His Dark Materials picked a hell of a time to air its final episode of the season.
I mean… the week of Christmas? They expected me to go to this dark place when I was already having to deal with my relatives and traveling and food comas? Well. I didn’t watch this episode last week because of all of the aforementioned reasons, so I apologize that this final recap of the final episode is coming a week late. This one is going to be less of a recap of this episode and more of a reflection of this first season. With, yes, many thoughts about the final episode. Our journey has been a long one. Let’s wrap up season 1.
When we last left Lyra, she was in a tower on a snowy cliff with her crazed father Lord Asriel. And that’s where we begin this episode. If you were unsure at the end of episode 7 how Asriel would be as a father figure, let this episode clear it up for you once and for all. He fucking sucks. In fact, in comparison, Mrs. Coulter seems like a damn mother of the year. At least Mrs. Coulter seems to have real emotions for Lyra and feelings of motherly care or whatever.
Meanwhile, these are actual words Lord Asriel spoke to Lyra in this episode: “I don’t think we should continue this conversation. Because it’s sentimental. Are you crying? You’re better than that.”
It’s also apparent from the last episode that Roger is toast. Poor sweet baby Roger. What Lyra had feared for Roger and his sweet daemon finally came to pass in this episode, and at the hands of Lord Asriel. Lyra basically hand-delivered Lord Asriel’s sacrificial lamb to him when she came with Roger. What’s worse, she knows she misread the situation. She knows she was wrong to attempt to deliver the alethiometer to Lord Asriel, because ultimately, he didn’t even take it. That’s not what Lyra was meant to do. Even though it seems inevitable that it would happen this way, it’s heartbreaking, because Lyra looks at the events that transpired and knows they could have worked out differently if she had taken different actions.
I have described this show as heartbreaking more than once, I realize. So while we’re at it, here’s another heartbreaking moment from this episode: Pan tells Lyra that they have to go find dust before her father does. And Lyra tells Pan, clearly very frightened, that to do that would mean they would be alone. Pan replies, “We’ve always been alone.”
And then there’s the mic drop moment of the season, when Roger tells Lyra that “parents are more trouble than they’re worth.” Truly, that could be the subheading of this entire show: His Dark Materials: Parents Are More Trouble Than They’re Worth. It makes sense that bad parenting is a motif in this story about the loss of innocence and coming of age. As Lyra grows closer to the moment when her daemon will stop changing forever, denoting adolescence, she also becomes more aware of the fact that her parents are fallible human beings. In fact, sometimes her parents might be wrong. In fact, maybe her parents are… bad guys.
Yes, I’m talking about you idiots
I’m excited to see how Lord Asriel, Mrs. Coulter, and Lyra’s relationship is explored in the second (and final) season of this show. Yes, I have read the books, but seeing the show is making me discover new things about these characters, which has been great.
Let’s talk about Will Parry now, because we get more material from The Subtle Knife in this episode as well. Will is now on the run from the law because, well, technically he’s now a murderer. So there’s that. What Will doesn’t yet know is that he’s also on the run from The Magisterium. Of course, he realizes some weird dudes are after his father’s letter, but he doesn’t know they’re The Magisterium, or what that even means.
Meanwhile, The Magisterium is using their alethiometer to do some detective work. They discover there’s a knife in a tower that is guarded by angels. And that John Parry (Or Stanislaus Grumman, as they know him)’s son will lead them to the tower. Of course they’re like, “WTF Grumman didn’t have a son.” But Lord Boreal knows better. And know he’s on the hunt.
I freaking love Will Parry because even though he is on the run from the police and all of that, he’s first and foremost a cat enthusiast. He sees a cat run off somewhere, and he immediately forgets everything to go see what that cat is up to. Relatable, TBH. Of course, what the cat leads him to is pretty sweet: it’s a portal to another world… dun dun dun.
We also see Lyra entering a portal into another world in the end of this episode. So as you might have guessed, Will and Lyra are going to meet, probably at the beginning of the next season. This is something else I’m really, really looking forward to in Season 2. Will Parry and Lyra Silvertongue’s stories coming together. It’s something we haven’t yet seen on screen and I’m so glad it’s finally coming.
There are also characters we haven’t even met yet that should be coming in Season 2, so all in all, there’s a lot to be excited about. This season wasn’t perfect, but overall, I enjoyed it and I’m really thrilled we’re getting a second season. Even though I wish we were getting two more seasons.
To wrap up this recap of the first season of His Dark Materials, here are my favorite and least favorite things about the series thus far.
Favorite: Dafne Keen. Lyra is the heart of this story, so it’s so important we care about her journey, even if she is a complete brat and kind of a dick person (I mean, just look at her parents). Dafne Keen does an amazing job serving us heart and sass. I love her in this role.
Least Favorite: Lin Manuel Miranda. I hate to say it, but his acting was very uneven in this series. He couldn’t decide what he wanted to do with his accent, and his acting choices were so big that it was clear he thought he was in the stage production of His Dark Materials rather than a BBC/HBO television series. I mostly hate to say this because I know Miranda loves these books and was so excited to be a part of the show. But also, whatever, he’s rich and adored. He can deal. Or learn to act better.
Favorite: Pan. Omfg. Pan is my everything. I want to die. I cannot even express. More daemons next season, please. I have all the animal squeals.
Least Favorite: The Magisterium. I know we’re not SUPPOSED to like The Magisterium because they’re the bad guys. But also their scenes were just terribly boring. We get it. They’re threatening and serious and scary. But can we get a little more range in these performances?
Favorite: Iorek Byrnison. I would die for this bear.
Least Favorite: The bear fight. Y’all. I had been waiting for this bear battle all season long and then we finally get to it… and we don’t get to see it? Like, why you gotta do me like this?
And that’s it for Season 1 of His Dark Materials. What did you think of this season? What are you looking forward to in Season 2? Lemme know in the comments.