Foundation Season 02 (Apple TV+) - SPOILERS

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

I watched Season 1 and I enjoyed it a lot, but I agreed with the criticism that the Foundation/Salvin storyline was much weaker than the Empire stuff.

Season 2 however so far has been amazing in all story arcs. You barely even notice when Lee Pace doesn't even appear because the other story arcs are also quite interesting. (Which isn't to say he stopped being awesome.)
The additions to the cast for this season have also been quite enjoyable.
Overall a marked improvement!

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Apparently no one else here is watching? The show really seems to be firing on all cylinders this season.

 

[Dioltach]

I've been meaning to get round to it. Like you said, s1 was enjoyable mostly for Empire, but the whole thing was visually amazing, and very well acted.

 

[Paul Farquhar]

Only watched series one. The stuff involving the Emperor was great, the stuff on the Foundation planet was like below-average Doctor Who (gravel pit and all).

 

[FriendlyFiend]

I’ve seen both series and have to agree that Season 2 is knocking it out of the park. The creators are on record as saying they went over the flaws in series 1 very carefully and worked hard to address them and it looks like the work has paid off. It’s great to see Apple giving this show the long-term backing it needs to learn lessons and build, rather than doing a Netflix and cancelling before things even get into their stride.

 

[Mustrum_Ridcully]

Did I see the show is on fire? Foundation is now literally on fire. Doesn't look so good for them.
Someone pointed out that this time, the Empire had both Death Star and its X-Wing shooting at exhausts ports... And we have a Rogue One ending, too...

"You're a sperm led by its waving flagellum mistaking its random motion for complexity"

Demerzel can be quite mean.

 

[briggart]

Well, last episode was unexpected.

 

[GreyLord]

I don't watch it because I don't have AppleTV.

 

[Snarf Zagyg]

I finally caught up. I prefer letting a show go for a while and then watching a bunch of them.

First, I truly enjoyed Season 1. Say what you will up the unevenness, but Lee Pace and Jared Harris consistently hit the ball out of the park. Two scene with Lee Pace* especially will always haunt me (and if you watched, you know what I mean)... Empire (Day) in the garden, telling the rebel exactly what the consequences of seducing/abducting Dawn will be, and Empire on the religious planet, telling Lady Demerzel's story. Just brilliant.

That said, Season 2 is somehow even better. Okay, it has added more pulp elements (Hober Mallow) but it remains smart and political science fiction, and still manages to break expectations from time-to-time ... the way that Salvor escaped from the pit was inspired, and then the realization that the time frames were off? Oh, that rocked.

And Episode 9? Wow. Somehow, the show managed to show you Chekov's gun, and then completely shock you when it was fired. Just ... I mean ... wow. I cannot wait, literally cannot wait, to see what happens in the last episode.


*I first became aware of Lee Pace while watching Halt and Catch Fire ... one of the greatest and most underrated shows of the prestige TV era. Somehow, he took the most thankless role in the series and gave it an undercurrent of depth and pathos (while still remaining largely unsympathetic) that allowed the show to have so much more depth.

 

[briggart]

I don't watch it because I don't have AppleTV.

I usually subscribe for one-two months each year to catch up on a few series that I like (Foundation, Ted Lasso, Slow Horses, looking forward to the new season of Severance). I prefer to watch 2-3 episodes at the time anyway, so monthly subscription plans are ideal to me, especially given that AppleTV has a more limited (but typically high quality) offering compared to other services.