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The first season of His Dark Materials has finally reached its conclusion and the finale is one of the best episodes the series has produced so far. Lyra (Dafne Keen) and her friend Roger (Lewin Lloyd) have arrived at Lord Asriel’s (James McAvoy) northern scientific facility. Lyra believes their quest is over and she and Roger can […]
The temperature has plummeted (to shockingly low depths here in Chicago, starting my annual ritual of wondering why I continue to subject myself to this weather), the holidays and 2020 are just around the corner, which means it’s time for that time-honored annual tradition: The Critic Best of List. 2019 was an interesting year for […]
Following two fairly focused episodes, the penultimate episode of His Dark Materials sets up all the pieces ready for the big finale. After freeing the children that were held at Bolvangar, Lyra (Dafne Keen) gets captured for a third time – this time by the bears of Svalbard. Lyra has to use all her wits to do […]
My favorite type of ending is one that refuses to tie everything up in a little bow. It’s Buffy looking out over the crater of Sunnydale, offering a small smile, while refusing to answer any of the myriad of questions being thrown her way. It’s not knowing just what fate will befall Paige Jennings as […]
“The Dæmon Cages” sees His Dark Materials go into horror territory as Lyra sees the full scale of the Magisterium’s operation. Lyra (Dafne Keen) has been captured (again) and taken to Bolvagar, the Fields of Evil. She gets to reunite with Roger (Lewin Lloyd) and she plans to start a jailbreak, knowing the Gyptians are coming. However, […]
I have a confession to make: I broke down and asked Twitter to explain just what was happening with His Dark Materials. Not everything, mind you. I get the basic machinations of the plot (Magisterium bad, Asriel flighty, polar bears awesome, daemons = the soul of the person, people can travel between universes, Lyra is […]
We’ve had a lot of time travel stories over the past few years, and almost all of them fall apart at some point in the narrative. But “A God Walking into Abar” might be the first that actually holds up all the way through while also giving us its own take on the grandfather paradox.* […]
With the 2010s coming to a close, it’s my duty as a TV critic to create a Top 10 List of the best TV shows of the decade. Seriously. Check all the other entertainment sites. We’re all doing it. (And, if I’m honest, we’re all putting a lot of the same shows on our lists […]
So just when I start to think I’ve got a grasp on the story, it goes off and introduces a new character that is apparently crucial to the story and the mirror to Lyra (who is clearly the special child of the magical realm). I don’t know if the books introduce Will to the story […]
“The Lost Boy” was the episode of His Dark Materials I was most looking forward to because I knew it would cover one of my favourite moments in the novels. Following on from their rampage at Trollesund the Gyptians travel northwards to Bolvangar. When Lyra reads the alethiometer she finds out that the Gyptians will be outmanned and outgunned. […]