- Foundation season 3 makes a major change to a big reveal regarding The Mule
- Two of its cast members have discussed why it’s such a shocking moment
- One of the Apple TV+ show’s stars says it’ll spark a huge debate among fans
Foundation star Lou Llobell has revealed she had no idea about the show’s reimagining of a big reveal concerning The Mule.
Before Foundation season 3 episode 10 made its Apple TV+ debut today (September 12), I sat down with Llobell to discuss the series’ latest finale, titled ‘The Darkness’, including that hugely surprising moment about this season’s primary villain.
Full spoilers immediately follow for the season 3 finale and Isaac Asimov’s ‘Foundation’ book series. Turn back if you haven’t watched its latest entry and/or don’t want to know about the story depicted in the novels.
One of the biggest questions concerning Foundation season 3 was whether the shock reveal about The Mule’s true identity would play out in the same manner in Apple’s TV adaptation as it does in the books. As I discussed in an article about Foundation season 3 newcomer Magnifico Giganticus, this weak and timid individual is eventually revealed to be The Mule in the source material.
Foundation‘s TV retelling takes a different approach – one I expect to be controversial among long-time fans of Asimov’s works – to this grand reveal. Indeed, as I cover in my Foundation season 3 ending explained piece, Bayta Mallow is seemingly unveiled as the real Mule.
It’s a blindside that was withheld from Foundation‘s cast for some time. Llobell told me nobody knew Bayta was The Mule until they received the season 3 finale’s script, which they didn’t get until ‘The Darkness’ was about to be filmed.
“All of the scenes were drip fed to us,” Llobell admitted. “But, it was still a shock to me because, while I knew there was some form of reveal, I didn’t know it was going to be that.
“I think people will go back, watch this season again, and be like ‘that makes sense’,” she continued. “I also think it’s great that it diverts from the source material. That’s important, otherwise people who’ve read the books will know what’s coming, so I think it’s interesting to adapt it in a way that’s interesting for television.”
In an interview with RadioTimes.com, Synnøve Karlsen, who plays Bayta, also opened up on the grand reveal.
“Knowing that there was this twist that was going to come, it just made her even more of an exciting character,” Karlsen said. “I think she can come off slightly kind of thoughtless or careless at the beginning so, once I found that out, it was such an exciting element for me.
“I think that they [the show’s creators] wanted to subvert it,” she mused about Bayta being The Mule instead of Magnifico. “I think it’s just quite interesting that it’s a woman, and I guess there is something about changing something from the original to surprise people [and] keep people on their toes.”
As I mentioned earlier, though, some viewers might not react positively to this change in one of the best Apple TV+ shows. Llobell agrees there’ll be some strong reactions to this revelation, but she believes debating the changes that the sci-fi series makes are better than better than it not being discussed at all.
“At the end of the day, we’re storytellers,” she said. “We’re taking the source material and creating something new. My character [Gaal Dornick] wouldn’t have existed this long if we didn’t diverge from the books, so I’m very grateful for that.
“I understand some people might feel bitter about it,” she added of Bayta being The Mule. “But, that’s a really good reaction to have. It causes conversation and that’s what we’re aiming to do. We want people to have a reaction, whether good or bad, to this and then talk about it with other fans.”
All of that said, I still believe Magnifico is The Mule. I go into that theory in more detail in the aforementioned season 3 ending explainer, so read that if you’re curious about why I feel that way.
“I don’t know,” Llobell replied with a wry smile when I proposed that notion. “I haven’t seen any scripts [for a potential fourth season], but that would be an interesting take.”
Foundation season 3 is out now in full on Apple TV+.
