Spoilers His Dark Materials TV series

[DigificWriter]

I loved Episode 1, but Episode 2 blew it out of the water. Some observations:
* Mrs. Coulter is severely messed up, but Ruth Wilson plays her in such a way that she still occasionally evokes sympathy

* I remembered the instance of Mrs. Coulter's monkey assaulting Pan from when I read the books, but it still sufficiently shocked me, and having it happen as a result of Mrs. Coulter's normal controlled personality slipping made it all the more visceral

* The first time we heard Mrs. Coulter's monkey crawling through the vents, I thought it was the missing kids banging on stuff

* Introducing the "real world" Oxford early may be a change from the books, but it works for the visual medium of TV

* Giving the "real world" Oxford fully modern technology like new cars and state-of-the-art cellphones helps explain why Lyra's world looks more modern while still being 'stuck' with things like airships and older-model cars (which I actually like more as a visual aesthetic than the 19th Century vibe that Pullman described in the books)

* I think the letter-writing scene is from the books, but it was a little bit unneccsary, IMO, for the TV adaptation

* I'm surprised it took Lyra as long as it did to go snooping, but I guess it speaks to how manipulative Mrs. Coulter is

* Boreal straight-up murdering the journalist who talked to Lyra was super-crazy, but also super-effective

 

[DarthTimon]

It's freaky that destroying a daemon kills the person. Having such a vulnerable daemon seems strange.

 

[DigificWriter]

It's freaky that destroying a daemon kills the person. Having such a vulnerable daemon seems strange.

Since touching another person's Daemon is a massive taboo by decent standards, most of the time an insect Daemon won't be vulnerable.

Boreal clearly doesn't care about decent standards, though, which makes him very dangerous.

 

[N-121973]

On my way home from work I walked past the spot where they filmed Boreal entering our world and although it was dark, I'm pretty certain there was no interdimensional portal.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

On my way home from work I walked past the spot where they filmed Boreal entering our world and although it was dark, I'm pretty certain there was no interdimensional portal.

Rats!

 

[JD]

I've enjoyed the first two episodes. I heard that the TV series isn't going to religiously stick to the books, I don't know if that's true?

I haven't seen it yet since I'm in the US and don't have HBO, but from what I've read online the second episode already started to split off from the book at lot. The first books is told exclusively from Lyra's perspective, so any scene not involving Lyra is not in the book.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

The first books is told exclusively from Lyra's perspective, so any scene not involving Lyra is not in the book.

That's not true. The book did cut away from her at least a few times (such as the Master and the Librarian scene), but it's true that it didn't show Boreal beyond the Mrs. Coulter scene and we didn't see any other world until The Subtle Knife.

 

[DigificWriter]

I haven't seen it yet since I'm in the US and don't have HBO, but from what I've read online the second episode already started to split off from the book at lot. The first books is told exclusively from Lyra's perspective, so any scene not involving Lyra is not in the book.

This is incorrect; almost everything we have seen is something from Pullman's novels and other writings.

The only major additions thus far have been the Gyptian settling ceremony and some of the minor interactions between Lyra and Mrs. Coulter.

 

[Karellen]

I wanted to love this but, sadly, I don't. The amazing main theme and the gorgeous opening credits are the only bright spot in this pit of bad pacing, odd casting, baffling changes, and unnecessary additions.
It's disappointing that they decided to omit the scene with the coins in the crypt, as it means that one of my favorite scenes from the first book (the funeral) is going to be either completely removed or "improved" with exposition and/or flashbacks.

 

[JD]

That's not true. The book did cut away from her at least a few times (such as the Master and the Librarian scene), but it's true that it didn't show Boreal beyond the Mrs. Coulter scene and we didn't see any other world until The Subtle Knife.

This is incorrect; almost everything we have seen is something from Pullman's novels and other writings.

The only major additions thus far have been the Gyptian settling ceremony and some of the minor interactions between Lyra and Mrs. Coulter.

Oh, sorry, my mistake.

 

[crookeddy]

I wanted to love this but, sadly, I don't. The amazing main theme and the gorgeous opening credits are the only bright spot in this pit of bad pacing, odd casting, baffling changes, and unnecessary additions.
It's disappointing that they decided to omit the scene with the coins in the crypt, as it means that one of my favorite scenes from the first book (the funeral) is going to be either completely removed or "improved" with exposition and/or flashbacks.

