With the Magisterium closing in, Lyra learns more about her father and his work, but can she really trust him?

I’ve struggled to really get on with His Dark Materials on a number of levels, not least of which is that it’s felt from the first episode as if it’s aimed squarely at those who have read and digested the books already, resolutely refusing to hold the hands of viewers like myself, who haven’t, and leaving us thoroughly confused as a result. Here, it suddenly gets quite info-dumpy about Dust, what the Magisterium thinks it is and why they fear it, and in the process manages to finally give some information as to the rough outlines of the Magisterium’s belief system and so on. The problem is, by squeezing all this into the final episode of the series, it can’t help but feel a little lopsided as a result.

That said, this isn’t an episode without its strong moments. Lyra’s confrontation with her father, Lord Asriel, is very well done, with both Dafne Keen and James McAvoy playing off one another well, even though the latter doesn’t have a whole lot to work with overall in terms of his character. All that’s really been clear from the outset is that Asriel isn’t a man to be trusted, and that proves to be the case here.

There’s also some lovely moments between Lyra and Roger, albeit it feels as if these are deliberately emphasised here in order to twist the knife further as events progress. Ruth Wilson gets to smoulder to various cast members as Mrs Coulter, and does get her own very powerful scene with Asriel toward the end, but otherwise it’s rather difficult to feel Wilson isn’t wasted in this role.

Meanwhile, Lord Boreal’s pursuit of Will Parry continues, as more is revealed about the specific destiny and importance of the boy, or at least it sort of is, with Boreal receiving information which sounds terribly important, while being reasonably vague.

It all rather barrels along toward a conclusion that involves epic visuals, stark revelations and a genuinely emotional loss which might have landed with me a little more powerfully had it not felt narratively so cheap.

Verdict: I can’t say it’s been terrible, but I won’t miss this series. So much promise, so under-delivered upon. 6/10

Greg D. Smith