His Dark Materials Season 3 Episode No 4 Recap And Review
His Dark Materials season 3 episode 4 begins with Will and Lyra following waves of people as they head towards something sinister along the way. Something Pan was afraid of, especially since there were no other demons around.
The fog clears a bit and the pair make it to a strange warehouse. Lyra walks in with Will, where they see all these people walking in a line. A man standing at the top of the tower calls out to Lyra and Will and tells them that they are not welcome because they are not dead yet. He gives them instructions to go to Holding area #32 and gives them a piece of paper. They will have to wait until they are dead before they show up. As they continue, the pair examine the paper and see a symbol that the lyre interprets as the need to cross water.
Meanwhile, Mrs. Coulter arrives at the Magisterium and touches Asriel’s Intention Craft. However, he is not alone, as one of the Gallivespians is also on board. Anyway, Coulter keeps her distance when she walks in and finds herself in front of Father Gomez. “Tell the Cardinal that Mrs. Coulter is back.”
Of course, MacPhail is now Father President and decides to arrest Coulter. She interrupts him and reveals that she volunteered to see him and that she left Asriel. Coulter betrays her, but MacPhail is convinced that Lyra is dangerous and should be killed. Coulter mentions the blade and how he broke it, completely taming it, and also that Eve was kicked out of Eden only after being betrayed by the Serpent, and the Serpent was there somewhere.
Coulter continues and explains how Asriel killed that Angel and he tries to help her. Of course, Coulter is there to manipulate and get what she needs, even going so far as to kiss the ring on MacPhail’s hand to appease him.
As we soon learn, Coulter works with that Gallivespian, using her know-how to sneak around the Magisterium. With that, he finds Dr. Cooper there and believes that Mrs. Coulter has made some kind of bomb using parts of the Daemon Guillotine that she used in the first season. Unfortunately, he runs out of time and guards come to either side of Father Gomez to take him away.
With Coulter gone (and our Gallivespian friend listening), Dr. Cooper reveals to Macphail that the bomb in their building is actually meant to find and kill Lyra.
Back in the Land of the Dead, Will and Lyra arrive at the Holding Area… where they are told to go to another Holding Area, this time 507. As they go on, they meet like-minded souls that they don’t have anywhere else. really dead. One of the men explains that Death travels everywhere with each individual, throughout their life. From the moment they are born, their death comes with them and that is what brings them out.
Larisa, one of the women there, says that Death is taking them to the river and ferrying them across… but first they must die. Lyra decides to summon her Death first and is prepared to die to make it happen. Just like that, he introduces himself and leads Lyra outside. He agrees to help lead the way, but how will he get out again? well that’s left to Lyra to figure out.
Meanwhile, Mary Malone wakes up while camping under a tree to find a strange creature in front of her. He hurriedly grabs his equipment and decides to follow her.
Elsewhere, Gallivespian is advised to go to Mrs. Coulter, who mentions that she gave them the fuse for this bomb. Coulter burns the hair she has to prevent it from being used against Lyra. With the bomb growing for now – and the Gallivespian taking care of Dr Cooper – Coulter decides to end it once and for all.
Now that she’s there, Coulter will find the Intent craft and wreak havoc. When alarm bells go off and Coulter finds himself surrounded by MacPhail’s troops, he is cornered and surrounded. As a result, Coulter decides to stand trial for the ex-cardinal’s death, with the intention of calling McPhail to play a part in it all.
Unfortunately, they don’t believe it, and Macphail instead decides to separate her from her daemon and use Coulter as an essential component in Lyra’s murder.
Speaking of Lyra, she reaches out to Ferryman, but he wants her to leave Pan. Will threatens the Ferryman using his knife, but he notes that not following Daemon is like forcing water to flow up instead of down. This is not happening. He apologizes, but there is nothing else for it. Lyra is separated from Pan and he feels it in his heart as Lyra screams in pain after being separated from her Daemon.
Episode Review
It was a tough ending to a very good episode. The whole idea of this warehouse and waiting room in the afterlife is reminiscent of Legion season 3, but the execution works really well, and it helps add an extra dimension to a fantasy series that continues to deliver.
Ms. Coulter ultimately made the choice to stand up to the Magisterium, helping to shape her character significantly. At the same time, we get a lot of drama involving her and Father MacPhail, which looks set to spiral out of control in the coming chapters. Next week’s double bill should be quite a dramatic affair.