Foundation Season 3 Showrunner Explains What Happened With Gaal's Vision [Exclusive]

This article contains major spoilers for the season 3 finale of "Foundation."

Is the future set in stone, or can our actions in the present help mitigate an extinction-level catastrophe down the line? That question has remained at the forefront of "Foundation" since its very first episode, when the brilliant mathematician Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) was first put on trial for his predictions about the downfall of the Empire. Once our main protagonist Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) began experiencing disturbing premonitions of the sinister Mule early in season 2, that thematic concern only amplified. It appeared we were headed towards a violent confrontation that would decide the fate of the entire human race, which many of us assumed would arrive at the end of the third season.

Things played out rather differently in the season 3 finale with a pair of villain reveals, however. Not only did Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) upend the entire balance of power at the heart of the Empire, but the Mule wasn't who we thought him to be. After spending so much time loving to hate the roguish warlord (and particularly actor Pilou Asbæk's performance), the twist involving Bayta (Synnøve Karlsen) completely rewrote our preconceptions about the show's greatest threat. The season ended with very little in the way of resolution, throwing all our characters into disarray just as the galaxy teeters over a precipitous edge.

So, about Gaal's vision? The very different circumstances surrounding their meeting in the finale means the future can be changed ... right? Luckily, co-creator and co-showrunner David S. Goyer helped clear things up while speaking exclusively to /Film's Rafael Motamayor. He explained how this ties into the death of Gaal's daughter, Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey), last season and what this suggests moving forward:

"Well, one thing we learned from the end of season 2, Gaal saw a vision of this confrontation, and she saw Salvor dead in this confrontation, and then Salvor died through a different means at the end of season 2. So what that meant, and it's important for a show that's about predicting the future, because the question that we were positing is, 'Is the future that the Prime Radiant is predicting, is it absolutely going to happen, or is it not going to happen? And then are Gaal's dreams going to happen, or are they not going to happen?'"

Those who don't learn from their psychohistory are doomed to die horrible, painful deaths along with the rest of the human race. Okay, so things aren't quite that dire in "Foundation" just yet, but it sure seems headed that way — especially now that Apple has officially renewed the series for a fourth season. But perhaps there's reason to hope. A certain sense of impending doom loomed large over the events of season 2, largely due to Gaal Dornick's sense that her grown-up, time-displaced daughter Salvor Hardin (it's a long story) would die in the far-off future while Gaal fought the Mule. That season's finale proved that the future could be changed ... though only in the most tragic way imaginable. Instead of becoming a victim of the Mule on that distant battlefield, Salvor sacrificed herself to save Gaal in the present. That one event seems to prove that the future remains mutable, which is a key storyline carrying over into season 4.

In his interview with /Film, Goyer went on to describe how this will continue to influence our protagonists and antagonists alike: 

"What we've landed on at the end of season 2 is Salvor dying in the present as opposed to the future. What we're definitively saying is, the future is not on rails. That is a possible future. That is potentially the most likely future, but it's not the only future. And so, even though it was tragic for Salvor to die, the gift of Salvor's death is that it means the future can change, that there's still hope. So by killing the pirate, what that means is [Gaal's] definitely not going to be fighting that pirate in the ruins of the library, but she could still be fighting someone."

For all those anticipating Gaal and the Mule's big fight in that library on Trantor, Goyer appears to strongly imply that this will still occur down the line — only with the celebrity formerly known as Bayta. A storytelling approach that keeps the broad strokes in place while remaining flexible with the precise details might very well be the best way to keep viewers on their toes. As we wait for season 4, seasons 1-3 of "Foundation" are now streaming on Apple TV+.