And so we enter the second half of Foundation season 2, and after a slow beginning, the second season of Apple TV Plus' epic sci-fi show has begun to pick up steam, even if it has trouble keeping up on all its plot threads.
Rather than touch base with every character, each episode sees us follow a select few of the many stories going on in Foundation; after episode 5 mainly focused on the comings and goings of the galactic empire as a betrothed queen tried to undermine the dynasty, episode 6 largely follows a trio trying to send up the Second Foundation.
A busy show like Foundation can easily get confusing, hence these recaps to keep you up to speed, though we'd recommend working out how to watch Foundation season 2 as we can only explain so much. These recaps skimp on character details and conversations with few plot points, simply to get the SparkNotes version over to you.
So if you need a little recap on just what happened on "Why The Gods Made Wine", here's our recap of Foundation season 2 episode 6.
Things are getting Mentalic
Salvor Hardin (Leah Harvey) takes a walk along the beach, where she meets a boy who can throw his voice into her head. Remember, they are visiting a planet of psychics! He shows her a memory of him being rescued by Tellem Bond (Rachel House), and more among this Mentalics community share similar memories.
Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) shows Tellem her flashforward from the beginning of the season, of a powerful and evil Mentalic called The Mule, and Tellem can tell this is a threat against her otherwise-hidden people. However Tellem also warns Gaal against Hari's influence, sowing the seeds of doubt between them.
Talking to Salvor, Hari Seldon (Jared Harris) admits that the Prime Radiant and the Vault are connected, letting him spy on his virtual double on Terminus. He also mentions that he's enjoying the little things now that he's human again, like dipping his toes in water.
Tellem visits Gaal again and once more tries to warn her against trusting Hari, and they have a mini fight whereupon Gaal uses her powers to force push Tellem. Then Tellem gives Gaal a proposition: the Mentalics leader (who has failing health) will cede leadership to Gaal, train her up as a Mentalic and ensure that Hardin doesn't die (as in the flashforward), but on the condition that she gets rid of Hari.
Gaal asks Hari to leave, and the man storms off. Later Salvor and Gaal see him fly off in their spaceship, abandoning them. However it's revealed that this is a vision that Tellem created, and the real Hari is chained up in the sea. As the episode ends, we see him drown. Uh-oh, he dies for the second time in as many seasons.
Hari Seldon's past
Near the end of the episode, we get a lengthy flashback sequence from Hari's past. It begins when he's a kid, when a stampede of alien creatures passes him by. Using maths, he notices their pattern and finds a safe spot to stand in the middle.
Many years later he's working at a university, where the liaison with Empire is very unhappy with his work into psychohistory. A new professor shows up: Yana, who we've already heard a lot about in previous episodes and seasons.
Hari and Yana begin to romance as they work on their theory, and when Hari presents a working prototype of the Prime Radiant, she returns with matching necklaces (that look a lot like the Vault), which syncs up their heartbeats. This is because she's pregnant with their child, and these necklaces let him feel their hearts.
The duo receives an offer to move their work to Trantor, where they'd be under Empire's thumb, and Hari isn't keen on the idea. To make him comply the Empire liaison kidnaps Yana to lure him out, however because of his necklace, he knows that she's actually dead. Hari instead takes the liaison to the spot from the first flashback, triggers the stampede and throws the woman into it.
Sometime in the future, we see Hari move to Trantor, which is where he was at the beginning of the first season.
Further adventures in space
While the majority of episode 6 focuses on Hari, Gaal and Salvor, we see brief scenes from other plot lines, mainly ones that didn't get updated in episode 5.
Poly Verisof and Brother Constant reach Trantor, to begin their missionary work, being granted a visa as they enter. After a night on the town Versify asks Constant to flush his drugs down the toilet; after meeting his prophet (episode 4), he doesn't need substances anymore. After a long ramble about the meaning of belief versus faith, the woman who issued them a visa earlier arrives at their hotel and arrests them.
Brother Day addresses his people in a large arena, and unveils a statue of the 'last Empress of the dynasty', the mother of the original Cleon 1. He also announces that he's to be betrothed to Queen Sareth, and that the genetic dynasty is ending. Sareth gives a speech about how she believes the rulers should work for the people, much to the chagrin of Day.
Hober Mallow arrives at the point in space that Hari told him to, and a giant space ship appears. He boards it, and we find out it's the 'Home Swarm' of the Spacers (the genetically engineered humans who can survive in space or through space jumps, who we've previously seen attend to humans making jumps).
