re: HIS DARK MATERIALS Season Long Thread - S1 Ep8: "Betrayal" Season Finale

I'm assuming the next episode is the season finale?

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I was more confused by his reactions than anything. But now I can guess what comes next.

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I apologize if I spoiled anything.

Mostly I was referring to the timing of, as you say, his confusing reactions. Think it would be a better start to the next episode than a conclusion of this one.

If you haven't read the novels, I promise this story goes places (thematically) in the next 2 seasons that you can't imagine .

This season will have been all of the first book, plus a lot of material from the beginning of the second book. Will Parry is not in Northern Lights but becomes a co-main character with Lyra in The Subtle Knife.

Season finale bump

I thought it was a solid episode. I’m not a book reader, so I’m not basing my opinion on any knowledge. Very intrigued to see where next season goes.

I thought it was very well done. Love the writing, and I love the casting. They did a wonderful job.

I was thinking about the ideas in the show last night though. Pullman clearly believes the Church is the greatest threat to mankind. That it’s enslaved us, and most especially with the concept of original sin.

That seems like a stretch.

It’s hard to imagine a country in the west were religion is as powerful as he depicts it. Two hundred years ago, perhaps. But not anytime in our lifetimes.

The other issue, his criticism of original sin, is misguided. Humans have flawed natures, and if original sin is anything, it’s a recognition of that. The church isn’t laying a burden on us, it’s acknowledging our inherent moral weakness.

Like many atheists, he seems to imagine that removing the church would improve our basic nature. That’s such a strange idea, and it makes it difficult to take him seriously.

I wanted to add one thing that hadn't been addressed yet about the finale - the one major change they made was how Roger died.

In the novel, Lyra is able to make it to the mountaintop in time and free Roger from the cage but not his daemon. She then runs away with him, but a snowdrift they're on falls down a cliff and separates him from his daemon too far and he dies in her arms. This makes her directly responsible for his death in a larger part than just convincing him to come to Svalbard with her.

It's also incredibly weird to me that they included the entire beginning of Will's storyline but the actor maybe only spoke 15 words all season. Viewers have no insight to his personality or motivation at all.

I liked the finale and the season as a whole. It fell short in ares though and I probably would have liked it more if I hadnt read the books. I actually thought the way Roger died was pretty good, terribly sad obviously, but they stirred up the emotions for sure. There's just something about seeing the guillotine cutting them apart that is maybe a little more tragic than a distance separation. It also shows Asriels evil side a little better too with him having to forcibly pull the lever.

Will's part was probably my least favorite, outside of the Lee Scoresby casting. They introduced him so early and never really went anywhere with his character.

I think the bear fight should have been a little longer but it was cool how Iorek finished him off, just showing it in the background and hazily seeing him tear him apart. They should have slipped some dialogue in, at some point before the fight, to show just how hard it is to trick a bear though. Not just a simple "you tricked a bear" after it was over.

But overall, I enjoyed it. I think they were spot on with Lyra, Pan, and Mrs Coulter so that was nice. Pan being my favorite in the books and in the show.

Hopefully it gets renewed, I thought it was better than most stuff is out there thats for sure. It was apparently a lot more popular in the U.K., which isnt surprising since it was really a BBC show.

Will's character could be a lot better, season two should make his character more interesting than season one did. I felt like his story didnt go anywhere the entire season.