His Dark Materials – Armour Review (A Newbie’s Perspective)

Guys. Guys! There are polar bears with armor! And they are so cute! (Ok, they do also exude the regal elements the show clearly wants them to, but they are also talking polar bears wearing bear-sized armor, which means they are also adorable.) But, most importantly, this was an good hour of television from start to finish. I can’t actually pinpoint the moment where the series turned from stilted and bland to compelling and fun, but “Armour” was a joyous exercise in fantasy storytelling done right.

I don’t want to be “that guy,” but a lot of what was great about the episode came from the appearance of Lin-Manuel Miranda as the show’s lone American, Lee Scoresby. There was a lightness in Miranda’s performance that infused all those around him with the same (heck, even his daemon was more fun than everyone else’s). I don’t know if it was the addition of “American energy” into the very traditionally British sensibility of the series (again, I don’t want to be the American lauding on the American presence, but you can’t deny that Miranda’s performance was of a completely different ilk than the rest of the cast – and even brought out a playful side to the notoriously serious and rather dour Lyra), but I laughed more watching this episode than in the other three combined.

Combining Miranda’s infectious energy with the appearance of those polar bears makes me genuinely enthused to see what’s going to happen in the remaining four episodes of the season, despite the flaws still baked into the series. To be quite honest, I’m not all that invested in the search for the children (I’d love for them to be found safe and sound, but I don’t really feel like I know much about them – I know more about the people who want them back, which is a problem when it comes to stakes in the coming episodes). I don’t really care what happens with Asriel or Mrs. Coulter. I guess I want Lyra to make it out alive, but I’m more concerned with Pan being ok than I am with her survival. Scoresby seems like a fun guy and I’d like to spend some more time with him. Same for Farder Coram, who also has quite the interesting backstory – I would love to delve more into his past with the witch and the tragic death of his son. And, of course, the lovely armored polar bears.

But that lack of connection to the major players in the series is a worry. If I don’t really care what happens to Asriel while he is in captivity, well, then the dramatic stakes of his situation won’t hit where they need to for the series to make sense. Same for whatever trouble Lyra finds herself in moving forward. And this isn’t a performance issue at this stage – it’s one of storytelling. In “Armour,” Mrs. Coulter was a badass, and watching her manipulate the Magisterium was awesome. But I don’t feel a connection to the character because we haven’t had enough time to form one.

Everything we know about her was told to us (breaking the cardinal rule of good television – show, don’t tell). Same with Asriel. Same with Lyra (we get told she’s special, we don’t gradually discover it for ourselves). Compare their stories to Coram, who told us his own story, allowing us to see the emotional toll it took on him, thereby creating a link between audience and character. That can’t happen when a third party tells you the deeply personal life story of a crucial character – you are robbed of that emotional connection.

As the show moves toward its season climax, I will be interested to see if the arrival of Scoresby and the polar bears energizes the rest of the storytelling or if characters remain at a distance from the audience. I want to care about these people – I want to understand the stakes and to feel an emotional connection to the characters when they are in danger. This far along in the process, creating that connection is hard but it is possible. I hope His Dark Materials manages to bridge the gap and give me more to care about.

Final Thoughts:

— While I found the daemon CGI a bit spotty in the early episodes, the series has really picked up in that department. The polar bears are exquisite. The daemons now appear much more lifelike, while still having that slight otherworldly magical quality to them.

— I’m still a tad flummoxed on the different storylines happening. The main arc appears to be the race to the arctic to look for Dust (which it appeared Lyra saw at night – the magic city in the Norther Lights). Then there’s the world jumping element, which I would love to learn more about. And, finally, the interpersonal arcs (reuniting Lyra with her parents, finding the children, the Gyptian family dynamics, the idea of found families vs. biological ones). Oh, and there’s still the whole business with Lyra being the Chosen One. That’s a lot to deal with in four more episodes – which makes me think we’re going to be getting a cliffhanger in more than one area. I would love a bit clearer sense of time, place, and story, though.