Will and Lyra have a mission to complete to enter the tower and find the mysterious knife. By the end of this episode all our main characters are all heading to the same world, which raises hopes for what may happen in the next episode.
This episode brought us many moments we have been building up to in the previous episodes. Will finally become bearer of the knife, scientist Mary Malone makes a revelation about Dust and we finally are introduced to Stanislaus Grumman/Jopari/John Parry.
However, this episode is all about Will Parry. Amir Wilson who plays Will becomes a true hero in this episode, we see him become Lyra's equal and he now has begun on his own prophesied destiny alongside Lyra. Will earned this new status through a fight scene and his pure spirit, he doesn’t want to kill but knows how to defend himself. We know from every episode that Will is a kind, caring and very brave. Wilson is fantastic in this episode, everything that is thrown at him he delivers perfectly. This episode is Wilson's defining episode as Will, he has now set a high standard that we hope he will continue to meet as the series progresses.
Lyra played by Dafne Keen does take more of a backseat in this episode but we see how much Lyra is supporting Will and wants to help him. As each episode in this series develops the bond and relationship between Lyra and Will is growing and it is a joy to see. They match each other perfectly and the chemistry on screen works so well you want to see more. There is no more bickering between these two characters in this episode, instead there is a form of intensity as they are both trusting each other and guiding each other to help each other achieve their best. Their friendship is forming in front of us. As well Keen and Wilson are both amazing actors and work well with each other hence their characters are a joy to watch together as it just works!
A humorous moment is when Lyra walks in backwards to give Will a towel while he is having a bath. This moment shows the respect this little team has created with each other but also they are still kids yet they seem much more mature in this episode, we are watching them slowly grow up and find out who they are.
The animators have done a fantastic job with the daemon animations in this series so far. All the daemons have a much bigger part this series which is nice to see but also they look very real and believable yet they fit into the worlds they are place in. Pan and Will share a sweet moment in this episode , where Pan approached and Will touched him. This was for less than a second but it looked very believable and we can feel the emotion in this moment, where Pan wants to take the pain away from Will. Again, excellent acting from Wilson who makes us believe in that moment. However Keen is also great in that moment as you aren't supposed to touch someone else’s daemon, she is understanding, shocked and a bit confused. With that being said this little moment in this episode brought a lot of emotion and is a standout moment and highlights what a great job the animators are doing this series with the daemons.
Will learns how to use the knife from the previous bearer Giacomo Paradisi, played by Terence Stamp. Stamp put on a great performance while working with Wilson in teaching him the ways of the knife. Stamp has a great presence in this episode and seeing him leave is bittersweet.
Andrew Scott has finally entered the His Dark Materials world, we have been waiting for his entrance. Scott puts on a very engaging performance, his character struggles to maintain eye contact which means you focus on this character as you are intrigue with what he is saying and doing. Scott and Lin-Manuel Miranda's character have finally combined forces, both characters are very different yet this unlikely team are enjoyable to watch. Scott has definitely made an impression; expectations were high for him and he didn’t disappoint. Scott's daemon is voiced by none other than Phoebe Waller-Bridge, is it now just something to expect that you can't have one without the other, but this pair we can see from Fleabag clearly work well together.
The witches are still full of rage due to the Magisterium, they attack the Magisterium’s ships and fly into the window. The fight scene between Sara Pekkala (played by Ruta Gedmintas) and the crew on the airship was quick but intense, we see how strong witches are and how fast they can be.
Everyone is either in or on their way to Cittagazze and Lyra and Will know they must steal her alethiometer back. This episode is full of faultless acting and truly engaging performances. Will has finally become the character he is meant to be and gained ownership of the knife. We see a true friendship and bond forming between Lyra and Will. Mrs Coulter almost has Lyra in her grasp, while Lee Scoresby has found the man he has been searching for. This episode didn't disappoint one bit, it gave us everything it promised and built up to. Now the standard has been raised very high for the rest of the episodes left, but as everyone is heading for Cittagazze we can expect a lot more intense and captivating moments to come.
