Apple TV+’s Foundation has teased a storyline from the source material several times, and it’s getting to the point where I’m desperate for it to be directly addressed in the coming season. Foundation season 2’s ending left plenty of cliffhangers for Foundation season 3 to address, but I still hope there’s room in the next run of episodes to explain part of the show’s canon that has been left tantalizingly vague. If not, it feels like a massive waste of what could be a very rewarding sequence of events – even if the events in question are in Foundation‘s distant past.

Apple TV+ has made several changes to Issac Asimov’s Foundation books while adapting them for TV. As well as gender-swapping several characters, many arcs have either been twisted beyond recognition or introduced as original elements. That being said, I find the result to be far more digestible than Asimov’s original works. No matter how good the books are, the simple truth is that sci-fi has come a long way and the source material needed to be drastically updated to fit in with modern tastes. However, something from the book has remained largely intact, and similarly untouched in live-action.

I Hope Foundation Season 3 Reveals More About The Robot Wars

Demerzel is the last remaining Robot as a result of the conflict

Laura Birn’s Lady Demerzel immediately grabbed my attention when I started watching Foundation. Birn’s measured performance as the aide to Foundation‘s Cleonic Dynasty drew me in and made me want to know more about her character. The part of Lady Demerzel’s backstory in Foundation that compels me the most is her role in the Robot Wars – a skirmish I’d heard mentioned several times in passing by the end of season 2. The Apple TV+ adaptation has been incredibly sparse with the details, and I can only assume it’s been done intentionally.

The Robot Wars have been referenced slightly more frequently as the show has progressed. I hope that trend continues into Foundation season 3 and the conflict in question pulls way more focus than it ever has before. If so, then the live-action version of Asimov’s saga will have incredible amounts of freedom. The author was similarly restrictive with how much he revealed about the Robot Wars, only offering brief insights during one of his Foundation prequel books, Prelude to Foundation. So, the TV show can build upon the idea initially set in motion by one of the godfathers of sci-fi.

A Demerzel Flashback Episode Would Perfectly Address The Robot Wars In Foundation Season 3

Apple TV+ could dedicate an episode to the backstory of Laura Birn’s Foundation character

Lady Demerzel was built long before Foundation‘s Galactic Empire was established. So, she is many centuries old, and the last Robot in existence due to her side losing drastically in the Wars. As a result, there’s only so long I could listen to the show’s “present-day” characters talking about the Robot Wars before it became nothing more than a dull exposition dump. Thankfully, the perfect storytelling device already exists that would allow Demerzel’s story to be told in a way that’s far more engaging: the flashback episode.

By this point, I’ve become accustomed to the many time jumps into Foundation‘s future, but an episode that showed Demerzel’s experiences in the Robot Wars would show a point so far into the show’s past that it would be fascinating to see. However, even the earliest notable events in the show’s canon like the founding of Foundation‘s Empire and the building of Demerzel would still be thousands of years into “our” future. So, a flashback episode would mean Foundation unmistakably remaining a sci-fi show while also supplying me with the information I crave about Demerzel and the Robot Wars.

Why Foundation Season 3 Probably Won’t Address The Robot Wars

The Apple TV+ show already has several loose ends to tie up without adding another

As much as I would love Foundation season 3 to reveal much more about the Robot Wars, I think it’s probably a little too much to ask, given the amount of narrative ground the episodes will already have to cover. As well as addressing what’s become of the Genetic Dynasty and how Gaal Dornick’s showdown with the Mule will go, dedicating an installment entirely to the battle between humanity and Robots could bring the story to a complete halt.

The only way I can see a Robot Wars episode happening is if Foundation season 3 ties its current storyline into something from Lady Demerzel’s past. This wouldn’t just satisfy my need for more information, but it would also bring Laura Birn’s fascinating character even more to the forefront. With Demerzel confirmed as Cleon I’s true heir in Foundation season 2’s finale, having a Robot rule over humanity seems like the perfect opportunity to revisit the Robot Wars for the first time in a meaningful way.