Having journeyed to our Oxford, Lyra and will go their separate ways for the day, Lyra to find out more about Dust and Will to check on his mother and see what he can do to help her. Meanwhile, Father MacPhail prepares to take the Cardinalship of the Magisterium with Mrs Coulter’s assistance, but what will be the price for her help?

Things are largely a little more familiar to the uninitiated this week, as the show mostly takes part in ‘our’ world with our two protagonists visiting Oxford, each for their own reasons.

Will wants to check that his mother is OK, and see if there is anything that he can do to help her in his absence. This leads him to the solicitor named in his father’s letters, and from there to some unexpected family in Oxford. But can he really trust anyone in his world?

Lyra, left to her own devices, seeks out a scholar revealed to her by the alethiometer who might well be able to help her to gain a greater understanding of Dust. Dr Malone, who studies what she calls Dark Matter, is a little taken aback by the arrival of a young girl with so many questions, but the two hit it off, and Lyra’s ability to manipulate the Dark Matter in the titular ‘Cave’ (a giant supercomputer) excites Malone even further.

Back in the world Lyra left behind, McPhail continues his machinations towards the Cardinalship, though he has rivals for the position. As the trials of various ‘heretics’ – including Dr Lanselius – continue, Mrs Coulter encourages McPhail to take direct and brutal action in order to seal his authority. As helpful as she may be to his ambitions, McPhail may well live to regret his reliance upon the enigmatic Mrs Coulter.

All things considered, I have to admit that the show is finally starting to make more sense to me. It’s still feeling much more like something from which fans of the books will get the most, but the machinations, the human relationships and the various little tragedies are all recognisable enough. Simone Kirby’s Mary Malone is a likeable, quirky character, and it’s starting to feel like the world from which Lyra hails is beginning to be properly fleshed out. It’s also nice to see the relationship between Lyra and Will develop, as each slowly learns to trust the other, even as they realise that they have very few other people in either of their lives who are worthy of such faith.

Verdict: Finally starting to bed in properly for this non-reader of the books. Intriguing developments are afoot. 8/10

Greg D. Smith