The penultimate episode of this series, we see everyone closing in on Lyra and we say goodbye to character we have been introduced to from series one.
This episode is setting us up for the finale. The witches have finally made their way to Lyra, Will is suffering from pain in his hand but is determined to find his father. Lee Scoresby and Stanislaus Grumman have finally made their way through the opening but will the duo make it?
In the books there is a big build up between the children and Lyra and Will before the witches turn up, but it played out in this episode quite quickly. There was a lot of talk in this episode about the importance of Lyra (Dafne Keen) and how the witches and Will must protect Lyra yet really all Lyra and Will did this episode was walk and talk.
Will's health is fading but it doesn’t give the impact that it should have. Possibly due to the fact that it has come on so suddenly and we don’t really see how Will is feeling due to his hand, we get a few small glimpses but it doesn’t give us the impact that was expected. We all know Amir Wilson as Will is a fantastic actor and his character is very cautious of everyone and doesn’t trust easily. However, is portrayal of this illness he is experiencing is just lukewarm and isn’t fully convincing, whether if that is the performance Wilson gave or the writing he was given.
Lyra and Will's quiet alone moments are always special to watch. We see the friendship forming between these two characters and how the trust and affection between them is growing. We see them opening up to each other more and more. We see them discussing bullying, both characters have experienced bullying in some form. This is a sweet moment where we see these characters have gone through but it also reminds us they were at times normal kids like us who have gone through someone a lot of us have dealt with.
Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson) and Lord Boreal (Ariyon Bakare) enter Cittagazze and face the spectres. Boreal was always a mysterious character from the first series, we have uncovered his true intentions in the past few episodes and now we have to say goodbye. Boreal went from strong to trying to win Mrs Coulter over and to powerless. Bakare always impressed in each scene he was in and delivered more to this character than most of us expected.
Does Mrs Coulter have her own superpowers? She managed to take control of her humanity to hide it from the spectres so they wouldn’t attack her. It makes us question how she managed to achieve this and now she has these creatures under her control. She now has very powerful creatures who will do her bidding in the search for Lyra. We are still unsure whose side Mrs Coulter is on but we know we can always expect a perfect performance from Wilson in any scene she is in.
We get to see more of Andrew Scott and everyone is on their way to Lyra in some form but all at different speeds. Scott's character doesn’t have much to him, he is very one-dimensional. There was such a build up to this character and now that he is here, it feels as if we have been let down a bit. We don't see many sides to his character apart of calm or summoning wind. However, as he grows closer to Will and will hopefully meet in the finale let’s hope we will get to see a more emotional or fiercer side to this character who isn’t just mellow and relaxed.
Mary Malone played by Simone Kirby is in Cittagazze, calming exploring this new world. We see a scene between Malone and Angelica (Bella Ramsey), it shows us that these children still need and want parental love and care. They are missing the adults who are now gone and craving some attention from an older figure. This scene is quite sad as we see the misery these kids are living with, the grief of losing everyone they love and knowing once they reach a certain age they know what will become of them. Ramsay and Kirby are great in this short scene, both convey the perfect amount of sensitivity and emotion.
The Magisterium uncover the truth of Lyra and her prophecy which reveals she has a dangerous other name. A story we are all familiar with is mentioned and we aren't actually told the name but if you know the story you can guess the name.
This episode didn’t really feel like the second to last episode, there wasn’t much action or drama but it has built up to what should be a very exciting and nail-biting series finale, hopefully. The performances were good in this episode; however, they could have been better. There was a lot of talking about Lyra's prophecy in this episode and we know the Magisterium are on their way to Lyra to kill her. It is unknown what we can expect next but we are step up for a good finale. We got some scenes with real emotion in this episode which were played out well but we have become a custom to a high standard of episode where this one just fell a bit short.
