In Review: Foundation (S2 – EP5) – The Sighted and the Seen

Synopsis: In The Sighted and the Seen, Gaal, Salvor and Hari arrive on Ignis and meet the source of a strange signal they’ve been tracking. Dawn and Dusk are suspicious of Day.

The Story

Continuing from last week. Queen Sareth continues her investigation of  Empire and offers to copulate with Day as a ruse so she can get in his bed chamber and try to find out what happened during the assassination attempt we saw in episode one. Added to this, she has also asked Claviger Markley to obtain her a visual record of what happened from the security archive. Meanwhile, Dawn and Dusk get suspicious of Day and begin an investigation of their own after an unsuccessful meeting with an avatar of Cleon the 1st. 

Elsewhere, Hari, Gaal and Salvor arrive on the planet Ignis and find the source of the strange signal that they’ve been tracking. No soon as they land Salvor is tricked by an illusion of her lighthouse keeper Hugo who is bait for a trap that leads to their capture by Tellem Bond. We learn that Ignis is populated by a group of psychics who Bond has rescued from persecution. But what is their interest in Hari and the founders of the first Foundation? 

The Acting

Lee Pace continues to be brilliantly manipulative in his role of Day and the relationship between Day and Demerzel is bordering on the creepy side of things. We get a great scene between Pace and Ella-Rae Smith where Queen Sareth and Day get into a heated argument when they confront each other with their various accusations. Indeed Sareth is an intriguing character and Rae Smith is doing a solid job of bringing this character to life. 

Rachel House makes a strong impression with very little screen time as Tellem Bond, who is the leader of the group of psychics that abduct Hari, Gaal and Salvor. Bond has a really big agenda and it isn’t one that is on the same page as Hari and his Foundation.

Overall

This episode gets through quite a lot of story and lays the foundations for more conflict by introducing Ignus and Tellem Bond into the mix. However, there is once again very little for fans of action to get excited about.