The sixth episode of the HBO/BBC adaptation of Philip Pullmans, His Dark Materials premiered in the United States on Monday. More than halfway through the season now (only three episodes remain) the action has finally taken center stage. The background information and the world have been established, and now the fun begins.
Next week we will find Lyra and her daemon, Pan, once again on their own, without the protection of their Gyptian friends or armored bear guardian. What other details has the trailer for next week’s episode hinted at? Here are just a few details to keep in mind.
Armored Bears
We’ve met one armored bear, but we will definitely see more next week. Lyra obviously survived her fall, but is far from free of danger. She will find herself in the kingdom of the armored bears next week with no allies but Pan.
One armored bear is intimidating, a whole host of them is terrifying, particularly when they are not on your side, and are supposedly holding your father captive. It’s not only a problem of numbers for Lyra, but a problem of rank. She will specifically be coming into contact with the current king of the armored bears next week.
Iorek
Speaking of kings, in case you weren’t paying full attention, that is the position Lyra’s own Iorek once held amongst the armored bears of the north. While Lyra may begin next episode alone, she will be joined by Iorek at some point before episodes end.
The current monarch is not pleased about this particular meeting, that’s clear even from this short trailer. “Show him he’s nothing,” Lyra says to Iorek. It seems viewers will be in for quite the rumble next Monday evening.
The Magisterium
Recent episodes have focused on “The Station” and its work with Dust. “The Station,” was certainly an offshoot of the ruling Magisterium, but the Magisterium returns in full force next week due to the destruction of their scientific outpost. Father MacPhail appears to voice the disappointment of the entire ruling body.
He does not come alone either, but with what looks like an army at his back. They are not there to help anyone rebuild, but to move on to more important matters, meaning finding Lyra’s father, Lord Asriel.
Mrs. Coulter
Looking less than fully chastised, Mrs. Coulter listens to the Magisterium’s displeasure in stoic silence. She does not seem worried about Father MacPahail’s words but rather intrigued by his exclamations. “You’re quite terrified of him, aren’t you?” she asks, calmly. She seems far more intrigued by her lover than she has in the past.
She’s been dismissive of Asriel, a little bit angry, but her thoughts have largely been focused on her work, and their child, Lyra. It looks like she may be in for a change in the near future, where it comes to her relationship with Asriel, that is.
Lord Asriel
Lord Asriel himself has been out of the picture for quite a few episodes now, but his name has never been far from the action. Odds are he may finally appear on screen again this coming week. With both Mrs. Coulter and the Magisterium focused on his whereabouts, and Lyra landing in the area of his last known location, odds are certainly in our fave.
James McAvoy may once again grace our screens this coming Monday, but there’s no telling what shape he will be in. The fact that he does not appear in this trailer does not bode well for the shape he may be found in.
Will
Poor Will, he still knows less than even those viewers who never read Philip Pullman’s originals novels. He knows his house is being watched, he knows it has something to do with his father and his disappearance, but the boy is overwhelmed as a caregiver and a teenager already. As Will does not appear in print until book two he should be grateful none the less, as this still sort of puts him ahead of the game.
He has a lot of questions about his world jumping father (as anyone would) but how much information his addled mother may actually be able to provide remains to be seen.
Lord Boreal
Someone who may be able to provide some answers for Will is the ever creeping, Lord Boreal. The trailer only shows us a short clip of the Lord approaching Will’s mother, but that doesn’t mean we won’t finally see Will get involved. Lord Boreal, like Will, is getting far more screentime in this first season than he ever did in Pullman’s first novel.
It would only make sense to beef up Will and Lord Boreal’s storylines together. It is very possible that will be taking place in next week’s episode seven.
Lee Scoresby
Poor Lee was finally given something of substance (besides wisecracks and wise words) to do and what happens? He loses Lyra, literally the only thing he was told to protect. That’s not a great record for the great aeronaut. It seems he may not be completely out of luck, as the trailer unites Scoresby with the witch, Serefina.
She returns his gun, and Scoresby knows this means a fight is coming, and he is expected to participate. Since his gun fell from the sky with Lyra, Serefina likely has information on her whereabouts for the aeronaut as well.
Battles
“The battles are just beginning,” Serefina tells Lee Scoresby. That might actually be an understatement where the next episode is concerned. We are treated to some quick clips of Magisterium military men pulling guns and supplies from crates in the snow.
But they are not the only ones preparing for battle. Besides Lee and his returned revolver, we are also treated to some clear footage of some pretty angry, and very armored bears.
Bear Fights
The one fight that is one hundred percent guaranteed to go down next week is a fight between Iorek Byrnison and current armored bear monarch, Iofur Rakinson. The interesting part of the small clip of a fight between the bears we are allowed to view in the trailer is that, despite being known for their armor, neither bear wears it in the fight that is to come.
They will be attacking one another without protection, which likely means we will be watching a fight to death in the penultimate episode of season one.
