they get their supply from Empire, in exchange for 10% of their young, but Foundation has worked out how to create it and is offering to provide them with opalescence if they turn against Empire.
The Spacer leader isn't convinced though, and hands in Mallow to Bel Rios (Ben Daniels), the leader of the Empire's warship investigating Foundation. The ship's resident Spacer is the Spacer Leader's daughter, plus Rios has been looking into reports that the Foundation has created 'whisper ships' that don't need Spacers to jump — funnily enough, Mallow's ship is just this type.
Mallow tries to escape from captivity by fighting Rios and his husband and is thoroughly beaten up until he manages to open the ship's hold. Becky, the scary reptile-dog creature that's been hanging around in the ship for the entire season, fends off attackers so that Mallow can escape.
When Mallow is preparing to jump, Rios and his husband think the effects of this manouver in the small space of their bay will blast the ship in two — but it turns out that whisper ships have a much smaller footprint, and they're fine. Rios reports this to Empire.
Afterward, Rios' husband begs him to betray Empire, so they don't have to commit any atrocities for them, but Rios points out that an Empire-less galaxy would have far more hardship than the one they're currently in.
Empire's secrets are revealed
Brother Day (Lee Pace) ends his sexual relationship with his robotic aide Demerzel (Laura Birn).
Demerzel takes Queen Sareth (Ella-Rae Smith) to be checked by doctors prior to the marriage, and these people discuss 'harvesting her womb' now that she's 'imperial property, but she talks them down to only doing so after the wedding.
Sareth knows about Demerzel's affair with Day, Demerzel in response hints that it was she that killed Sareth's family — that's what the future queen is here to investigate, after all. Demerzel also says that she's bound by a single law, to protect Empire, but that she used to be governed by three, and this is a reference to another series of Asimov books (adapted into I, Robot with Will Smith) which Asimov tied into the Foundation novels later in their progression.
Afterward, Sareth visits Day. She tells him that her family will soon be Day's too, and proceeds to tell him all about her (dead) relatives, obviously trying to lure information out from him. This is a success, and from Day's reactions Sareth figures out that he ordered their deaths.
Finally, Sareth meets with Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) in secret, and tells him that while she'll have to marry Day, she doesn't want his baby. Sareth gives Dawn a device that'll reverse his infertility, so they can have one, despite his please that Day will kill him if he finds out.
Brother Constant and Poly Verisof (Isabella Laughland and Kulvinder Ghir) are in captivity after being arrested in the previous episode. When they're finally given audience with the three Brothers, it's revealed that Constant had a little part of Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) imprinted into her brain. This projection of him appears to try and reason with Brother Day, but Day points out that Hari's predictions were wrong; the genetic dynasty is no more. Day orders that Bel Rios attacks the Foundation on Terminus to take their technology.
More bodies on Ignus
On Ignus, Gaal (Lou Llobell) is practicing her mind powers. Salvor (Leah Harvey) begs her for them to leave the planet, but Gaal refuses. Shortly after a little boy arrives to bring them to a feast to celebrate the duo's decision to stay and become mind-power Mentalics.
When boiling fish for the dishes, the two feel a pang of pain on behalf of these creatures. Tellem Bond (Rachel House) says that now their abilities are getting better, they'll be able to feel empathy for other creatures... including the ones they eat.
Gaal tells the Mentalics about how mathematics saved her when she was young, through psychohistory, and how they need to use those principles to prepare for The Mule who plans to destroy the Mentalics.
Afterward, Salvor investigates something: while talking with a man earlier, she noticed him glancing at a certain fishing vessel, and using a psychic blocker to stop her from looking further. So Salvor returns and notices that the vessel's navigation data has been tampered with, but she can still use it to find where the craft went. Gaal tries to talk her out of it, but later she sneaks back and does so.
Through this voyage, Salvor discovers the prison where Hari Seldon was killed last episode. Unfortunately Tellem Bond is there, clearly knowing a quicker way to travel than a slow fishing vessel, and she uses her psychic powers to knock Salvor out. She falls into the water and drowns alongside Hari.
