Brother Dawn

The youngest Cleon clone, trained to succeed Brother Day.

Brother Dawn is the youngest of the three cloned Emperor Cleon I clones who rule the Galactic Empire in the 2021 Apple TV+ television series Foundation. He is a young Cleon being trained to succeed Brother Day. In season one, Dawn conceals his color blindness, an anomaly among the Cleons, from Day and Dusk. He and Day also exhibit signs of unprecedented emotions, making them less detached and cruel than their predecessors, which Dusk believes will spell their doom. Dawn pursues a romance with Azura Odili, a palace gardener, and bares his deepest secret: he inexplicably has minor genetic traits, such as color blindness, that differ from the original Cleon template.

Quick Facts

Series

Foundation

First minor

The Emperor's Peace

First date

24 September 2021

Creator

David S. Goyer, Josh Friedman

Based on

Foundation series, Isaac Asimov

Portrayed by

Lee Pace as Day
Terrence Mann as Dusk
Cassian Bilton as Dawn
Cooper Carter as Young Dawn

Species

Human clone

Gender

Male

Lore & Background

Brother Dawn is one of the three Cleon I clones who have ruled the over-12,000-year-old Empire for approximately 400 years under the Genetic Dynasty. The trio consists of Brother Day, a Cleon in his prime; Brother Dusk, a retired and aging Cleon who serves in an advisory role; and Brother Dawn, a young Cleon being trained to succeed Brother Day. It is eventually revealed that the rebel movement has tampered with the Cleon genetics, facing the current Day with the fact that the bloodline is now tainted and he, his successors, and likely a number of his predecessors have irrevocably diverged from the original Cleon.

Dusk insists that Dawn, who was easily manipulated by the rebels, be destroyed, but Day shows compassion and decides to spare him. Demerzel, however, sees the danger Dawn poses to the dynasty and kills him anyway, affirming that her loyalty to the Cleon dynasty supersedes Day's wishes. In season two, a subsequent Day decides to halt the degradation of the bloodline by marrying the newly crowned Queen Sareth of Cloud Dominion and fathering an heir with her.

The genetically corrupted Cleons increasingly veer from the path Demerzel has set for them, and she begins to act more overtly autonomous, thwarting their choices and actions, and even killing and replacing them with new copies as necessary to preserve her grand scheme for humanity.

Reader's Guide

Brother Dawn is portrayed by Cassian Bilton in the 2021 Apple TV+ television series Foundation. Cooper Carter plays Brother Dawn as a child in season one. Dawn is a young Cleon being trained to succeed Brother Day. Sean T. Collins of Decider described Bilton's Dawn as "seemingly aroused equally by the gorgeous Sareth's unabashed come-ons and their secret rebellion against his older bro."