By Jaron Pak

Copyright slashfilm

First, we need some resolution. Bayta is the Mule. Great. Cool twist on the original book plot (where Magnifico Giganticus is actually the Mule all along). Showrunner David S. Goyer’s explanation for using Bayta as the bait-and-switch reveal makes sense. But what comes next? If you recall, the fading moments of season 3 had Gaal Dornick (Lou Llobell) and Bayta (Synnøve Karlsen) duke it out, one mentalic against the other. Gaal had some backup in the form of the Second Foundation and Magnifico playing on his visi-sonor instrument, and from everything we saw, it seems like the good guys won out.

But we don’t actually get any closure there. The last thing we see is Bayta/the Mule collapsing in telepathic defeat. Great. Is she dead? Why did Gaal end up running away and jumping out of a window into her ship? Where is the Mule? Where does this story go next?

If the show follows the books here, the Mule is defeated. He goes down when he has a cognitive showdown with the leader of the Second Foundation. However, in the printed version, he isn’t killed. He isn’t even dethroned. For lack of a better word, he’s mentally neutered. He stops antagonizing the Second Foundation and becomes a benevolent ruler before dying from his mutation at a young age. When we get to season 4, will the Mule still be hunting for the Second Foundation? Will she be mentally neutered and ruling the conquered Foundation with a feather-light fist? This is a spot where we definitely need some closure moving forward.