His Dark Materials Season 2: Malice Review – Specters And Angels

Last night in the U.K saw His Dark Materials Season 2: Malice, the sixth episode of Season 2 air. Folks in the U.S are around two episodes behind the U.K. so beware of SPOILERS in this review.

As usual, here is what I thought before getting into SPOILER Territory.

His Dark Materials Season 2: Malice had a lot to live up to following on from the previous two episodes. As much as can be expected, I think the episode did a great job of what is essentially a transition episode. Everyone is in transit, some warily by foot, some leisurely by foot, and some in the air. Where everyone is headed to, is the season finale. As said, it’s easy to see why this is a transition episode. Personally I thought Malice was great and despite some changes from the books, it worked in the context of the show. One or two moments were perfectly angelic.

SPOILERS for His Dark Materials Season 2: Malice lie below.

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His Dark Materials Season 2: Malice

The wound on Will’s hand is not healing and continues to bleed, however before Lyra can think of what to do next, they are attacked. The kids of Cittigazze attack Lyra and Will with the hope of killing them for what they did to Tulio. This was quite a big set piece in the books and took up an entire chapter. Here the conflict is reduced to a short scene and controversially, I liked it. Some book fans did not, and felt like this scene should have been more directly adapted. I think for me, His Dark Materials is not about those kids in Cittigazze. Whilst Angelica’s gang’s actions do show how feral they have become without adults, that’s Lord of the Flies. His Dark Materials is not about this subject, so why do we need anything more than what we got in Malice?

There was a scene later in the show, once absent from the books, which did a far more powerful job of showing the plight of the Citigazze children. Angelica and Paulo are amazed to see an adult Mary Malone casually wandering through Cittigazze. Eventually they dare to confront Mary and all they want is a hug and an adult to tell them what to do. This scene is far more poignant in my opinion than the book was and gets the message across in a superior way. The kids of Cittigazze are not nasty, they are immature kids, abandoned by their adults and left to fend for themselves.

Everyone Travels

His Dark Materials Season 2: Malice

After a brief confrontation, Will and Lyra are found by Serrafina Pekkala and her Witches. The Witches are there to protect Lyra and accompany them away from the City. Meanwhile, Mary Malone has just arrived in Cittigaze, has no idea what she is supposed to be doing there, and is unaware of the danger. Mary is oblivious to the danger of the Specters, but then, there really is no danger. Remember The Cave told Mary she would ‘ be protected’? In one lovely scene we can actually see an Angel’s outline as it floats above the head of Mary.

Mary is unaware she literally has a guardian Angel keeping Specters away. This is the first time we have seen Angels in His Dark Materials but Season 3 will see far more. You can just make it out in the image above. Again, we knew Mary was protected from the books, yet we only get told about these events in Book 3. Mary’s journey happens mostly off-page in the books. This is exactly the kind of material I love to see in an adaptation.

RELATED: His Dark Materials Season 2: The Scholar – The Best Episode Yet

Meanwhile, Mary is not the only adult in Citigazze. Coulter and Boreal are also there, and whilst Boreal is scared of the Specters, Coulter seeks them out. Now, this is once again an aspect I feel where the show improves upon the book. You see we find out that Coulter can control the Specters in Book 3, however, no real explanation as to why. It all makes perfect sense how this is shown in the show. Coulter who has a strained relationship with her Daemon, is able to suppress the part of her that makes her Human. This is an action Coulter also uses in Book 3, but at a different and very spoilery point. To connect both these moments in the show is genius.

Still Travelling

I was not sure about the look of the Specters when we first saw them. I’ve changed my mind, I thought they were great in this episode (see topmost image). I almost forgot what was to happen to Boreal here, I figured we were not there yet. However true enough after a bit of flirting and some reveals from both, Marissa poisons Boreal, then goes onto get drunk next to his dead body.

Our final travelers are Scoresby and Joparri who are flying over Citigazze and even glimpse Coulter’s seduction of the creatures. However Joparri reasons that the Knife is no longer in the tower. Before they can link up with Lyra and Will they are attacked by several Magisterium gunships. We see Joparri using some of his Shaman skills to use the weather and wildlife to aid them. I couldn’t help but think of Sean Connery’s Henry Jones quote, ‘I suddenly remembered my Charlemagne, let my armies be the rocks and the trees, and the birds in the sky. ‘

The performances, Easter eggs, additional material, etc were all on point once again. I loved it.

Building to the Climax

The scene is now set for the final episode of Season 2 and the climax of the second book The Subtle Knife. I’m just going to warn non book readers to have some tissues ready for next week, because Alamo Gulch is coming.

There is one moment I am convinced is going to be changed from the books. I cannot explain this to you readers without spoiling next week’s show very well but here goes. A thread in the books seemed to be leading towards an inevitable conclusion and did. This thread has not been used at all in the show. Therefore the event, which will still take place is going to have to be different, or it will feel unearned.

So get ready for a middle-trilogy ending more akin to The Empire Strikes Back tonally. If Season 3 does not get a green light, then His Dark Materials is going to end in one hell of a cliff-hanger. See you next week.

GRADE: A-

 

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