Foundation, Apple TV+’s adaptation of the famed Isaac Asimov novels, takes place in a galaxy facing an imminent, mathematically predicted age of darkness. It’s troubling, especially for Empire, the genetic dynasty of clones named Cleon that’s been in power for centuries, but it’s not as bad as all-out extinction. But as season three begins, certain among Foundation‘s characters learn the math has changed, and total doomsday is all but certain.
Some react to this news—signaled by worrisome changes in the Prime Radiant, the quantum supercomputer of sorts that divines what lies ahead—by escalating preventative actions, while others decide partying will help. But the most thought-provoking response comes from Foundation‘s arguably most complex character: Demerzel, played by Laura Birn. She’s an ancient robot, the last survivor of the Robot Wars. Several hundred years ago, she was reprogrammed by the first Cleon to serve Empire—a directive that guides all of her actions and one she’s powerless to defy.
As Foundation has progressed, we’ve learned a lot about Demerzel. Her backstory gets more investigation in season three, but as Empire (and, by extension, all of humanity) faces what’s to come, her role in that future becomes decidedly confusing.
“I’d say very much she is in an existential crisis,” Birn told io9 at a recent Foundation press day. “For many centuries her path has been very clear, since [she was programmed by Cleon I], and before that also.”
But that clear path is now muddied. “This season, the information that the Prime Radiant offers—and when [season three villain] the Mule arrives, the effect it has on the whole galaxy—suddenly offers these new paths, possible paths. She’s thought that she always knows the right answers, like, ‘this is a way we have to work, this is the way I’m going to guide the galaxy, or guide the Cleons.’”
Birn continued. “Suddenly, when that shifts a bit, [a lot of] questions arise. What if the end comes? What’s [her] responsibility in all this? Where does it leave [her] if the human species is destroyed? Is it a good thing for her? Is it something very lonely and sad? Does she carry a responsibility? Can she make a difference? So all these things kind of spiral her into a place of ‘what is the purpose of my life, what is the meaning?’ So it’s very much an existential crisis.”
Early in season three, Demerzel reaches out to a leader in the Luminist faith—Foundation fans will recall it from a key season one storyline—to act as a sounding board for her crisis.
“I think, like in many of her decisions, it’s hard to say if it is a good thing or a helpful thing,” Birn said. “In the palace nobody knows her secrets. She’s very held back. She’s very controlled. So to have those moments where she can literally reflect on her own things—decisions that she’s made, contemplating the past and the future—it is powerful, but I’m not sure if it’s helpful. Maybe for her, but maybe not for humankind.”
Demerzel stores the Prime Radiant, which resembles a small jewelry box, inside her chest. It’s almost where her heart would go if she were human. The choice is one made out of convenience, of course, but there’s also a deeper meaning, as Birn pointed out.
“It’s interesting: how do we define where the humanity in us lives? We often think that it’s the heart that feels. Or it’s the soul—where do we think the soul exists? That play of, that there’s just a mechanical thing inside her, which is actually something so relevant for the whole galaxy, and the information that she holds close to her heart and the decisions that she makes. So yeah, I do love the play of that.”
Foundation returns to Apple TV+ with weekly episodes starting July 11.
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