Yes, You Know That Planet: The Final Scene In Foundation Season 3 Explained

Spoilers for "Foundation" season 3, episode 10, "The Darkness" follow.

After two seasons of slower pacing and lots of world-building, "Foundation" season 3 kicked Apple TV+'s Asimov adaptation into high gear. It brought in Pilou Asbæk's long-teased villain, The Mule — albeit with a couple of major twists. Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) and Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) set up the Second Foundation on Ignis. Oh, and the Galactic Empire continued to implode, along with its Genetic Dynasty. As Brother Darkness (Terrence Mann) snuffed out his cloned brethren in the final moments of the finale and destroyed Demerzel's physical body, to boot, we were left with one final tease of what's to come next. As the robot skull relic hooked to Demerzel's palace wall initiated a Clasp, it sent a message to multiple robots at a far distant location in the galaxy. The name of that location? The Moon, and just beyond it, our very own home planet of Earth.

As the positronic point of contact succeeded, we were treated to a closing shot where Kalle (Rowena King) and a clearly metallic robot behind her are shown in a bare room. Earlier in the season, it was strongly hinted at that Kalle, too, is a robot, albeit one with human characteristics, like Demerzel. In episode 2, "Shadows in the Math," as Kalle escorts Hari in his final moments, her eye flashes red, and a moment later she tells Hari that "we" can't have skin in the game — hinting at her non-organic makeup.

Fast forward to the end of the finale, and Kalle and another robotic being are shown on the surface of the Moon with the Earth beyond, and North and South America clearly outlined. Why were we suddenly transported to such a familiar place? An even better question might be: why has Earth had nothing to do with the Foundation storyline up until this point?

Isaac Asimov had a lot of fun working the Earth into his Foundation storyline. In the books, the Earth isn't even mentioned in a serious capacity until the fourth of the five books. (The current series has covered most of the first three in the first three seasons.) In books four and five, the Mule is already in the history books, and a new cast of characters sets out on a quest, one that eventually involves finding the origin planet of the human species.

For those who aren't aware, Asimov's "Foundation" story takes place in the same universe as "I, Robot" and his other robot novels, just 18,000 years in the future. The Robot novels mostly take place on or at least closer to Earth and the 50 Spacer worlds that it initially colonizes early in its interplanetary expansion (long before the Imperial Empire is set up).

Now, I don't want to give away everything that's coming, but suffice it to say that as the "Foundation" story winds down to the conclusion of the fifth book, the main characters end up finding Earth (which has become radioactive) and then discovering a hidden colony on the Moon. Who they meet there and the revelations they discover, I'll leave for another time. The key for right now is that the Moon and Earth are not commonplace terms in the Foundation universe. Heck, nobody even remembers the name "Earth," let alone its gigantic satellite and their location. Putting them in the final sequence of season 3 is a big reveal for viewers, even if most don't realize its importance — yet.

When /Film caught up with "Foundation" showrunner David S. Goyer to talk about the season 3 finale, we asked about the decision to move this critical reveal up so early in the story. Here's what the mastermind behind this impressive adaptation had to say:

"So the original plan was that was not something we were going to show potentially until the end of season 4 or the beginning of season 5. But one of the things that's lovely about a television show as opposed to a movie, if you get more than one season, is there is an ability, to a certain extent, to adjust in real time."

Goyer went on to explain that once you see what's working and what isn't working with the audience, you can call an audible like this as you go along. He used the "Batman" movies (which he worked on with Christopher Nolan) as an example, saying:

"When I was working with Chris Nolan on the Batman movies [...] we would come up with an idea and say, 'Oh, that would be good to use for another movie if there's another movie.' And Chris would always say, 'Let's just use it now. We don't know if we're going to get another movie.'"

Carpe diem, right? Goyer and company decided to use the momentum they had from season 3 to move up the late-story sneak peek. Readers of the books can immediately make the connection. Others who are experiencing "Foundation" for the first time via Apple TV+'s show are going to have to wait until the already greenlit season 4 comes out to learn more.

Foundation season 3 is streaming in its entirety on Apple TV+.