Spoilers His Dark Materials TV series
- Thread starter The Nth Doctor
- Start date
That's fine. It would be strange if we were constrained to like or dislike everything identically to one another. It's also fine to change one's mind about something on reflection. It's also not necessary to defend one's dislike of something. The His Dark Materials trilogy is heavily influenced by John Milton's Paradise Lost but it's not essential to have read that to appreciate (or not appreciate) Pullman's work. The same also goes for Sandman by Neil Gaiman or Rap God by Eminem, which reference Milton's oeuvre.
I'm so sorry for your loss.Yeah, I was bawling my eyes out. It didn't help that I just lost my own "daemon", my cat Buddy.
Yesterday's two episodes were a bit of a mixed bag for me. I loved everything about the Land of the Dead (even though for a moment I didn't think we would see John Parry) and that moment of release was just how I imagined it from the book.
But I'm pretty damn disappointed about mulefa all the more. They redid how they utilized the seedpods, which I suppose was to be expected since they look completely different the book. What was worse was to see how full sections of Mary's story was truncated into the first cold opening. Oof. Again, to be expected since this season is only eight episode for such a huge book but it was still frustrating as hell. The Mary's story, along with the Land of the Dead, was my favorite part of the whole book. Alas.
But I'm pretty damn disappointed about mulefa all the more. They redid how they utilized the seedpods, which I suppose was to be expected since they look completely different the book. What was worse was to see how full sections of Mary's story was truncated into the first cold opening. Oof. Again, to be expected since this season is only eight episode for such a huge book but it was still frustrating as hell. The Mary's story, along with the Land of the Dead, was my favorite part of the whole book. Alas.
The mulefa probably took a huge chunk of the budget even for their limited time onscreen. These ones are chordate, spined quadrupeds rather than the diamond back shaped creatures in the book. Perhaps the fx team tried the latter and couldn't make them work convincingly; perhaps they realised they would never get them to work within budget. It's disappointing but I'm just glad they apparently tried to retain as much as possible - importantly, preserving the spirit of the source work.
I doubt we'll ever see The Book of Dust trilogy on TV as this adaptation hasn't had mass recognition. I haven't read the two books published so far from that trilogy, so I don't know what themes they bring forth.
I'm watching the final two episodes today, but won't offer up any comments until HBO has caught up.
I doubt we'll ever see The Book of Dust trilogy on TV as this adaptation hasn't had mass recognition. I haven't read the two books published so far from that trilogy, so I don't know what themes they bring forth.
I'm watching the final two episodes today, but won't offer up any comments until HBO has caught up.
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Yeah, I thought the same and meant to include those thoughts in my post but then spaced. I agree that it's important to maintain the spirit of the letter than the letter itself, but it's still disappointing. Especially how truncated the story has become. Like I said, alas.
I agree it's unlikely and not just because of how this series has been received. The trilogy opens with a prequel set when Lyra was a baby so it would be a whole new cast, while the second book is set while Lyra is at university. I had a lot of issues with the first one while it was enjoyable, but loved the second one. The main themes of the latter don't really tie into the first, which makes the first even more frustrating.
I watched the final two episodes and wasn't disappointed. In some respects, I think the depiction onscreen improves on the book. Metatron also came across as somewhat Vicious (joke). My only quibble is how the deceased that are infants or disabled are expected to transit the land of the dead to their eternal dissolution. Besides the perilous climb, many of them will also either never have experienced enough of life to tell their stories to the harpies or they might not be able to speak at all.
Fairly good conclusion to the series. I've never been a fan of the saccharin book ending, having gone from loathing it to merely "eh, whatever, I get it" after three readings of the trilogy, so I don't mind the sugary conclusion here but I can't say I enjoyed it either. More of a source material issue than an adaptation issue.
That said, I do take issue with the show's weak usage of Chevalier Tialys and Lady Salmakia, especially how their storyline was completely different here. At least, Tialys actually had some stuff to do for a couple of episodes but Salmakia barely had any presence in the first place and then disappeared entirely when Lyra and Will went to the Land of the Dead (even though the two Gallivespians actually traveled along with them them in the book). I was delighted to see Jonathan Aris and Sian Clifford playing them, even if they didn't get much to work with, alas.
