His Dark Materials: The Fight to the Death (1x07)

Lyra Silvertongue! Oh man, this was a good, good episode.

Cons:

My main and really my only complaint is something that I think the budget is responsible for. It's been a while since I've read the books, but I remember the fight between Iorek and Iofur being outdoors, in this big arena with all the other bears watching. I've been mostly very impressed with the CGI in this show, and the bears in particular look great - the fight is truly impressive. But it doesn't have the grandness of scale I was maybe hoping for, in my ideal universe.

I'll just lodge my regular complaint that daemons need to be more ubiquitous. The man in the prison cell with Lyra didn't have any significant interactions with his daemon, for example. I don't mean to nitpick, but come on.

Pros:

This is the best episode of the show thus far, though. I really, really liked it. I think I'll start with Will, before we get in to the main story of the week. Boreal is getting impatient, and tries to talk his way into the Parry household. He tells Elaine that John might still be alive. She freaks out and runs to Will, and it looks like Will is ready to believe that there's something more going on here, besides his mother's paranoia. He takes her to a trusted neighbor and then hides out in the dark in his own house, awaiting Boreal's men. They break in, looking for his father's belongings and notes, and Will pushes one of them over the banister, killing him, and then runs off.

With only eight episodes in this season, so many plot points have been happening so quickly. I appreciate that alongside Lyra's fast-paced and ever-changing story, we've gotten this slow-burn with Will, which sets off his character's journey and fast-tracks him to the point where we first meet him in the books. I had my doubts about including his story when I first realized that's what they were doing, but now I'm really happy that they've done this. I'm also really happy with this kid's performance as Will. He manages to portray the kid who's had to grow up too quickly really, really well, and I'm definitely ready to see his energy play off of Lyra's when they finally connect.

Mrs. Coulter was barely in this episode, but every second of her was dripping with intensity. I loved her scream of outrage at Bolvanger, and the way she kept herself poised when she found bout about Iofur's death and Asriel's freedom. Even when she's clearly at a disadvantage, she knows how to control a room. She's such a creepy, intense person, and she really is one of the show's biggest asset.

Another huge asset is McAvoy as Lord Asriel. He played the hell out of his own few moments in this episode. Holy moly. When Lyra shows up, he is in agony, demanding that she leave, insisting that he didn't ask for her. Book readers know why he's so upset, and also why he's so... eager, when he sees that Roger is there also. It's creepy when you know where it's going, and I imagine it's creepy even if you don't. There was so much goodness and angst and energy in this final scene, and it makes me so excited/terrified for the season finale!

Speaking of characters who only got a bit of screen-time, I loved that little moment with Lee and Serafina at the end. We see Lee and Hester working on repairing the ship, and Lee is singing and trying to distract himself, and then Serafina shows up. He learns that Lyra, Roger, and Iorek are all alive, and that his part in this fight isn't over. I just loved getting to see Lee learn that his friends weren't all dead. Poor guy was really suffering, and his relief at Lyra's survival was really touching to see!

Roger sure is adorable. He and Lyra sure are cute. I'm really glad that we're getting to see more of their friendship here at the end of the season. Roger is just such a good person - so supportive, so caring. We didn't get to spend too much time with them together at the start of the show, since the plot really had to take off and get moving, so I'm glad in this episode we got to see their connection shine. It's important that we care about them as friends.

But now, finally, to turn to the main aspect of this episode. Lyra, finding herself a prisoner of the armored bears, decides to go for broke and lie to Iofur, telling him that she is Iorek's daemon, and that if Iofur bests Iorek in single combat, Lyra will become his daemon instead. It's a balls-to-the-wall crazy lie, the kind of thing that only a kid who has been through what Lyra has been through would be able to think up. I love how her deception of Iofur is built of so many character traits we've seen in Lyra up to this point. She does what she does out of her love for Iorek, but she also proves herself to be cunning and formidable - Iorek told Lyra earlier in the season that a bear cannot be deceived by a human. She's also employing manipulative skills that she's surely gotten at least in part from her parents, both of whom are deliciously cunning.

And despite my dream scenario of a really intense battle with a cinematic budget, the fight between Iorek and Iofur was still pretty cool. I liked the "less is more" approach to Iofur's death, where we focused on Lyra's face as she turned away and huddled in fear. In the background, we can see the shape of the bears, as Iorek kills his erstwhile usurper. Lyra is realistically a child in this moment, a child who loves Iorek and trusts him, but also isn't allowed to forget how dangerous he is.

I could go on, but that's where I'll leave things for now. I can't believe next week is the finale! This show is doing some really cool things with this story, and next week is sure to be... explosive!

9.5/10