His Dark Materials
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One of my favorite things about television is that its a group project.
get their hands on it, and they just might see themselves in the material.
Paper dolls become three-dimensional human beings when stuffed with real hearts, real minds, real guts.
These readers stitched together dialogue and statements of fact with their own emotional experience.
Its why diversity at every level is so essential to Hollywoods future.
When it works, its magic.
Weve seen that magic work several times in this show.
We watched it happenwith Mrs. Coulter, certainly.
We watched Amir Wilson do it with Will Parry.
Weve spoken here before aboutLyras sneaky-little-shit beginningsand lack thereof in the show.
Theres aknowingthere someone outside Amir himself who can both show and care for the vulnerable child he starts as.
Lyra never gets that.
She found agency in leading her caretakers and peers around by the noses with fantastical lies.
(She griftswellbecause its in her blood.)
When viewers of this showdofeel that way for Pantalaimon, its often a result ofLyrasmistreatment of him.
But thats an exploration for the next recap.)
Heres howPullman says Lyras supposed to grow here:
Lyra learns to her great cost that fantasy isnt enough.
All she can do is tell the truth.
True experience, not fantasy reality, not lies is what saves us in the end.
But I think there was a serious lack ofknowingtoo.
Perhaps nobody understood her until it was too late.
Therealways seems to be some male-shaped X factorwaiting to jostle a brilliant Marisa Coulter gambit offtrack.
She defuses a magic bomb she herself helped design.
She fist-fights the horny popeand wins(thanks in part to Agent Roke, of course.
His lordship deserved better than this ignominious end).
Shes finally been introduced to the mulefa community, and it is truly, redemptively delightful.
The mulefa are as enchanting as their literary counterparts, if not identical.
Their young also kick the cracked pods around like soccer balls, which is absurdly cute.
But we know and love Mary so well now.
Its easy to believe in her.
She couldve handled a little whittling and polishing!
I had to see it now so do you.
