The following contains spoilers for Foundation Season 2, Episode 4 “Where the Stars Are Scattered Thinly,” which is now streaming on Apple TV+.
Brother Day has been building a grand plan to restore the Empire by ending the Cleonic dynasty. He is looking to produce heirs the more natural way and Queen Sareth of the Cloud Dominion is set to be his wife. She has already shown herself to be charismatic and cunning, yet in Season 2, Episode 4 “Where the Stars Are Scattered Thinly,” her true intentions have been revealed. She is not marrying Brother Day for power or authority, but for revenge.
Sareth was as far away as any heir could be from the throne of the Dominion. Then the accident occurred. Every other person of her family that was in line for the throne was eliminated, leaving her as the only choice left. Many people suspect Sareth herself of committing the vicious act against her family, but Sareth believes that Brother Day wiped out the rest of her family. Her presence on Trantor is her only chance to uncover the truth about the “accident” and take vengeance on Brother Day and the Cleonic dynasty.
Queen Sareth is Comitting Assassination by Marriage
When Sareth first appeared in Foundation, she was shown to be a sweet and clever person. She enticed herself to Brother Day, and even Brother Dawn, by being extremely quick witted and charming. Her comments about ending the dynasty didn’t seem to have a sinister undertone, yet, its clear that she will marry Empire purely to see it fall. By marrying Brother Day, all Cleons will die. There will be no more Brother Dawn or Dusk, there will be only her offspring. By marrying the person who killed her family, she can effectively end his family forever.
Sareth seems to care little about becoming the mother of a new Empire or even bringing more power back to the Cloud Dominion. She is entirely focused on the downfall of Cleon. She knows what Brother Day did to her family, but she is desperate for proof. She even risks asking Brother Dawn about it and insinuating that it would be better to marry him rather than his older clone. Sareth is playing an extremely dangerous game, but one she seems more than ready to play. If she truly wanted to end the Cleonic dynasty, then she could also find a way to not produce an heir for Brother Day.
Brother Day May be Playing Along with Sareth’s Plan
While Sareth seems to have everyone fooled, except maybe Brother Dusk, it could be that the Cleon’s are simply playing along with her plan. The Cloud Dominion seems to be quite wealthy, and the Empire is in desperate need of wealth and resources. By playing along with Sareth’s plans, they can bring the Dominion deeper into their control. Instead of killing the clones, they could just move them to a different location until Sareth can be dealt with. This way Brother Day maintains the genetic line of succession while still gaining further power in the galaxy. This seems much more in line with how the Empire would act instead of being a love sick Emperor.
Queen Sareth is playing the most dangerous game, she is trying to bring down the Empire. Brother Day killed her family and Sareth is determined to get revenge. She is planning on wiping out the dynasty by marrying Day and having the clones killed. Yet, if Day becomes wise to her plans, then he could just as easily manipulate her until she and her Dominion are of no further use to him or the Empire.
Foundation streams new episodes on Apple TV+ every Friday.