While I really enjoyed Asriel's and Coulter's confrontation of Metatron in the Kingdom of Heaven, despite its differences from the novel, I really hated the slow-motion fall to their deaths. It's one of my biggest pet peeves that shows and films do, especially when their adaptations of classic moments. I hated it in The Return of the King and I hated it here. Soured a beautiful moment for me, one of my favorite scenes from the novel. Just left me rolling my eyes, instead of feeling welled up with emotions over this acrimonious couple finally coming together to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their child. A powerful moment ruined by a stupid trope that refuses to die.
Between all of that and my frustrations with the mulefa (again, I get the reasons for the changes for the muelfa but I still don't like them), it's hard for me to like these final two episodes, but I will end on two positive notes:
I really liked how the finale focused on Mary's story and her experiences with love and religion, which is one of the major cruxes of the story. So major kudos there.
I definitely got all teary when Lyra and Pan reunited properlyand when Will finally met Kirjava in the mulefa world. It was a small scene but it punched just the right amount of emotional wallop.
Overall, I've enjoyed the series, despite certain changes (and not limited to just this season), and I especially loved Dafne Keen, Amir Wilson, and Ruth Wilson in their respective roles. As much as I adore Ruth Wilson, I think Amir Wilson deserves the largest praise simply for making me like Will. I never cared for the character in the books, even after the third reading, but Amir went a long way to breath empathy and compassion into the character that was often lacking in the text.
Curious to see the closing credits hint at The Book of Dust. Like I mentioned before, I'm skeptical of those books ever getting adapted, at least with this production team and Dafne Keen.
That said, I do take issue with the show's weak usage of Chevalier Tialys and Lady Salmakia, especially how their storyline was completely different here. At least, Tialys actually had some stuff to do for a couple of episodes but Salmakia barely had any presence in the first place and then disappeared entirely when Lyra and Will went to the Land of the Dead (even though the two Gallivespians actually traveled along with them them in the book). I was delighted to see Jonathan Aris and Sian Clifford playing them, even if they didn't get much to work with, alas.
While I really enjoyed Asriel's and Coulter's confrontation of Metatron in the Kingdom of Heaven, despite its differences from the novel, I really hated the slow-motion fall to their deaths. It's one of my biggest pet peeves that shows and films do, especially when their adaptations of classic moments. I hated it in The Return of the King and I hated it here. Soured a beautiful moment for me, one of my favorite scenes from the novel. Just left me rolling my eyes, instead of feeling welled up with emotions over this acrimonious couple finally coming together to sacrifice their lives for the sake of their child. A powerful moment ruined by a stupid trope that refuses to die.
Between all of that and my frustrations with the mulefa (again, I get the reasons for the changes for the muelfa but I still don't like them), it's hard for me to like these final two episodes, but I will end on two positive notes:
I really liked how the finale focused on Mary's story and her experiences with love and religion, which is one of the major cruxes of the story. So major kudos there.
I definitely got all teary when Lyra and Pan reunited properlyand when Will finally met Kirjava in the mulefa world. It was a small scene but it punched just the right amount of emotional wallop.
Overall, I've enjoyed the series, despite certain changes (and not limited to just this season), and I especially loved Dafne Keen, Amir Wilson, and Ruth Wilson in their respective roles. As much as I adore Ruth Wilson, I think Amir Wilson deserves the largest praise simply for making me like Will. I never cared for the character in the books, even after the third reading, but Amir went a long way to breath empathy and compassion into the character that was often lacking in the text.
Curious to see the closing credits hint at The Book of Dust. Like I mentioned before, I'm skeptical of those books ever getting adapted, at least with this production team and Dafne Keen.
By contrast, I loved the final two episodes, just as I love the TV show overall and genuinely feel, without hyperbole, that Bad Wolf, the BBC, HBO, and Jack Thorne delivered one of the absolute best book-to-screen adaptations ever.
Wow. Okay. I'm glad you enjoyed it that much. I just wish I had felt the same, especially considering how much I love the trilogy.
