User Reviews

The 2nd season has grown noticeably stronger in quality since guest writers have taken over scripting responsibilities & this week's scribe, Francesca Gardiner only reaffirms that observation by penning one of the most brutal episodes in the show's history - gifting Leanne Welham with a brilliantly sturdy screenplay to direct - chronicling the protagonist's mission to retrieve Lyra's alethiometer, resulting in a genuinely vicious rematch between Mrs Coulter's daemon & her daughter's increasingly tougher companion, named Pan - captured unflinchingly in its visual depiction throughout, despite the genuine discomfort it elicits in the audience who are watching the fight unfold.

The moral ambiguity of character's actions becomes murkier still, blurring the lines so as to challenge the viewers perceptions of bad & good - which is an appreciable factor I must commend, considering it enhances the layers to the storytelling.

To me the biggest issue with the show has been its tendency to copy paste scenes from the books which results in a muddled and disjointed narrative. However, episode 5 fixed that issue to some extent. This episode had a narrative flow that other episodes lacked.

Also, I read a review stating that they could just make a fist sized hole and grab the thing. But that wouldn't work for multiple reasons. First off, no one has made a fist sized hole in the show so far so we don't know if it can even be done. Maybe the knife can only open a portal of a certain length (and the fact that all the portals opened by the knife are of the same length lands this theory some credence). Second reason - Will is still an amateur with the knife. Locating the house through the other side was hard enough, how meticulously would he have to work to locate a particular safe in a particular room? Third reason - Lord Boriel had already changed the location of the alethiometer so it wouldn't work anyway. It's like asking why Gandalf didn't use the eagles to fly Frodo to mount doom? It's so damn obvious.

This second series continues to build wonderfully with this episode: The Scholar. Simone Kirby, Ruth Wilson and Amir Wilson stood out amongst a superb cast. The struggle in the basement of Boreal's Oxford house was breathtaking; this was as close to perfection as metaphysical drama can be. Shedding a tear as only two more episodes left of this outstanding game series.

This should've have been a standalone episode about Marisa Coulter, with some flashbacks from her childhood and collegiate days. Watching her adapt to Will Parry's world, a society based on "consumerism" was fascinating. Ruth Wilson is magnificent as Marisa Coulter. Marisa always fancied herself an accomplished scholar until she meets Dr. Mary Malone, an astrophysicist, head of a research department with published works. She feels inadequate, in comparison. In Marisa's world, she could never achieve her full academic potential due to the Magisterium's totalitarianism. She struggles with who she could have been and even seems to resent her daemon. It's so sad to watch and she earns your sympathy...until you see her toy with and emasculate Lord Boreal, and you're reminded she's a ruthless viper who will strike anyone to achieve power. The final Lyra/Pantalaimon vs Marisa/Golden Monkey faceoff was wild, intense and so good. Unfortunately, the Lyra/Will/alethiometer scheme preceding it, was frustratingly dumb. Why such a complicated strategy when you have the powerful "subtle" knife?

Why would they make a plan to distract him to get the alethiometer and make a human sized hole which he then closes behind him, when they can just make a hand sized hole and grab the thing off the couch without any risk.

Imagine having a magical knife that can cut through realities and then making a plan that wouldn't be any different then breaking in through a window. Lazy writing and strips any tension away from the show.