SAUSAGEMAN
Registered User
Oh I can answer
Troll Kingdom
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His Dark Materials
- Thread starter Mentalist
- Start date
SAUSAGEMAN
Registered User
The first book is not as overtly anti-Christianity as the rest of the series. It really only turns into a JRPG in book three.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
I'm still watching this, season two has been pretty good so far. It's easy early Sunday evening watching. I'm glad there was a scene where Will could see and hear Pan talk and was like "wait it's talking!" because I don't feel the first season did a good job explaining how the daemons work. Dafne Keen is very good though it's still weird when characters start going on about how special Lyra is and how much they love her. I liked that she watched Paddington in the latest episode. Anyway it's fine, I probably won't post again since no one else is watching, bye forever.
The Tomtrek
Love Wookiee
I'm still watching it and yeah it's better now that half the show isn't all the stuff on our Earth where nothing happens (because it wasn't in the book??) but instead it's all the stuff on our Earth where actual plot happens.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
I liked when the monkey was wearing a seatbelt.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Season two thoughts from a NON BOOKER READER (me.)
I liked it more than season one. It felt bigger and did a better (but not perfect) job of explaining what was actually going on. Ruth Wilson was the highlight, just a great performance. Best episode was the one where Lyra and Coulter had their fight with their daemons and everything. That was good drama! Dafne Keen was very good too, I think they wrote her better than season one (where everyone just kept talking about how great she is without her actually doing much.)
On the downside, I still don't think they've explained the central conflict very well? Asriel was barely in the season (I know there was supposed to be an episode all about him that they had to cut due to covid) and I have no idea who the "He" he was talking about going to war with in the finale (well okay I'm pretty sure it's God but the show never says that.) The witches can turn to smoke and fly and kill dozens of people with little effort, but loads of them still got blown up when their home was bombed? Why didn't they all just smoke monster away?
The finale felt a bit anticlimactic with Balloon Guy spending all season trying to get to Lyra then just dying without her seeing him? But I guess that happens in the book too? Andrew Scott's acting was a bit weird in his scene with will.
Anyway if they ever make a third season I'll watch it even though the kids will be way too old to play the characters by then probably?
I liked it more than season one. It felt bigger and did a better (but not perfect) job of explaining what was actually going on. Ruth Wilson was the highlight, just a great performance. Best episode was the one where Lyra and Coulter had their fight with their daemons and everything. That was good drama! Dafne Keen was very good too, I think they wrote her better than season one (where everyone just kept talking about how great she is without her actually doing much.)
On the downside, I still don't think they've explained the central conflict very well? Asriel was barely in the season (I know there was supposed to be an episode all about him that they had to cut due to covid) and I have no idea who the "He" he was talking about going to war with in the finale (well okay I'm pretty sure it's God but the show never says that.) The witches can turn to smoke and fly and kill dozens of people with little effort, but loads of them still got blown up when their home was bombed? Why didn't they all just smoke monster away?
The finale felt a bit anticlimactic with Balloon Guy spending all season trying to get to Lyra then just dying without her seeing him? But I guess that happens in the book too? Andrew Scott's acting was a bit weird in his scene with will.
Anyway if they ever make a third season I'll watch it even though the kids will be way too old to play the characters by then probably?
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
All of season three will be on iplayer starting from tomorrow. I will watch it AT MY LEISURE.
Eggs Mayonnaise
All In With The Nuts
Strangely enough I never did check it out, until recently when I discovered that Kit Connor from Heartstopper is the voice of Pan. So I caught the last episode and it was interesting, but I wonder if it was enough for me to go back and watch all three seasons...
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Pan is a shirtless twink in every other episode!
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
First two episodes of season three thoughts...
Lyra is barely in it! She's either sleeping or yelling at Ghost Roger (who somehow got older despite being dead!) in her dream. I feel they could have done a better job involving her in the story in these episodes even if she had to be captive for most of it.
Action McAvoy is fun. His scenes have a LOT of exposition about the hierarchy of angels and stuff though. I'm not sure if they mentioned Lyra being EVE before this season?
Ruth Wilson is great as always.
I kept thinking that one evil guy was Jon Snow.
Lyra is barely in it! She's either sleeping or yelling at Ghost Roger (who somehow got older despite being dead!) in her dream. I feel they could have done a better job involving her in the story in these episodes even if she had to be captive for most of it.
Action McAvoy is fun. His scenes have a LOT of exposition about the hierarchy of angels and stuff though. I'm not sure if they mentioned Lyra being EVE before this season?
Ruth Wilson is great as always.
I kept thinking that one evil guy was Jon Snow.
CaptainWacky
I want to smell dark matter
Some thoughts on the whole season, don't read if you don't want spoilers (but really who cares!)
It's an impressive production in a lot of ways. The big angel fight looked good, the daemons always looked great (the golden monkey is one of the best characters!) The acting was generally very good: Dafne Keen is great; I've praised Ruth Wilson enough already; McAvoy is very fun. Will...well, he had better moments in season 3 than 2. But sometimes he'd just stand around looking blank and not reacting to things. The show at times reaches an epic feeling and touches on some strong themes. BUT...
