What I’m Watching: His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials: Season 1, Episode 7 “The Fight to the Death” (B-)

Watching this show supports the idea that it’s really better to experience film and television without having knowledge of the source material. One of the most formative moments for me from the books was when Lyra came up with the idea of pretending to be Iorek’s daemon so that she could trick Iofur into thinking that such a thing would be possible and that Mrs. Coulter had been lying to him. The first battle between the two polar bears didn’t go too well for Iorek, and then Lyra managed to distract him enough so that Iorek could take back the advantage and vanquish his enemy, now ruling back over the other bears as their rightful king. It took long enough for Lyra to finally be reunited with Lord Asriel, who seemed very upset to see her before realizing that Roger was there too, which for some reason made him much happier. Mrs. Coulter, who nearly killed someone with her own bare hands while in a fit of rage, isn’t ready to accept what has been decided by those who have heard news of what’s going on up north, and she’s usually able to get what she wants. I recognized Andrew Scott, the hot priest from “Fleabag,” as Jopari by his voice alone when Lord Boreal was watching a video of him on his phone, and I’m glad that Will is taking the proper steps to keep himself safe and try to find the truth. Though he’s not eager to fight, Lee getting his gun back should mean that he’s ready to do his part. I hope the season finale will make me eager to return for season two, because I’m not exactly feeling that way right now.