So how many Cleons are there inFoundation, anyway? Okay, we get that this is an Empire going on 13,000 years of rule, but what exactly is going on with the three “Brothers,” and how is the “adulterated” genome gradually changing them as we dive into Season 2?
In Season 1 of the Apple TV+ series, we saw three iterations of the same original man — Cleon — presented as his clones. Cleon was the original leader of the Galactic Empire and since his death, Empire has been using genetically matched replicas of him to ensure its stranglehold on their dictatorial, iron-fisted rule. Three clones all staggered within about 25 years of each other and rule the Empire, but of the three, it is overwhelmingly the middle-aged version around 40 years old that we see as the true face of the Imperial rule.
Lee Paceis phenomenal as Brother Day, the reserved yet diabolical leader who will stop at nothing to maintain a tight grasp on his galactic power in the capital city of Trantor. Brother Dawn is too young and inexperienced to rule effectively, and Brother Dusk is past his prime.
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How Many Cleons Are There in ‘Foundation’?
At the beginning of Season 2, Brother Day is the seventeenth Emperor of the genetic dynasty as Cleon XVII. So as of right now, as we head intothe early episodes of the current season, there are 18 Cleons in existence as the younger Brother Dawn (Cassian Bilton) exists as Cleon XVIII, and is set to assume power as he ages. But it all started with a greybeard who is encased in a glass frame that was the very first of the Cleon genetic dynasty.
In Episode 10 of the first season, after the Shadow Master (Mido Hamada) informs the current Cleon (Brother Day) that, as a result of the rebel insurgency that tampered with a genome, he is not a pure version of the bloodline, he goes ballistic on the glass and cracks it. With each new clone that is created, he gets further and further away from what he is intended to be. It’s a strange form of existential crisis that we already see starting to make the genetic dynasty more vulnerable than ever.
How Does the Succession Process Take Place on ‘Foundation’?
With the Cleon clones, they are very clearly mortal and do eventually die. Despite an aura shield that is intended to make them all impervious and impregnable to all those who wish them harm, they are susceptible to entropy and normal bodily decay — as is evident by the elder Brother Dusk, who is physically impaired. When any of the clones die, they are taken to a ritualistic vaporization chamber that renders them into dust. At that point, the Empire’s scientists, like Shadow Master, go to work creating, or “decanting” a replacement. The bloodline is simply a plug-and-place system that has remained uninterrupted for over 12,000 years. To borrow a sports metaphor, when a Cleon dies, it is literally “the next man up,” and that is how they maintain a stranglehold on the galaxy and all of their subjects,
What Is the Significance of the “Mutated Genome” in ‘Foundation’?
In Episode 10 of Season 1, called “The Leap,” Brother Day takes a walk through the garden withAzura Odili (Amy Tyger)— the woman that is the face of the uprising that infiltrated the trust of Brother Dawn and forever altered the Cleonic genetic line by tampering with its DNA. He punishes her harshly for altering the genetic code and robbing Brother Day of his “legacy.” He informs her that he plans to wipe out all of her friends and distant relatives (which comes to a number of 1,551 people in total that are a part of her existential orbit) so that all traces of her existence will be extinguished. She is then sentenced to spend the rest of her days being fed intravenously and deprived of all of her senses, yet allowed to be aware of her existence.
Demerzel Kills Brother Dawn in a Show of Loyalty
Brother Dawn later appears before the cruel Brother Dusk (Terrence Mann) and Brother Day. Dusk wants him dead for jeopardizing the future of the genetic dynasty. Day shows compassion and encourages Dusk to embrace change, saying, “A bow incapable of bending will eventually break.” Dusk is furious and reminds the newly sympathetic Day that appears to have been changed by his spiral walk that “our entire Empire is built on imperishable permanence.”
In the end, it is clear that this mutated genome will slowly become more and more of an issue in Season 2 and may lead to their downfall. It has already changed both Day and Dawn and made them less detached and cruel. They are starting to have emotions that Dusk believes will spell their doom. Demerzel (Laura Birn) then quickly snaps Brother Dawn’s neck, instantly killing him. She then states flatly and without emotion,“I am loyal, Empire, to the Cleonic dynasty above else.“Demerzel will be another factor in determining how far the genetic rule will continue. She is a droid and has been around since the beginning. If she can somehow be swayed, it could have lasting effects. She also appears to be struggling with whatever artificial intelligence makes up her conscience.
New episodes ofFoundationSeason 2can currently be seen every Friday on Apple TV+.
