His Dark Materials: The Scholar (2x05)

OOF. This was a good one. Maybe the best episode of the season thus far, even though my boy Lee was absent.

Cons:

Pacing-wise, there were a couple of wonky things in moments of tension here. I liked that the confrontation over the alethiometer was expanded, but while Lyra and Mrs. Coulter were having their confrontation, Will and Boreal kind of had to be in stasis, and it was a bit awkward.

Same with the moment when Lyra and Will see that Tullio has fallen to the spectres. The threat level there was sort of off, as the two sisters hugged him and cried. I remember from the book that the two younger siblings were pretty much fully feral and it felt like they might really attack and hurt Will and Lyra. And speaking of hurt Will, another thing I'm missing from the books is how badly Will is supposed to be doing, health-wise, because of his hand. In the book, there are constant reminders that he hasn't stopped bleeding, and he is in real pain all the time. That really upped the tension, as while they were working on their other goals, they also had this looming health threat slowing them down and causing added drama along the way. I haven't gotten that same sense from the show.

Pros:

So, I'll start this week by just continuing my affirmation that Lyra and Will's relationship is being excellently portrayed here. There was a sense of fun, of childlike excitement, as they planned their heist to get the alethiometer back, even as they both took it very seriously. I liked that blend, and also how that moment of joy and anticipation was broken when they saw the price Tullio had paid for Will getting the knife. They know to take this seriously. But also, we get Lyra smiling, pleased that Will is improving with the knife. And their joy of discovery as they see that the various worlds line up along some points of landscape and architecture.

I continue to enjoy Mary Malone. I think she's a character who has enough grounding to make her believable, but also still has that zany, a little unhinged atmosphere to her. It makes her the kind of person who would be willing to take Lyra seriously long enough to discover the truth about Dust. She's willing to uproot her life and go through a mysterious window, leave her own reality entirely, and I... believe that about her. I believe that's the way she would behave!

This episode belongs to Mrs. Coulter, though, and I think we all know it. Just... I cannot tell you the feelings I felt, as a woman, watching this episode. All of the stuff with Coulter and Boreal was pitch-perfect. This asshole thinks to impress her with his gadgets and his wealth, and I could just feel my soul leaving my body when she had to sit there and listen to him talk about himself. The moment when she left the monkey behind, and he ran to the window while she left... chills. Boreal doesn't love her, he wants to possess her, and everything he learns about her makes him more terrified of her but also more covetous.

And then that conversation with Mrs. Malone. Doctor Malone, she corrects. This was such a powerful moment, because Mary has no idea what's going on here. She doesn't understand the revelation Marisa is undergoing, just being in the room with this woman who has a career and respect from the scientific community. Mary is just asking innocent questions about Mrs. Coulter's degree, and papers she might have published. This flusters Marisa, but not because she doesn't know how to lie. It's because of what she's realizing, about this world, about the opportunities she might have had here. She's used to using her intelligence and her charm to get what she needs out of men back in her own world. But the idea that she might be able to forego the game, and just write the papers, just do the work, under her own authority? She's never lived in a society that gave her that option, not really. Contrasted to how much she was playing the game with Boreal before, this revelatory moment, and her behavior towards him afterwards, shows a big shift in Marisa Coulter's worldview, even if her motivations and immediate plans haven't changed.

So, like I said, there were some pacing issues in the confrontation between Will and Lyra, and Boreal and Mrs. Coulter... but overall, I still thought it was such a smart idea to expand this section from the book. It starts off a stealth operation, but it ends up being a lot more dramatic and, well, cinematic, which is only appropriate for a visual adaptation of the scene! The most intense part? Well, Lyra sicc'ing Pan on the monkey, and then staring with fury and pain and fear and raw power at her mother as she writhed in agony. Like. Wow. Incredible acting from Dafne Keen, she really knocked it out of the park in that moment of intensity.

So, the kids have got the alethiometer back, and Mary Malone is through the window and on her journey. So excited to see the rest of the season! I think there are only two episodes left!

9/10