from Tell Tale TV:
https://telltaletv.com/2020/12/his-dark-materials-review-malice-season-2-episode-6/
His Dark Materials S2 Ep 6: Malice
His Dark Materials Review: Malice (Season 2 Episode 6)
Malice is around every corner, as His Dark Materials Season 2 Episode 6, “Malice,” so wisely reminds us. If it’s not the zealots hunting you down, it’s those darn kids who have a (probably justified) vendetta against you.
But for all of the titular malice that preoccupies most of the episode, the most striking moments come through demonstrations of power.
These shows of force help to highlight everyone’s strengths as we go toward the conclusion of the season, with the backdrop of a larger picture starting to take form.
Lyra uses the alethiometer with grace and ease; Will bears the knife against the specters as he fights through pain; Serafina and the witches show their power of healing and protection; Mrs. Coulter shows how her darkness is her savior; and John Parry shows what a shaman is capable of against the full might of the Magisterium.
All of these combine to show that every individual character has a strength they must lean on going forward, just as all the pieces snap in place.
Mrs. Coulter’s power has the most interesting ramifications, as it’s essentially a lack of humanity. She demonstrates that through not only excising it to survive the specters, but also through her disposal of Lord Boreal in such a nonchalant and uncaring way.
Boreal’s death is a chance for opportunity for her, as he’s the only other one from the Magisterium who knows as much as she does about Lyra and the other worlds (at least, as far as we know). It’s clear when he describes them as equals that she doesn’t share the same sentiment, but there’s a layer of darkness on top of what she’s done.
Marissa is completely fine with taking out allies, a sign she has no real allegiance outside of to herself. She’s aligned with the Magisterium so far not because she’s with them, but because they can serve a purpose for her. Now that Cardinal MacPhail and the Magisterium have figured out her game, though, she may not find a welcome partner there anymore.
So what will she do next? She’s closer than she realizes to Lyra, and so it’s likely going to lead to a confrontation there.
She’s shown she will stop at nothing to get what she wants, and so if she’s unburdened herself with Boreal, what will she do to her enemies when she finally unleashes her inhumanity upon them? Will she even use the specters to her advantage?
Mary’s journey into this other world mostly reads as a moral compass of sorts, where the guilt of abandoning Angelica and Paola takes her from her own adventure so that she can return them to their people. It’s slowing her part down from joining the others, but at least it’s for a good cause.
But there’s also the curiosity of an angel nearly becoming visible as she sits on the beach.
It’s one of two instances where angels are visible on the episode, including when the witches see them heading off, potentially toward Asriel. So far, angels have only shown themselves to Mary as Dust through her machine, and so their physical manifestations starting to become prevalent speaks to the story (and the war) picking up steam.
For Lee and John, hopefully the blimp crashes close enough to Lyra, Will, and the witches that the Magisterium or the specters don’t become too much of a problem. But by the looks of the wider shots, that jungle is near-endless, so it may prove a while on the finale for that to receive its proper closure.
Parts of the episode that stick out most deal with the culture clashes. The more spiritual and ethereal side of the episode comes with the witches, where their healing ceremony and their care speak volumes in comparison to the Magisterium, where sterility and fear are paramount to every beat of every scene.
This is also one of the best looking episodes of the show yet, with some gorgeous shots of the lush jungle, the city as it’s inundated with specters, some great action in the sky, and some unique shots at key points.
The single tear rolling down Boreal’s cheek as the camera pans upward toward the tower is one in particular that stands out as both beautiful and haunting.
But for all of the great work this episode does to further the lore and to click the overall plot into place, this episode particularly shows how His Dark Materials likes to take its time. Without getting into the pandemic and the shortened season, there’s still this feeling like things haven’t gone too, too far, story-wise.
A lot has happened, certainly, but so much of the season’s best moments come from its character work and the performances that elevate them. The prophecy and Lyra’s overall goal is finally taking shape after being a little fuzzy up to now, but still, it’s been a crawl to get here, as great as individual moments have been.
We’re nearly there, as MacPhail is clearly rattled once he hears Lyra’s prophetic name and the prophecy is being spoken of fairly regularly now.
This episode is delivering on the larger narrative finally, where the smaller fetch quests for the Subtle Knife and the alethiometer come across as busy work to settle everyone into their final places for the final act.
That’s not to say those episodes and moments don’t work, but that there’s this need for urgency that has been missing when war and angels and religion are growing so ominous. But with all of those things in the background, Marissa Coulter is a far more frightening enemy than all of those at the moment.
But we do get some moments between Lyra and Will where their bond and closeness is growing, and it’s some of the show’s best work to date. As mentioned before, while the show nails the characters and its scale, there is still some work to be done to keep things moving.
This episode moves, sure, but when taking the second season as a whole, there’s not that major leap just yet when compared to the snappiness of the first season.
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