His Dark Materials Season 3 Episode No 3 Recap And Review
His Dark Materials season 3 episode 3 begins with Lyra waking up in the empty world they traveled to in the last chapter. Will and Pan are there, of course, and together they try to make sense of Lyra’s visions, including Roger calling her out. Meanwhile, Father MacPhail plans to kill Lyra by any means necessary.
He takes them out of the shipping container they are in and takes them to his tent. Coulter immediately remembers that Lyra could be the next Eve, but she shrugs it off, refusing to believe it’s true. The thing is, Asriel is the only one who can save him right now, but he’s sure it will happen naturally without his intervention. Asriel promises that Lyra is safe and that he has the best men for it. This is of course the little Angel from before. Will lays down the broken pieces of the knife as he talks to Lyra in confidence. He gives her the alethiometer and apologizes for leaving her.
Lyra believes that she must go to the Land of the Dead and visit Roger and try to save him. He also believes they can fix the blade with the help of Iorek, their first port of call. Our little Angel friend Salmakia overhears Will and questions him, but Lyra convinces him to lie by claiming that Mrs. Coulter, not Will, broke the knife.
Angel reluctantly leaves as Mrs. Coulter stands trial for her actions as an agent of the Magisterium. He brings up his past, which includes experimenting on children and killing witches. But despite all of this – she justifies her actions by claiming that she saved Lyra from the Board and kept her alive all this time, in addition to proclaiming that she is the worst possible mother. He has no doubt that the Magisterium will kill him. She begs Asriel and Ruta to let Lyra live and confesses that she truly loves the child. If he does, he will follow them and work with them.
Coulter’s compassionate plea is enough for them to follow through and work with the woman. Asriel warns that if he tries to leave, he will be killed. Coulter brings up Will, but covers for him by refusing to mention the knife in his hand.
Salmakia plays with Will’s idea and informs Asriel and the others that the blade is broken. Believing Coulter to be lying, Asriel immediately confronts him and reveals that he is dishonest, just as he is dishonest. As a result, Asriel decides to throw him back into the cell he came from. Coulter is not happy when he says he no longer protects Lyra. He finally comes around and shows him his angel prisoner.
Alarbos is tortured as Asriel demands that he give his message to Metatron, which is simply: “I am here.” And with that it turns the creature into Dust. Coulter has heard enough and after seeing how maniacal Asriel has become, she steals the intention art and decides to leave. – Goodbye, Asriel. And with that, he disappears and heads off to help Lyra.
Will and Lyra sneak in through the window and find Coulter in the lonely cabin he brought her to. Iorek is still there, and he uses this blade to cross into the Land of the Dead to warn of dangers. He says the knife broke because Will is torn about what to do. Now that he’s more focused, Iorek directs Will to strike the blade again. Lyra is told to hold back as Will tries to look deep within himself and find what is truly important. And it works! As Will passes out, the knife is struck again as before.
After completing his deed, Iorek bids farewell to Lyra and Will, hoping to meet again one day. When the Great Bear leaves, Balthamos reappears and greets them, claiming to have been following them all along.
With the fake blade, Lyra helps open the portal and they reach their destination. Pan is worried, believing that this strange world is not safe, but Lyra and Will decide to press on just the same.
Episode Review
The final battle is coming, and when it comes, it should be one heck of a showdown. Lyra and Will are in the thick of it, but there are still characters here who don’t have much to do with the story. I wonder what Mary’s role is in this? Of course readers of the book will be able to answer that, but in terms of the story it takes about 2 minutes of runtime and is just leaving and going for walks.
But in doing so, he loses sight of what is really important here and is consumed by power. This journey to the land of the dead may yield some important clues…or be their downfall. We have to wait and see!