His Dark Materials – The Intention Craft Review

Following on from the dramatic events of “The Break,” “The Intention Craft” slows things down as all factions decide what to do next.

Will has saved Lyra from Mrs. Coulter but it came at a cost because the knife has broken. The youngsters must figure out a way to fix the knife and clash over their next course of action. Within the Republic of Heaven, Asriel and his advisors must decide what to do with Mrs. Coulter, knowing she can’t be trusted. In Geneva in Lyra’s world, Father MacPhail has a crisis of faith because he needs to take unholy actions to eradicate Lyra.

The TV series has made changes from the novels. Some were improvements, others seems like the showrunners didn’t understand the source material. “The Intention Craft” had examples of both. These changes involved Lyra and Will’s story

The biggest improvement involved Will’s role in reforging the knife. In the novel, Lyra and Will took the knife to Iorek Byrnison and he used his blacksmith skills to reforge the knife. He stated that he didn’t trust the knife because it was made from an otherworldly metal and it was too powerful for anyone to hold. In the TV series, Will had to take part in reforging the knife because it linked to him. Will was the only person who could use the knife.

Iorek told Will he had to focus during the reforging. When Will struggled the knife broke into even more pieces. He had to think about Lyra for the knife to be fixed. During the reforging sequence, Will thought back-to-back to previous events in the series, both the good and the bad. It felt like a scene in Harry Potter and the Order of the Phoenix when Harry thought back on the abuse and failures he endured but got strength when he thought about his friends.

In the novel, Iorek Byrnison said to Lyra and Will that he didn’t trust the knife and it had some dark power. However, in the novel, the idea of the knife had a dark power and a mind of its own. There were dark consequences if someone used the knife, but it didn’t feel like a character or have a corrupting influence like other magical ideas, such as the Ring in Lord of the Rings or the Horcruxes in Harry Potter. In “The Intention Craft” the knife resisted Will’s attempt to cut a portal to the Land of the Dead. It added to the episode’s build-up of dread and peril for the next episode.

The change “The Intention Craft” which could undermine the story and characters, involved Lyra. Lyra states to Pan that she needs to go to the Land of the Dead and Pan corrects her by saying ‘we’ need to go there. It may seem like a minor change but it will have a major impact later in the series. It implies that Lyra knows what she will have to do to Pan in the Land of the Dead, and this would undercut one of the most heart-wrenching moments in The Amber Spyglass.

Lyra and Will’s storyline in this episode had a Star Wars influence. In the episode. Lyra, Will, and Iorek have conversations as if they were in the Star Wars universe. When Lyra consulted the alethiometer she said their actions could restore or destroy the balance, as in Star Wars where the balance of the force was everything. Lyra’s justification to Iorek about her and Will’s potential action was good people doubt, and bad people don’t. She was like Obi-Wan in Revenge of the Sith when he said ‘Only a Sith deals in absolutes.‘

The storyline in the Republic of Heaven had two themes: ideological and personal. The personal was due to Asriel and Mrs. Coulter’s fiery relationship. They stood on opposite sides of the war and their feelings were mixed because they loath and desire each other in equal measure. They were constantly drawn to each other and there was an endless passion. McAvoy and Wilson brought this testy relationship to life.

The obvious difference between Asriel and Mrs. Coulter was the faction they sided with. Mrs. Coulter worked with the Magisterium, and Asriel was fighting against all organised religions and the figurehead who claimed to be a God. Asriel aimed to shatter Mrs. Coulter’s beliefs by telling her The Authority had a regent, that he was no creator, and Asriel stating his goal to bring down all oppression and organised religion. For a series that was influenced by atheism, Asriel was incredibly preachy.

The other ideological clash regarded Lyra and the things they have done to protect her. Asriel saw Lyra as nothing more than a nuisance and tried to keep her out of trouble, whilst Mrs. Coulter tried to physically protect Lyra even if it meant doing horrible things. Mrs. Coulter admits she has committed horrible actions for the Magisterium, whilst Asriel justified his actions as small evils for the greater good. That included child murder.

Another addition to the story came near the end. Asriel concluded that he didn’t need the knife because it was made by a primitive society. He announced to his captured archangel that he would find another way to defeat The Authority. Or to put it another way, he will use science!

“The Intention Craft” was a great episode of His Dark Materials. This was due to the character drama and finding a way to improve upon the story.