#laurabirn — Public Fediverse posts

While I enjoyed the season finale of #Foundation, it didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was disappointing that the general (or the spacers) didn’t make their stand sooner. And for the fate of #Empire to come down to fisticuffs is just lazy writing, especially given all of the dramatic resources that were already in play. In the end, most of the drama came from revealing things that had already happened without the audience’s knowledge rather than some unforeseen twist of events, and key elements of the plot remain unexplained. How, for example, did Seldon no. 2 come to have a physical body? Presumably we will have to wait until next season.

The back-story for #Demerzel was, however, superb with a sterling performance from #LauraBirn throughout. But there were many different ways this could have played out. Why, for example, didn’t Foundation take advantage of Empire’s weakness by jumping to Trantor while the Imperial fleet was distracted in Terminus? And why could only one person fit in the escape/cleaning pod when there was clearly room for two (albeit with a shorter supply oxygen which could have meant both of them died). Finally, what a waste of #LeahHarvey’s superb talent and character, which carried season 1, but seemed to lack purpose or direction, being a mere side-kick to Gaal and Hari in the battle against the Mentalics crazed leader.

One of the things I love about #Asimov’s books is that they told a story in which everything is governed by scientific laws, albeit from a future science that is as yet undiscovered. Everything that happens happens for a reason and in accordance with the ‘laws’ of human behaviour, albeit at galactic scale. The first season of the adaptation mainly stuck with this formula to good effect. The second seems more like Star Wars with swearing. Fun but ultimately undermining the series’ central premise: that the rise and fall of civilisations can be predicted.

There’s an inherent paradox in telling a story that is supposed to be governed by precise mathematical rules through the eyes of a small number of individuals, each of whose actions can determine the fate of an entire galaxy. We are left wondering what, if anything, Seldon actually predicted, since events always seem to be knocking it off course, and whether the much vaunted plan was any good to begin with. Overall, season 2 is more psychodrama than #psychohistory. Hopefully season 3 will offer a more satisfying fusion of the two.

While I enjoyed the season finale of #Foundation, it didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was disappointing that the general (or the spacers) didn’t make their stand sooner. And for the fate of #Empire to come down to fisticuffs is just lazy writing, especially given all of the dramatic resources that were already in play. In the end, most of the drama came from revealing things that had already happened without the audience’s knowledge rather than some unforeseen twist of events, and key elements of the plot remain unexplained. How, for example, did Seldon no. 2 come to have a physical body? Presumably we will have to wait until next season.

The back-story for #Demerzel was, however, superb with a sterling performance from #LauraBirn throughout. But there were many different ways this could have played out. Why, for example, didn’t Foundation take advantage of Empire’s weakness by jumping to Trantor while the Imperial fleet was distracted in Terminus? And why could only one person fit in the escape/cleaning pod when there was clearly room for two (albeit with a shorter supply oxygen which could have meant both of them died). Finally, what a waste of #LeahHarvey’s superb talent and character, which carried season 1, but seemed to lack purpose or direction, being a mere side-kick to Gaal and Hari in the battle against the Mentalics crazed leader.

One of the things I love about #Asimov’s books is that they told a story in which everything is governed by scientific laws, albeit from a future science that is as yet undiscovered. Everything that happens happens for a reason and in accordance with the ‘laws’ of human behaviour, albeit at galactic scale. The first season of the adaptation mainly stuck with this formula to good effect. The second seems more like Star Wars with swearing. Fun but ultimately undermining the series’ central premise: that the rise and fall of civilisations can be predicted.

There’s an inherent paradox in telling a story that is supposed to be governed by precise mathematical rules through the eyes of a small number of individuals, each of whose actions can determine the fate of an entire galaxy. We are left wondering what, if anything, Seldon actually predicted, since events always seem to be knocking it off course, and whether the much vaunted plan was any good to begin with. Overall, season 2 is more psychodrama than #psychohistory. Hopefully season 3 will offer a more satisfying fusion of the two.