I have not read the books (I know literally everyone slightly younger than me read them as a teen but I'm slightly older, okay) but I definitely got the feeling at times that something was lost in translation. I read a big tumblr post about how Lyra's thing in the books is that she lies all the time. Her name even sounds like "liar"! But that never really comes across on the show. She gets called "Lyra Silvertongue" and it does show she's good at talking people into things, but I never would have thought "Lyra lies all the time" was a thing unless I'd read that tumblr post. It went on to say that the part where she tells stories to the ghosts is a huge deal in the book because she actually tells them the truth and it's a big turnaround for her character. Whereas in the show...it's just Lyra telling some stories to ghosts. Like, it's fine, but I can see how someone who read the book would think "wow they missed the point of that."
There's also characters who I get the feeling are a bigger deal in the books but in the show they're just kind of...there? Like there's that angel who helps Will for half an episode then goes "No, I can't help you anymore!" and disappears. Then literally the next episode who comes back and says "actually, I do care!" to Will and Lyra, then disappears again. He finally shows up in the finale when the handsome evil guy is about to kill Will and Lyra. Here, evil guy is in awe of him because he's an angel and I thought the angel would talk him around and explain why killing Will and Lyra is bad. But he just..murders the guy? Then dies himself for some reason?
Then there's the Irish woman, who I'm sure is a much bigger deal in the books, but just kind of wanders around talking to various children before meeting the rollerskating elephants. She discovers that Dust is leaving the universe, which is bad, but that's undone the episode after she found out about it and doesn't end up feeling as important as I'm sure it was. Her ultimate purpose is to tell Lyra and Will a story that will inspire them to kiss each other...but wouldn't that have happened anyway? Like they were obviously into each other, they're two horny teenagers living togher in a paradise elephant world...did they actually need an Irish woman to talk them into getting it on?
I still don't really get that Lyra being "Eve" means (she's not the first woman!) Dust comes back because she and Will get horny, but why doesn't the dust care about the horniness of every other teenager in the universe? I get the theme (knowledge and experience are good, actually!) it just feels a bit like some of the details are missing.
So anyone it's not a bad show and has a lot to like about it! I just feel like it could have been better!
It's an impressive production in a lot of ways. The big angel fight looked good, the daemons always looked great (the golden monkey is one of the best characters!) The acting was generally very good: Dafne Keen is great; I've praised Ruth Wilson enough already; McAvoy is very fun. Will...well, he had better moments in season 3 than 2. But sometimes he'd just stand around looking blank and not reacting to things. The show at times reaches an epic feeling and touches on some strong themes. BUT...
I have not read the books (I know literally everyone slightly younger than me read them as a teen but I'm slightly older, okay) but I definitely got the feeling at times that something was lost in translation. I read a big tumblr post about how Lyra's thing in the books is that she lies all the time. Her name even sounds like "liar"! But that never really comes across on the show. She gets called "Lyra Silvertongue" and it does show she's good at talking people into things, but I never would have thought "Lyra lies all the time" was a thing unless I'd read that tumblr post. It went on to say that the part where she tells stories to the ghosts is a huge deal in the book because she actually tells them the truth and it's a big turnaround for her character. Whereas in the show...it's just Lyra telling some stories to ghosts. Like, it's fine, but I can see how someone who read the book would think "wow they missed the point of that."
There's also characters who I get the feeling are a bigger deal in the books but in the show they're just kind of...there? Like there's that angel who helps Will for half an episode then goes "No, I can't help you anymore!" and disappears. Then literally the next episode who comes back and says "actually, I do care!" to Will and Lyra, then disappears again. He finally shows up in the finale when the handsome evil guy is about to kill Will and Lyra. Here, evil guy is in awe of him because he's an angel and I thought the angel would talk him around and explain why killing Will and Lyra is bad. But he just..murders the guy? Then dies himself for some reason?
Then there's the Irish woman, who I'm sure is a much bigger deal in the books, but just kind of wanders around talking to various children before meeting the rollerskating elephants. She discovers that Dust is leaving the universe, which is bad, but that's undone the episode after she found out about it and doesn't end up feeling as important as I'm sure it was. Her ultimate purpose is to tell Lyra and Will a story that will inspire them to kiss each other...but wouldn't that have happened anyway? Like they were obviously into each other, they're two horny teenagers living togher in a paradise elephant world...did they actually need an Irish woman to talk them into getting it on?
I still don't really get that Lyra being "Eve" means (she's not the first woman!) Dust comes back because she and Will get horny, but why doesn't the dust care about the horniness of every other teenager in the universe? I get the theme (knowledge and experience are good, actually!) it just feels a bit like some of the details are missing.
So anyone it's not a bad show and has a lot to like about it! I just feel like it could have been better!