Bel Riose

Lore & Background

In Asimov's original literature, Bel Riose governs the planet Siwenna and launches an investigation into the Foundation. He views them as both a threat to the Empire and an opportunity for personal advancement. His campaign is halted not by military defeat, but by political machinations from within his own ranks. Lathan Devers, a Foundation trader, allows himself to be captured to disrupt Riose's plans from the inside. With Emperor Cleon II's Privy Secretary Ammel Brodrig observing, Devers attempts to frame Riose for treason. Although exposed, a sympathetic Ducem Barr helps Riose escape interrogation, though they are later caught in Trantor. Asimov explains that a strong emperor's self-preservation would never tolerate a subordinate with such threatening power, ensuring Riose's execution alongside Brodrig.

In Their Own Story

In the 2021 Apple TV+ series adaptation, Bel Riose is portrayed by Ben Daniels as a noble yet bitter commander of the Superliminal Fleet. After being imprisoned by Emperor Cleon for breaking orders to save troops—a victory that nonetheless left him branded a traitor—he is released in the episode "King and Commoner" by Lady Demerzel to investigate the Foundation. He is reunited with his husband, Glawen Curr, whom both had believed was executed. On Siwenna, they learn the Foundation possesses forbidden force shields and whisper-ships. In "Where the Stars are Scattered Thinly," Riose mercy kills Ducem Barr at his request while fleeing a mob. Despite debating rebellion in "A Necessary Death," he remains loyal until Brother Day orders him to crash the warship Invictus into Terminus. Knowing Curr is on the surface, Riose obeys. In the finale "Creation Myths," he uses a castling device to teleport himself with Brother Day, venting the Emperor into space before dying in an explosion aboard his flagship, the Shining Destiny.

Reader's Guide

Bel Riose appears primarily in two distinct forms across media. His story illustrates that even a brilliant, honorable man cannot defeat the Seldon Plan due to imperial paranoia. In the 2021 television series, his role expands significantly. He is depicted as the husband of Glawen Curr, with their homosexuality treated as incidental rather than a plot conflict. Unlike the book version where he dies after being arrested for treason, TV Riose actively kills Brother Day and sacrifices himself to destroy the Imperial fleet via a jump sequence smuggled in by Hober Mallow. This version highlights his evolution from an imprisoned hermit to a decisive actor who briefly alters the course of history before his inevitable end.

Did You Know?

• Bel Riose is loosely based on Belisarius, a real-life general of the Roman Empire who served Justinian I.
• In the original novella "Dead Hand," Riose is executed alongside Privy Secretary Ammel Brodrig for treason after being framed by Lathan Devers.
• Dinsdale Landen voiced Bel Riose in the 1973 BBC Radio 4 adaptation, while Ben Daniels portrayed him in the 2021 Apple TV+ series.
• James E. Gunn described Riose as "the only character who stares in the face of determinism" within the Foundation series.
• In the TV series, Riose uses a castling device to switch places with Emperor Brother Day, killing him by venting him into space.