His Dark Materials - Episode 3: The Spies
HIS DARK MATERIALS - HBO + BBC
His Dark Materials plans to move far North in its third transitional episode, The Spies. Directed by Dawn Shadforth, the hour moves up with specific scenes holding it back — bearing the same weaknesses as its previous episodes.
Lyra Belacqua’s (Dafne Keen) arc remains the most interesting; when the story is focused solely on her, it is guaranteed that the audiences will be kept engaged. Her frustration about the lack of knowledge of the chess pieces at play is even more amplified as the people around her and those who do know, refuse to share them with her — an element that adds to the mysticism but entertainment value.
In each revelation and additional exposition the world and its characters discloses, we’re experiencing it as if we’re on Lyra’s shoes, allowing for a more emotionally rewarding viewing experience. While there’s little story advancements — which still is deficit over any organic element — persisting on moving in forced, artificial ways imaginable, it’s always a pleasant break seeing her and the Gyptians bond building character relations that will probably be essential to the rest of the series.
Nevertheless, when the episode transfers its attention to other arcs, it disrupts the striking flow of its narrative. Boreal’s (Ariyon Bakare) trips to the alternate Earth has still yet to prove its significance. His motivations and reasons why the season is delving into this have stood unclear and also seemed rushed in development, rendering any engrossment from non-book readers absent.
Time spent on Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson) is more worthwhile than Boreal’s. With the dramatic reveal in mind, it makes a lot more sense why Lyra is vital to her, with Wilson’s devilish yet weirdly sympathetic performance capturing attention on all fronts.
Although there are some exciting concepts introduced throughout — yet feel barely explored — His Dark Materials has still yet to convince why non-book readers should stay interested, aside from Joel Collins’s grandeur production design, Suzie Lazelle’s eye-catching cinematography and spot-on visuals. The viewer is still up in the air of what shape the series is taking but at the end of the hour, it seems that the shows promises are beginning to gain momentum from this point forward.
His Dark Materials is released on HBO and BBC every Sunday and Monday, respectively.