While I enjoyed the season finale of #Foundation, it didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was disappointing that the general (or the spacers) didn’t make their stand sooner. And for the fate of #Empire to come down to fisticuffs is just lazy writing, especially given all of the dramatic resources that were already in play. In the end, most of the drama came from revealing things that had already happened without the audience’s knowledge rather than some unforeseen twist of events, and key elements of the plot remain unexplained. How, for example, did Seldon no. 2 come to have a physical body? Presumably we will have to wait until next season.

The back-story for #Demerzel was, however, superb with a sterling performance from #LauraBirn throughout. But there were many different ways this could have played out. Why, for example, didn’t Foundation take advantage of Empire’s weakness by jumping to Trantor while the Imperial fleet was distracted in Terminus? And why could only one person fit in the escape/cleaning pod when there was clearly room for two (albeit with a shorter supply oxygen which could have meant both of them died). Finally, what a waste of #LeahHarvey’s superb talent and character, which carried season 1, but seemed to lack purpose or direction, being a mere side-kick to Gaal and Hari in the battle against the Mentalics crazed leader.

One of the things I love about #Asimov’s books is that they told a story in which everything is governed by scientific laws, albeit from a future science that is as yet undiscovered. Everything that happens happens for a reason and in accordance with the ‘laws’ of human behaviour, albeit at galactic scale. The first season of the adaptation mainly stuck with this formula to good effect. The second seems more like Star Wars with swearing. Fun but ultimately undermining the series’ central premise: that the rise and fall of civilisations can be predicted.

There’s an inherent paradox in telling a story that is supposed to be governed by precise mathematical rules through the eyes of a small number of individuals, each of whose actions can determine the fate of an entire galaxy. We are left wondering what, if anything, Seldon actually predicted, since events always seem to be knocking it off course, and whether the much vaunted plan was any good to begin with. Overall, season 2 is more psychodrama than #psychohistory. Hopefully season 3 will offer a more satisfying fusion of the two.

While I enjoyed the season finale of #Foundation, it didn’t quite live up to expectations. It was disappointing that the general (or the spacers) didn’t make their stand sooner. And for the fate of #Empire to come down to fisticuffs is just lazy writing, especially given all of the dramatic resources that were already in play. In the end, most of the drama came from revealing things that had already happened without the audience’s knowledge rather than some unforeseen twist of events, and key elements of the plot remain unexplained. How, for example, did Seldon no. 2 come to have a physical body? Presumably we will have to wait until next season.

The back-story for #Demerzel was, however, superb with a sterling performance from #LauraBirn throughout. But there were many different ways this could have played out. Why, for example, didn’t Foundation take advantage of Empire’s weakness by jumping to Trantor while the Imperial fleet was distracted in Terminus? And why could only one person fit in the escape/cleaning pod when there was clearly room for two (albeit with a shorter supply oxygen which could have meant both of them died). Finally, what a waste of #LeahHarvey’s superb talent and character, which carried season 1, but seemed to lack purpose or direction, being a mere side-kick to Gaal and Hari in the battle against the Mentalics crazed leader.

One of the things I love about #Asimov’s books is that they told a story in which everything is governed by scientific laws, albeit from a future science that is as yet undiscovered. Everything that happens happens for a reason and in accordance with the ‘laws’ of human behaviour, albeit at galactic scale. The first season of the adaptation mainly stuck with this formula to good effect. The second seems more like Star Wars with swearing. Fun but ultimately undermining the series’ central premise: that the rise and fall of civilisations can be predicted.

There’s an inherent paradox in telling a story that is supposed to be governed by precise mathematical rules through the eyes of a small number of individuals, each of whose actions can determine the fate of an entire galaxy. We are left wondering what, if anything, Seldon actually predicted, since events always seem to be knocking it off course, and whether the much vaunted plan was any good to begin with. Overall, season 2 is more psychodrama than #psychohistory. Hopefully season 3 will offer a more satisfying fusion of the two.