The second season of "Foundation" is still far from the literary source, but pleases with a beautiful picture
Miscellaneous / / July 17, 2023
Screening becomes even more free.
The second season of Foundation premiered on Apple TV+ on July 14. It is unlikely that he will like those who did not like the first series, but the project retained the main advantages.
Foundation is a free adaptation of Isaac Asimov's series of novels of the same name. It is generally accepted that the works of a science fiction writer are difficult to film: there are too many philosophical dialogues and political intrigues, rather than actions. Unsurprisingly, the Apple TV takes very little from the literary source. For this, the first season was criticized by Asimov's fans.
Showrunners: David S. Goyer (screenwriter of the films "Man of Steel", "The Dark Knight"), Josh Friedman ("Snowpiercer"). The series stars Jared Harris (Chernobyl, Lincoln), Lee Pace (The Hobbit), Laura Byrne (Purification) and many others.
The plot of "Foundation" is impossible to retell, since the actions take place in different times and geographical spaces, and there are so many characters that almost all of them only indirectly participate in common events. According to the prophecies, the Galactic Empire, covering the entire Milky Way, must perish. The scientist creates the organization "Foundation" to recreate a civilization after its death. At the same time, different clans and rulers are trying to seize power, abandoning morality and rules.
The problems of the first season remain
The first season only at the beginning was similar to the original. The second season hints that random pieces will also be pulled out of the book - for example, using characters as prototypes (they change a lot). Intersections are noticeable in global things like large time periods and places of action. Otherwise, the series continues its own development, and it is obvious that further connections with books will be erased more and more. This is probably a minus for those who wanted to see the exact film adaptation of the novels, but the rest of the audience is unlikely to suffer from this.
But at the same time, the question of goal setting arises: why take a literary source that is so hard to work with that you have to throw out almost all the original material from it? Still, it turns out the series is “based on”, and not at all obvious. Everything would be fine, but after all, some of the problems of the "Foundation" are closely related to the fact that the original source is ignored.
Even more simplified
Where the book emphasized dialogues about civilization, the series shoves conversations about feelings. It seems to be normal, but there are too many heroes, and their activities are tied to political intrigues that develop too slowly. Trying to combine one with the other turns into jumping from topic to topic.
And when there are even more characters, then these superficial conversations about the personal begin to annoy. Still, the readers liked the political and philosophical content of the books because it offered an alternative view of science fiction - without unnecessary flirting with feelings and standard earthly things. But Apple wants to sit on two chairs.
Added new storylines and characters
It seems that the second season will not be deeper, but wider. The scriptwriters add additional time dimensions, separate plots and quite a lot of new characters. Some of the characters from the first season are still becoming less superficial, but otherwise the course of expansion is noticeable. And you can not say that the "Foundation" from this becomes better. Perhaps more diverse, but after all, the first season surprised precisely with its patchwork.
Unlike the first season, now the viewer understands the big picture better. Foundation, like any big (in terms of storylines) series, suffers from a slow pace of storytelling. The abundance of characters only exacerbates this problem, but fans of leisurely stories are unlikely to perceive this as a barrier to viewing.
Brilliant picture pleases again
It seems that absolutely any claim to the "Foundation" can be reduced to a scenario. But the graphic work here is at the highest level. These are beautiful, completely different scenes. And from the point of view of directing, and, first of all, from the point of view of artists. It seems that the second season looks even better than the first (which itself could boast of beauty).
"Foundation" is a visual treat. And often the background becomes more interesting than the foreground, in which the characters solve personal problems.
"Foundation" became an even more cumbersome series. It is so big and varied that it is tiring. Apparently, the second season will be key - if the audience agrees to look at this huge set of heroes and intrigues, then the scriptwriters will calmly (that is, slowly) continue to delve into the characters and their motives, gradually scattering arguments about civilizations and politics. If the ratings drop, then perhaps the series will change - either closer to the book, or even further away from it. And I don't know which is better.