By Jaron Pak
Copyright slashfilm
My “who is Kalle?” thought process has gone further than individual characters, too. I’m starting to wonder if she represents a larger entity — and there are a few options for what that could be. The first is that she’s the physical, on-screen embodiment of the Prime Radiant itself. This is what Hari Seldon thinks when he first meets her, and she brings it up again when talking to Demerzel at the end of season 3, in episode 9, “The Paths That Choose Us.” In that conversation, though, she also says:
“I know what you wish me to be. Like seeks like. Robots were not designed to stand alone.”
Cryptic? Yes. It hints that she’s a robot, and earlier in episode 2, “Shadows in the Math,” there are multiple additional signs that she’s positronic, not human. And yet, her resistance to simply come out and say “yeah, I’m a robot” makes me think there’s more going on here. Maybe it’s just that she’s the Prime Radiant appearing in different forms to different people. Then again, maybe she really is a robot — and if that’s true, I think she comes from one of two different places.
The first is Gaia. This is a living planet that is important in the upcoming part of the “Foundation” story. Gaia is settled by humans with robot guides and teachers. Its people have similar powers to the Mule (who comes from there in the books) or the Second Foundation, but they also develop a single, collective consciousness. Kalle could be from that planet and could be hardwired to the collective consciousness, hence her cryptic talk about being more than a single thing.
My other thought is that she’s a robot from the Moon. This is revealed at the end of season 3, and it is a critical part of the final part of the “Foundation” story. I won’t give much away, but suffice it to say that the Moon has a robot colony on it. Kalle could be part of that group, again feeding her “I’m more than me” narrative. Unfortunately, for all the speculation, we’re going to have to at least wait until the greenlit season 4 arrives to get more answers.
“Foundation” season 3 is streaming on Apple TV+.
