His Dark Materials – The Cave

By: Ellie Yates

Lyra (Dafne Keen), Pan (voiced by Kit Connor) and Will (Amir Wilson) are getting ready to cross over to Will’s world. Will advises Lyra not to wear a cape as they need to blend in. This also means putting Pan in Lyra’s backpack. They find the gateway and, despite Will pleading otherwise, Lyra heads straight into Will’s Oxford and into an oncoming car. Thankfully, Lyra escapes with a graze and as Will escorts her from danger as they are watched by Boreal (Ariyon Bakare). The pair navigate through the tourists of Oxford and Lyra thinks she recognizes a building as part of Jordan college from her world. After racing through the streets and to the building she is disappointed to find that this Oxford is nothing like her Oxford.

Later Will cleans the graze on Lyra’s knee and she asks him why he keeps looking at his phone and what it does. Will says that you phone people on it and it tells you things like the news. Referring to the alethiometer, Lyra says she has something like that… and it told her Will is a murderer! This clearly hits a nerve with Will as he tells Lyra he had no choice. Texts start coming thorough on Will’s phone from his mum which prompt him to leave Lyra to explore. He tells her to meet him at 5pm.

Lyra explores the Pitt Rivers Museum and whilst there she asks the alethiometer where she can find a scholar to ask about Dust. The alethiometer tells her to find a scholar at St. Peter’s College, behind the door with the mountain, but she musnt lie to them. It also tells her that she needs to help Will find his dad. As Lyra makes her way out of the museum she bumps into Boreal and quickly hides the alethiometer. Lyra introduces herself as Lizzie and Boreal gives his name as Charles and says he a collector. He hands Lyra a business card in case she wants to know more about the artefacts. Meanwhile, Will peeks through the bushes at his home and sees his mum (Nina Sosanya) sat on the settee staring blankly ahead. He texts her to say he’ll be in touch soon.

Lyra and Pan find St Peter’s College and head through the door with a picture of the mountain. The door is for the “Dark Matter Research Unit.” Lyra is surprised to find that the scholar is a woman called Mary (Simone Kirby). Not able to lie, Lyra introduces herself with her full name. She asks Mary what she knows about Dust or, as it is also referred to in her world, Rusakov particles. Lyra finds it difficult to explain, but tells Mary that her friend was killed because of Dust and she needs to find out about it or it will  have been for nothing.

Boreal joins Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson) at the Magesterium, but he has missed Cardinal Sturrock’s funeral. He tells Mrs Coulter that she would make a better Cardinal than any of the candidates. He mentions that they’re holding Thorold (Gary Lewis) in the basement, but Mrs Coulter tells him there’s been no sign of Asriel. Mrs Coulter asks Boreal where he’s been hiding, but he just says “away” and asks her how Lyra is doing. Mrs Coulter tells him her daughter is none of his business. Garrett (David Langham) addresses Dr Lanselius (Omid Djalili) who Serefina has sent as a peace envoy. Lanselius apologizes for the Cardinal’s death, but says Ruta was working alone. Garrett accuses him of being a spy and Father Graves (Sean Gilder) begins to question Lanselius’ past as a witch’s son. Lanselius describes a place in the far North where daemons can’t go. To become a witch a girl must cross it alone and it will separate them from their daemon without breaking their soul. Garret sentences Lanselius to eight years hard labor and daemon captivity. Mrs Coulter tells Garrett that he needs to stake his claim as leader.

Will visits a solicitor, Miss Perkins (Johanne Murdock), as a letter from his dad mentioned to contact her if there’s any trouble. He says that he needs all of the money from his dad’s trust fund and his mum is ill. Miss Perkins explains that Will’s grandparents are also trustees and gives him their address. Will is shocked to find that he has grandparents living in Oxford. Will visits his grandparents (Jane How and Brian Protheroe) who explain that words have been said since his dad left, hence them not seeing Will. They tell him that his mum needs professional help and he should stay with them. When Will mentions the trust fund,his grandad heads off to call Boreal’s investigator. When his grandma brings up the police looking for his dad’s letters, Will spills his tea and hastily leaves.

Back at St. Peter’s College Mary agrees to answer Lyra’s questions if Lyra answers hers. Mary explains that she studies “shadow particles” and that via her computer “The Cave” she discovered something extraordinary. She found that when she attached herself to “The Cave” the particles made contact. When Lyra explains Dust they conclude that this is the same as shadow particles. Mary asks how Lyra knows about her work when it is not yet published and Lyra shows her the alethiometer. To prove it works she uses it to discover that Mary used to be a nun. Lyra is hooked up to “The Cave” and the particles on the screen begin to form the symbols of the alethiometer. She tells Mary that she has something important to do and she’ll need her Chinese box (I-Ching). Lyra also learns from the symbols that she is late to meet Will! She rushes off and Mary begs her to come back tomorrow.

Will is on edge when Lyra gets to him, but she is excited to tell him about her day. He isn’t happy that he has been waiting for her whilst he’s trying to hide from the police and she’s been “playing.” To calm Will down she shows him the alethiometer and how it told her he was a murderer. When she uses it to tell him his mum is safe he tells her how the murder happened and how it was an accident. He’s worried that now he’s on the run he will end up having to leave his mu just like his dad did. Lyra returns his trust by telling him about Roger and how she will never betray anyone like that again as she hates herself for it.

Following Mrs Coulter’s earlier words to him, Garrett puts plans in place to destroy the witches. He has the Magesteruim’s airships drop explosives over the witches’ islands causing them to burn and surely committing mass genocide in the process. After finding our from Thorold that Lyra followed Asriel to the new world, Mrs Coulter meets with Garrett and warns him that she has a very good memory and if he wants the past to be buried he will turn the other cheek whilst she takes what she wants. She wishes him good luck before leaving, looking very much like a woman on a mission.