Summary
The purpose of each character becomes clearer in another strong chapter of Foundation.
This recap of Apple TV+’s Foundation season 1, episode 7, “Mysteries and Martyrs,” contains no spoilers.
Read the recap of the previous episode.
This series continues to move forward in its stride. I’m not seeing much praise for this TV show yet, which is strange, but I assume it will keep building momentum on future seasons.
Foundation season 1, episode 7 recap
Episode 7, “Mysteries and Martyrs,” begins with Salvor and Gaal reaching the belt with the ship, as ordered by the Huntress of the Anacreon people. There appears to be nothing there, but Huntress asks everyone to look closer — they see the Invictus ship. It used to be the most powerful weapon ever built — a world-killer. Salvor states it disappeared a while ago, and she seems surprised to see it.
Huntress wants the Empire commander and the Terminus team to access the Invictus ship, knowing the Anacreon people cannot board it without their credentials. Salvor and the captors prepare to enter the ship, but they also need to find a way to undermine the Anacreon people. Salvor and the others float through the belt towards the Invictus airlock. Sadly, Hugo missed the landing and floats endlessly through space. Salvor is devastated, but Huntress tells her to swallow her grief. Is Hugo dead? It doesn’t feel concrete.
Moving to the Emperor: Dermerzel apologizes to Brother Day for kneeling to a Demagogue on Maiden. He thinks it’s a staggering betrayal of her directive. He’s also dissatisfied with Halima’s challenge. Her speech has struck a chord, and she’s now the frontrunner. Brother Day and Dermerzel visit Halima to see what she wants from them. Halima asks Brother Day to end the genetic dynasty. She believes it will be the ruin of them all. Tensions are high between them as they have opposing ideologies. It’s fascinating to watch.
Brother Day tries to reach out to the supporters of Halima. He wants to appeal to the triple goddesses. He vows to walk the Great Spiral and allow Mother to decide who is true, who is right, and how is wrong. Will this end well for him? We’ll surely find out in subsequent episodes.
On the outside of the Invictus ship, Salvor and her team are attacked by an automatic turret gun. When they access the ship, the gun stops. The Huntress kills the commander by shooting him coldly in his head — “he served his purpose.” Inside the ship, it’s full of dead people. They find the regulation panel to activate the systems. They use manual interventions to restore atmosphere and gravity.
Suddenly, the crew sensed that the Invictus has been on an automatic cycle drive of space jumps. Salvor now understands how the ship became a “ghost ship.” This is how the crew died as the ship kept moving coordinates into the unknown with no way of stopping it. They have 4 hours to regain control of the ship. Huntress reminds Salvor of the urgency, and if they are unlucky, they will suffer horrific deaths. This approach by the Huntress shows how desperate her people are.
Brother Dawn is still romantically curious about Azura. They are passionate about each other, finding time to have sex, and appreciate each other’s presence. Azura gives Dawn a gift to help correct his sight, but he cannot accept them as Day and Dusk are always watching. He doesn’t want them to nice his flaws.
Dawn shows Azura the initial versions of themselves. He states they are alive “in a manner of speaking.” They are absorbing information in case they are needed. Essentially, they are replacements. Brother Dawn fears if they ever learn of his defects, he will be replaced. Azura wants Dawn to escape, but he feels he would be hunted and killed. Azura offers him hope and lists some solutions for escape. She doesn’t want him to live like this. But if you remember, Dusk has a vested interest in their relationship — is this a trap for Dawn?
We eventually see Gaal’s story in episode 7 as she tries to figure out Hari Seldon’s state. He keeps glitching in and out of existence, the present and the past. She manages to help him into the present. Hari notes that a part of his plans with Raych went wrong. He’s merely a memory. He’s not alive.
Hari learns how many years he’s lost and tells Gaal that she shouldn’t be here. He asks where Raych is, and he’s concerned. Gaal tells Hari that he’s dead and Raych killed him; the consequence is that Raych was executed. Hari glitches again before Gaal can get any more answers.
Salvor and the team continue to figure out the jump drives. They find the cooling system. Salvor and the gang end up fighting the Huntress and the Anacreons. As Huntress is about to kill Salvor, she’s reminded that they still need her.
Back to Gaal and the ship’s systems stabilize, and Hari is now merged with the AI. He tells her that they needed a myth to endure for centuries, and it worked. Hari then appears, and he tells Gaal that his death galvanized the Foundation. Gaal doesn’t buy it and feels he wouldn’t sacrifice himself for this. Hari reveals he had a condition that meant he’d deteriorate cognitively.
Hari looks towards Helicon, his home. He tells Gaal that Raych knew everything and that he was meant to reunite with him. He claims he loved her. Gaal is tired of the ring fencing of information. Hari reveals that Raych was never going to leave her, and it was he who was meant to be on the ship, not her. He wanted Gaal to lead on Terminus. Gaal is distraught, but Hari says she welcomed her part in this, and she chose to have a different life.
The ending of “Mysteries and Martyrs”
Hari and Gaal keep arguing about who is to blame, but eventually, Gaal walks off while Hari keeps following her.
Their ship is approaching a debris field, but Gaal doesn’t have the authorization to take control; she asks Hari to turn them around. But Hari wants to know why Gaal broke her routine with her swimming to be near the cabin the night Raych stabbed him. Gaal says she could feel doom in the air while swimming. She calls it compulsion and knowing events before they happen. Gaal figures out that she can feel the future. As this series moves forward, Gaal’s purpose becomes more apparent.
What another fantastic chapter “Mysteries and Martyrs” is.
What did you think of Foundation season 1, episode 7, “Mysteries and Martyrs”? Comment below.
