“No Way Out” concluded on a dramatic note with Metatron activating The Magisterium’s bomb and promising to eradicate Dust. “The Abyss” had a lot to live up to.
The bomb has exploded, creating a massive chasm in the Land of the Dead and outside of Asriel’s Republic. Lyra and Will continue to lead the dead to the higher point of the Land of the Dead, even though they don’t know where they are going. Asriel is thrilled because he sees the explosion as an act of war from Metatron and The Authority. Yet The Abyss becomes the greatest threat to reality since it is sucking up Dust from across the Multiverse.
“The Abyss” was setting up the final battle between Asriel’s Republic and The Authority. I would say it was the calm before the storm but there wasn’t much calm. The episode showed The Abyss to be a great threat. When Will looked down it enhanced all the doubts he was having and Asriel’s dæmon warned him not to go down the Abyss. A powerful moment was when Ruta Skadi’s dæmon flew over the Abyss and got sucked in and Ruta couldn’t do anything to prevent his death.
The TV show showing Metatron getting involved in igniting the bomb changes the context of the story. It made Metatron a more malicious character who was actively trying to destroy Dust. This already links to events in “The Intention Craft” where Alarbus claimed that free will became a burden and needed to be eradicated. The explosion accelerated the loss of Dust that was already happening.
In the book it was implied that the loss of Dust was due to centuries of oppression. It was a long, slow process and the war and explosion did accelerate the process. But it wasn’t forced by Metatron or his underlings.
The events in The Land of the Dead felt drawn out. Lyra, Will, and the many spirits were marching up a cliffside. The writers had to add drama to try and make the story a bit more ‘compelling.’ This was done through Will and Roger having a conflict since they argued against each other but it felt like two boys trying to one-up each other to impress a girl.
Whilst this subplot felt forced other parts were given the emotional weight they deserved. This was the case when Will finally opened a portal to freedom for the spirits. Lyra could finally have a tearful goodbye to Roger before being the first one to go through the portal and dissolved into Dust. It was a relief to The Dead. The image of all the light lamps in the distance as the Dead walked on the cliff’s edge was striking. They were little specs of light in the endless darkness.
My prediction that Lyra and the Harpies would make a deal in my previous review, turned out to be accurate. This happened after Lyra fell into The Abyss and No-Name the Harpy was the only one able to save her. Lyra announced to the miles of the dead that they needed to tell the Harpies stories. Lyra must have had a hell of a voice to be able to project her voice for miles. Or the spirits that were miles away recreated the Sermon of the Mount scene in Life of Brian.
Being in the Land of the Dead allowed Will to finally speak with his dad. However, this conversation leads to a big change because John Parry tells Will he cannot live in another world. This will be significant at the end of the story because Will and Lyra will declare their love before the devasting news from Xaphania that they cannot stay together. If they stay in the same world one of them would die young, if a portal is left open it would suck up Dust, and if Will opens and closes new portals it would create a Spectre. Revealing the news that they can’t live together earlier undercuts its emotional significance.
The other side of the story focused on the Republic of Heaven. There was the stock of The Abyss and the shock of Ruta’s death. Mrs. Coulter believed that Lyra was dead and was grieving for her. This contrasted with Lord Asriel who didn’t seem to care about her. He changed his tune to the events at the end of “The Fight of the Death.” This side of the story was filled with interactions. Some were better than others. Mrs. Coulter and Serafina Pekkala met for the first time in the series and despite all the horrible things she did to the witches, Serafina helped the mother process her grief.
There was a strong moment between Asriel and Ogunwe. Ogunwe questions Asriel’s actions and a pointed bit of dialogue from the rebel was ‘You asked for blind faith when we set aside our beliefs.’ Despite Asriel having a mission to bring down the Authority and all organised religion, he acted like his enemies. The weakest part of the episode was when Asriel met with Iorek Byrnison. The scene felt forced and whilst it was fun to see Iorek hitting Asriel, it was ruined by James McAvoy since he laughed when he heard Iorek’s information. He did not seem like the character that fans knew from the novels, a cold, distant man who kept his composure no matter what happens.
“The Abyss” worked best with its emotional moments, especially involving Lyra, Roger, and Lee. It sets a big battle for the penultimate episode of the series.
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