Is Magnifico The Real Mule? 'Foundation 3' Episode 5 Theories

I know most of you are going to want to bash me in the comments for picking this heading, but in my defense, I don’t think it’s a spoiler anymore. The whole internet has started speculating that Magnifico could be the real Mule, and those who have read the second book in the Foundation series already know that it’s true. But what no one is talking about is that the fake Mule never makes an appearance in “Foundation and Empire.” The second half of the second book is centered around Bayta, Toran, Randu, and Magnifico, who embark on a journey to the First Foundation and, on the way, keep hearing exaggerated tales of the Mule’s conquest of the galaxy. 

After bringing the mighty Galactic Empire to its knees, the Mule turns his attention to the second most powerful force in the galaxy, the First Foundation. And that’s the reason why the Mule takes the guise of Magnifico to infiltrate the First Foundation and gain control over it; however, soon after the destruction of the First Foundation, Ebling Mis reveals that there’s a second one, hidden somewhere at the other end of the galaxy. However, that’s not our concern right now. Our concern is that if Magnifico is the Mule, how is he able to be in two places at one time? Well, before jumping to those theories, a full disclaimer: I have only watched as far as episode 5, so all my assumptions are based on things revealed so far.

The fifth episode of Foundation season 3 makes it apparent that the court jester has a peculiar musical device called the Visi-Sonor that can be used to enhance the psychic ability of an individual. This individual in this case is not the Mule, but Magnifico himself, who has been using his music not only to control the minds of the fugitives he has been travelling with, but also to reach out to his army of mercenaries on Kalgan. If you remember, in season 2, Tellem Bond told Gaal, Salvor, and Hari that she had a mental beacon through which she could reach other mentalics. I believe Magnifico’s Visi-Sonor serves a similar purpose and amplifies his powers to the point that he can reach people across the galaxy. This means the character played by Pilou Asbæk isn’t the real mule but a puppet whose strings are pulled by a jester from afar. 

I hope you remember Pilou’s dialogue in season 3, episode 3, where he asked a dead officer if he too felt the same dilemma as him, that his life is not his anymore, and had been overtaken by some holy spirit. I think that’s your clue. The only thing I am not sure of is if Pilou’s character is a mutant too or just a pirate who has been converted by Magnifico. Because you may have noticed that Pilou’s Mule hasn’t used his psychic powers after his balladeer left his side. My assumption is that it has always been Magnifico who has been molding the minds of people around, and now he’ll be doing the same as soon as he arrives at the New Terminus, where everyone will kneel down to Pilou’s Mule and hand over the reins of the First Foundation without a fight. Additionally, I just want to make a random guess here. I think the real name of Pilou’s character is Bail Channis. Those who have read the book already know who he is, and I think the show introduced him early so we are already familiar with the most threatening mercenary of the Mule’s army. He’s going to play an important role in finding the whereabouts of the Second Foundation. But as of now, Pilou’s character is just a pawn who is leading his army and conquering planets in the Mule’s absence.

One major flaw in this theory is that Gaal, in her visions, had seen the face of Pilou’s character as the Mule. So, if we still want to believe that Magnifico is the real Mule, then it’s possible that Gaal doesn’t encounter the real one and only comes across the ruthless soldier whom he had sent to locate the Second Foundation. We can assume that Magnifico is using his powers to hide his real face, just like Gaal swapped herself with Dawn in season 3, episode 5. But this will mean that both the Mule and Magnifico look alike, or are twins, which is a stretch in my opinion. And honestly, I don’t think Magnifico is powerful enough to pull off the face/body swap trick from such a distance, so that’s not a viable possibility.

The second possibility is that, unlike in the books, the Mule and Magnifico are two different entities who are in touch with each other through their mentalic powers. I hope you understand that the Mule’s true motive is to take over the galaxy and establish his dominion, which he believes will be better than the Empire and the Foundation. So, while the Mule is busy weakening the Empire, Magnifico takes up the task of infiltrating the Foundation and finds its weakness so the Mule can conquer it without lifting a finger, the same way he took control of Kalgan. This means Pilou’s character is indeed the real mule, and Magnifico is a general in disguise whom he sent away with Bayta and Toran as spies to gather intelligence against the Trader Alliance and the Foundation. But both the Mule and Magnifico are still unaware of the existence of the Second Foundation. So assuming the Mule and Magnifico are two different people, it’s possible that Bayta’s love and warmth can bring about a change in Magnifico’s heart, who will eventually turn against his master and help his rivals, the Foundation, to stop the upcoming crisis. In season 3, episode 5, Gaal’s voiceover mentions that Magnifico and his music are the key to solving the Third Crisis, so it’s possible that Magnifico will be instrumental in putting a stop to the Mule’s ambitious dream of conquering the whole galaxy.