The Intention Craft
In the third episode of His Dark Materials season 3, Lyra wakes up in a world they traveled to last chapter. Will and Pan are there to of course, and together they try to make sense of Lyra’s visions, which include Roger calling for her. However, Father MacPhail makes plans to have Lyra killed by any means necessary.
Meanwhile, Mrs Coulter and her monkey are both tied up. Asriel takes them out of the shipping container they’re in and to his tent. Coulter immediately mentions how Lyra could well be the next Eve but he shrugs it off, refusing to believe this is true. The thing is, Asriel is the only one who can save her right now, but he’s confident that this will happen naturally without his intervention. Asriel promises that Lyra is safe and he has his best people on it to make it so. That being, of course, the tiny Angel from before. Will leaves the broken knife pieces with her while speaking to Lyra in confidence. He hands over the alethiometer, and apologizes for leaving her.
Lyra is determined to go to the Land of the Dead and save her friend Roger. She also believes that Iorek, the Ice King, can help them fix the knife. Their first stop is to see him. Salmakia overhears Lyra and Will talking and decides to ask questions later. ..
Mrs Coulter is put on trial for her actions as an agent of the Magisterium. She brings up her past, including experimenting on children and also killing witches. But even through all of that – along with self-proclaiming to being the worst mother possible – she justifies her actions by claiming she saved Lyra from the Board and kept her alive all this time. She has no question that the Magisterium are going to kill her. She pleads with Asriel and Ruta to keep Lyra alive, confessing that she truly does love the child. If he does this, then she’ll comply and work with them.
After Coulter’s heartfelt plea, the group agrees to work with her and protect her from harm. Asriel warns that if she tries to leave, she’ll be killed. ..
Salmakia plays along with Will’s idea and reveals to Asriel and the others that the knife has been broken. Believing Coulter has lied, Asriel immediately confronts her and she points out that she’s not honest, just like he’s not honest either. As a result of this, Asriel decides to throw her back in the cell she came from. When he brings up that he’s no longer protecting Lyra, Coulter is not happy. She eventually comes around and shows him her Angel prisoner. ..
Alarbos is tortured as Asriel demands he give his message to Metatron, which is simply: “I am here.” And with that, he turns the creature into Dust. Coulter has heard enough and after seeing how maniacal Asriel has become, steals his Intention Craft and decides to leave. “Goodbye, Asriel.” And with that, she disappears, heading off to help Lyra.
Will and Lyra head through the window and find themselves back at the secluded cabin Coulter brought her to. Iorek is still there and he warns of the dangers using this knife to cut through to the Land of the Dead. He brings up that the knife has been broken because Will was divided in what to do. Now that he’s more focused, Iorek guides Will to forge the blade anew. Lyra is told to stay back as Will attempts to look deep inside himself and find what really matters. And it works! The blade is re-forged as it was, just as Will passes out.
With Iorek’s deed done, he bids farewell to Lyra and Will, hoping to meet them again one day. When the great Bear leaves, Balthamos shows up again and greets them, claiming to have been watching over them all this time.
Lyra and Will arrived at their destination with the blade forged. Pan was worried, believing this strange world was not safe, but Lyra and Will decided to press on all the same. ..
The Episode Review
The final fight is coming and it should be a very exciting one. Lyra and Will are right in the thick of this, but there are still characters here that don’t really have a lot of a bearing on the story. What is Mary’s part to play in this? Of course, readers will be able to answer that, but in terms of the story, she gets about 2 minutes of run-time and it’s simply to leave and go walkabouts.
Meanwhile, Coulter decides to leave and protect Lyra, while Asriel continues his mission. However, in doing so, he’s clearly lost sight of what really matters here and is consumed by power. This journey into the Land of the Dead could provide some crucial clues… or it could well be their downfall. We’ll have to wait and see! ..
