His Dark Materials – Malice

By: Ellie Yates

As the witches stand in Cittagazze, they see angels pass through the night sky. Serefina (Ruta Gedmintas) says that the angels haven’t made themselves visible for thousands of years and Ruta (Jade Anouka) says the last time they were seen was to make war. She says the angels must be going to Asriel and Serefina warns that if Asriel has the angels on his side, he can do anything. Before following the angels, Ruta vows to bring Asriel back and destroy the Magesterium. Serefina tells the others that they must find Lyra.

Will’s (Amir Wilson) hand is getting worse and, considering the sweats he is getting, it seems to be pretty badly infected. Lyra (Dafne Keen) heads out to get some water, but she is spooked by Angelica (Bella Ramsey) who has formed a full-on mob of children to go after Lyra. They bang on the door as Lyra locks herself, Will and Pan (voiced by Kit Connor) inside. They make it to the rooftop, but the children have followed them. Luckily, Serefina swoops down just in time and the children scarper. Safely in the woods Serefina tends to Will’s hand. Lyra tells the witches all about the knife, but Will isn’t so sure they should be telling people they have just met. Serefina explains it will take a spell to heal Will’s hand and tells Lyra it will be better to keep them both safe in their world. Plus, they have more powerful plants. When Lyra later pitches this idea to Will, he his hesitant as he wonders if his father is in this world. Lyra consults the alethiometer and it tells them that Will’s father is close.

Jopari (Andrew Scott) is, in fact, in the skies of Cittagazze after crossing through the anomaly with Lee (Lin-Manuel Miranda). Lee questions why Jopari can’t fly if he is a Shaman. Jopari tells him he can – he needed to fly so he summoned Lee and now he’s flying. As they discuss finding Lyra and The Bearer, Jopari says The Bearer’s task will involve protecting them all. Later on, Jopari confides in Lee and tells him that he feels closer to Will in this world. Jopari says he’d given up hope of finding a window to get back to Will and his mum. Lee goes to make a them a coffee, but struggles lighting a fire. He jokingly asks Jopari if he can magic up a fire and Jopari closes his eyes as if he is about to, before taking a pack of matches out of his pocket and tossing them towards Lee.

Meanwhile, Mary (Simone Kirby) is exploring Cittagazze and comes across Angelica and Paola (Ella Schrey-Yeats) who earlier saw an angel hovering above Mary. Mary introduces herself and offers the girls a sugary snack and tells them not to tell their parents. Angelica explains about the Spectres and what happened to their parents. She’s surprised that Mary can’t see the Spectres and tells her that everyone else has run to the hills. Angelica shares that she knows that she’s not from this world, just like Lyra who they want to kill. Noticing the look on Mary’s face following that revelation, Angelica asks if that was wrong to say and Mary replies in the positive. Angelica tells Mary that Lyra is with “the witch” and, in a touching moment, Paola asks Mary for a hug.  Mary obliges and Angelica asks if Mary can stay and look after them. Mary explains that she’s been sent there to do something important, but when Angelica guilt trips her she says they can go with her.

Serefina tells Lyra that it scares her how Will has a weapon so powerful. Lyra says that Will is The Bearer and that she’s safe. She explains that the alethiometer has told her that her job is to help find Will’s father. Serefina mentions to Lyra that she will protect her and Will, even if she finds this world uneasy. She agrees to help find Will’s father, but they need to stop Will’s bleeding first. The witches cast a spell to heal Will’s hand and Lyra asks Serefina if Will will be okay. Serefina tells her that they’ve done all they can before Lyra consults the alethiometer to ask where Will’s father is located. It tells her “up.” On their way up the mountain Serefina and Kaisa (David Suchet) tell Will about Lyra’s prophecy and that there is a boy who must travel with her. Serefina explains to Will that Lyra sees him as her responsibility, but Lyra is also his so she must be protected.

At the Magesterium Fra Pavel (Frank Bourke) tells Cardinal McPhail (Will Keen) that he doesn’t really understand what his alethiometer is telling him and that he is afraid to say in case it is seen as “free speech.” McPhail says as long as it’s what his alethiometer told him, then he’s okay to say it. Fra Pavel shares with McPhail that Mrs. Coulter (Ruth Wilson) is looking for Lyra in another world and tells him that Lyra is the person who will bring about the Magesterium’s downfall. Following this revelation, McPhail sends Magesterium troops through the anomaly and plans to sacrifice Lyra.

Mrs. Coulter and Boreal (Ariyon Bakare) cross into Cittagazze. Mrs. Coulter asks Boreal why he is so nervous and he explains that the Spectres have multiplied since Asriel created the window. They’re stopped in their tracks as they come across a zombie-like adult and Mrs. Coulter says they could learn from what the Spectres do to humans. It turns out that Mrs. Coulter is a pretty quick learner as she soon manages to control and disperse the spectres surrounding her, all whilst Boreal is hiding indoors. Mrs. Coulter and Boreal decide to “celebrate” over two bottles of wine. She explains that as the Spectres consume what makes you human, she just hid that from them and suppressed herself. Boreal tries to romance Mrs. Coulter with the notion that they can share the knife when he gets it and she can be his equal. Despite kissing him and becoming all giggly (must be the wine), Mrs. Coulter soon turns and tells Boreal that she doesn’t need him as he will only hold her back. It soon becomes clear that Mrs. Coulter has poisoned Boreal, literally, and a single tear rolls down his cheek as he passes away.

Still on their way up the mountain, Lyra wonders if Angelica and Paola will be alright. She says she’s never seen children behave like that before. Referring to how his mum was often treated at the school gates, Will says he has and tells Lyra about his mum’s illness. He states that he used to pretend that his dad was abroad and one day he would find him and he would have the answer to everything.

Later that evening the Magesterium are hot on the air of Lee’s balloon. Jopari’s very laid back approach to the less than ideal situation annoys Lee and he asks him to do something. Jopari summons a storm and says he trusts Lee’s skill to get them through it. The Magesterium begin to fire at the balloon and Jopari summons a swarm of crows towards the airships. I’m not sure what breed of crows they have in Cittagazze, but they manage to blow up one of the airships. However, a gunman in the remaining airship hits the gas cannister of Lee’s balloon sending it hurtling into the woods below.