In season 2 of Foundation on Apple TV+, we meet the psychic community known as the Mentalics. Who are the Mentalics? Will they play a role in Foundation season 3? Here’s everything we know so far!
Who are the Mentalics in Foundation season 2?
Warning: this section contains major spoilers for Foundation season 2.
The Mentalics, inspired by the characters of the same name in Isaac Asimov’s I, Robot and Foundation novels, are a community of humans with telepathic abilities. These abilities include sharing thoughts and memories, projecting illusions, and bending people to their will. The Mentalics live in a secluded colony, where they’re led by the charismatic Tellem Bond (Rachel House). As Gaal’s own psychic abilities strengthen, allowing her to see into the far future, the more sinister side of the Mentalics starts to emerge.
Tellem reveals that she’s spent generations cheating death by sending her consciousness into new bodies—which she harvests from unwilling volunteers. Tellem also reveals that she plans to use Gaal’s body as her next vessel, and initiates a ceremony in which she begins to eliminate Gaal’s consciousness so that she can take over. Luckily, Salvor and Hari use an illusion of their own to rescue Gaal and kill Tellem.
After Tellem’s death, the rest of the Mentalics reveal that they’ve been living under her control. Once she’s gone, though, they’re free to start over again, and they become the caretakers of Gaal and Hari’s bodies as the pair goes into cryosleep. Salvor isn’t as lucky, though: after Tellem’s death, one last remnant of her consciousness enters the mind of a young boy, and he kills Salvor.
Why do Hari and Gaal go into cryosleep in the Mentalic colony? Why, to set up season 3, of course.
Who are the Mentalics in Foundation season 3?
In season 2, Gaal projects her consciousness over 150 years into the future, where she’s confronted with a frightening vision: a powerful Mentalic called the Mule is on a rampage, and he’s got his sights set on Gaal.
We don’t know much about the Mule yet. However, in the original novels, the Mule is a warlord bent on thwarting Hari’s plan to save humanity. In season 3 of the Apple TV+ adaptation, we know that he’ll be on the lookout for Gaal, as her cryosleep allows her to catch up to him in the future.
How will Gaal and the Mule face off? What will the Mentalics—both in the colony, and in the wider galaxy—look like by the time Gaal and Hari wake up? We’ll have to wait for season 3 to come out to see.
(featured image: Apple TV+)
