Tuesday, December 1, 2020

What I’m Watching: His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials: Season 2, Episode 3 “Theft” (B+)

It was interesting to see how, in this episode, everyone was interested in protecting Lyra, and there was only one person who was actually working against her, who was, as far as we can tell, just a police officer and not someone with considerably more nefarious intentions. Lee did a great job of drawing attention to himself, loudly asking anyone who would listen about a known heretic and then getting shot at before being cornered and imprisoned. Mrs. Coulter was more than happy to step in to hurt him to compel him to talk, and what she did after that was a reminder that, evil as she may seem, she does care for Lyra and wants to see her safeguarded above all else. Iorek also seemed ready to be swayed into participation after staying on the sidelines when he heard that Lyra might be in trouble. It was truly strange to see Lord Boreal pull up in a Tesla to give Lyra a ride when she needed it most, since that car represents the ultimate in advanced technology in “our world” that isn’t matched by the flying ships and balloons of hers. After the DI tricked Lyra into confirming a connection to Will, Lord Boreal revealed to his visitors that he knew who she was and just what an alethiometer did. Will was ready to get the knife for him in exchange for it back, and it’s good to know that, in addition to his fear of Mrs. Coulter, Lord Boreal has more self-serving interests that mean he doesn’t have any intent to hurt Lyra. On a lighter note, I enjoyed seeing Lyra scarf down popcorn during “Paddington” as she complained that it tasted like wood shavings.

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