Agreed. I think it's a good show, but not quite HBO quality. You can tell it's just a BBC show that HBO is leasing.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Another strong episode, one that brings Lyra and the Gyptians together and Lyra finally gets some answers, even if she doesn't like what she has learned. Plus, she's finally beginning to learn how to use the aliethiometer, using the same symbols as she did in the book for her first question. I hope the show continues to follow the educated manner of reading the aliethiometer, demonstrating the qualities of each symbol and Lyra's interpretations, instead of just having her quickly look at it and spouting the answer.

Ma Coulter's characterization has improved in this episode, but it's still a ways from how I pictured her in the books. At least now she has resumed her sense of guardianship over Lyra and that has brought her more motherly qualities without always feeling frantic.

While I appreciate why the show is building up towards an earlier introduction of Will so as not to rely heavily on flashbacks in the second season (or worse, lots of exposition), I am bummed out how the show is quickly rushing through some of the book's biggest mysteries, particularly John Parry (who we don't even meet until the second book). Most people in this day and age will recognize Andrew Scott, so the audiences will be expecting him to show up sooner than later.

On the plus side, they're heading up North, so we'll soon be getting to some of the most exciting parts of The Northern Lights.

 

[N-121973]

Am I the only one who laughed out loud when Lord Boreal returned to our world and found his car had been clamped?

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Yeah, that was pretty funny. Not sure how he got unclamped though.

 

[The Nth Doctor]

Today's was the best episode yet and it's no coincidence that it also introduced two of the books' best characters: Iorek Byrnison and Lee Scoresby. While Lin-Manuel Miranda's take on Lee is a bit different from what most of us imagined (especially after Sam Elliot's brilliant turn as one of the best parts of the film), I thoroughly enjoyed his performance and how he captured the more rambunctious and mischievous elements of Lee's character. I particularly loved how Cristela Alonzo captured Hester's critical and instructive nature towards Lee but with affection.

Joe Tandberg's performance as Iorek was rich with anger and determination, but the highest praise must go to the CGI artists who made Iorek look, feel and move like a real polar bear, one whose dangerous threat must be taken seriously. Iorek's presence in every scene felt real, whether it was in fast action or in quiet moments with either Lee or Lyra.

And speaking of Lyra, this was her best episode, too. The viewer gets to see her think on her feet, concoct and enact multiple plans to better suit her needs, and lie her way through each situation with such grace that even the card shark that is Lee could appreciate her cunning. Before long she'll be better known by another name...

Things are only going to get better as we'll soon get to meet the witches as lead by Serafina Pekkala and we've already met her daemon, Kaisa (voiced by the amazing David Suchet!). We've already briefly met Iofur and got a sense of his motivations, but the world is about to get a whole let bigger pretty quickly and not just because Lyra has already spotted a certain city in the Northern Lights...

 

[DarthTimon]

I continue to love the slow-burning nature of the series. It's building the narrative and the world. It's not rushing anything and is filling out the characters a little more with each new episode.

 

[P Tom]

Doesn't it get a little squeamish when Lyra and Lee bicker about and eat bacon while their animal daemons look on?
Did the police only aim and shoot at Iorek's armor instead of the exposed head and legs?
I was half expecting Lee Scoresby's airship to appear overhead following the Gyptian expedition but I guess already with the walking CGI polar bear they had ran out of budget for that scene.

Can all the daemons talk? Or just some?

Just a couple of observations.

 

[danellis]

Doesn't it get a little squeamish when Lyra and Lee bicker about and eat bacon while their animal daemons look on?

Presumably their society would have developed some kind of norms for acceptable behaviour: maybe daemons can only be certain animals and they don't eat those animals or something?

In a society that had daemons *something* would have to develop (unless the society was exclusively vegetarian).

Are *all* animals daemons?

Can all the daemons talk? Or just some?

My theory is that daemons can talk until they fix their shape.

dJE

 

[The Nth Doctor]

I was half expecting Lee Scoresby's airship to appear overhead following the Gyptian expedition but I guess already with the walking CGI polar bear they had ran out of budget for that scene

In the book, he packs up the whole thing on a big sled because he knew bad weather was coming (I think that was the reason). Presumably that's what he did here, too.

My theory is that daemons can talk until they fix their shape.

Lee's Hester (among others) disproves that theory.

Unfortunately, I think it's a budget thing like daemons missing for background characters.

 

[danellis]

Lee's Hester (among others) disproves that theory.

Unfortunately, I think it's a budget thing like daemons missing for background characters.

I stand corrected, thanks.

dJE