His Dark Materials – The Idea of North

By: Ellie Dolan-Yates

Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Mrs Coulter (Ruth Wilson) arrive in London. Mrs Coulter shows Lyra around her swanky home. She tells Lyra she wants her bedroom and study to stay private. Lyra and Pan (voiced by Kit Connor) revel in the luxury of their new home. Roger (Lewin Lloyd) is thrown into a run-down room, lined with bunk-beds, where he finds Billy (Tyler Howitt) and several other children.

Lyra and Pan are having breakfast with Mrs Coulter on her terrace. Lyra says she’s not scared of heights as she used to sleep on the roof of Jordan College. She mentions Roger and Mrs Coulter says they’ll find him soon. Mrs Coulter says she’s not good with heights as she gets the urge to jump. Mrs Coulter takes Lyra to lunch at The Arctic Institute. Lyra is in awe of the artifacts surrounding her. Mrs Coulter tells her to look around as the room is full of men, but she can teach Lyra how to wield power over all of them.

Mrs Coulter is washing Lyra’s hair and tells her she should change it. Lyra tells her a story about her and Roger having to use her long hair as a rope, but Mrs Coulter tells her not to lie to her. Lyra insists she wasn’t, but Mrs Coulter disagrees. Pan tells Lyra that they shouldn’t change just to fit in. Lyra reminds him that Mrs Coulter is being very kind to them and Pan snuggles on her shoulder. Pan wakes Lyra as he can hear clanging. He turns into a butterfly and flies up to the vent. Lyra tells him it’s just the pipes and throws her pillows at him.

John Faa (Lucian Msamati) tells the Gyptians to stop at nothing as they storm a building in London. As they reach the room they’re looking for they find it deserted. However, Farder Coram (James Cosmo) finds Billy’s sweater-vest. Elsewhere, Roger asks his Daemon, Scalcilia (voiced by Eloise Little), if they can see anything but all they can see is a brick wall. Lyra is having a dress tailored when Mrs Coulter says she will need her help serving drinks at her party. Lyra says there’s not much give in her dress and that she likes running around. Mrs Coulter tells her that the clothes she wears will determine how people see her. Lyra likes the dress when she sees it in the mirror. She giggles and says it will allow her to wield power. Pan tells her it looks like it’ll allow her to wield a cake knife. Lyra wishes her uncle could see her like this.

Mrs Coulter tells Lyra, who is surrounded by books, to concentrate. Lyra asks her if she can mold her into someone who reads some books, but who mostly travels. Mrs Coulter tries to teach Lyra about electrons when Lyra interrupts and says they’re like Dust. Mrs Coulter’s monkey Daemon growls at the mention of Dust. Mrs Coulter is interested in what Lyra knows about Dust. Lyra explains that you need a special camera to see it and that it doesn’t affect children. The monkey continues to growl and Pan, who was snuggled on Lyra’s lap, becomes alert. Mrs Coulter asks Lyra who she learnt this from and Pan shakes his head at Lyra. Lyra says she overheard someone who visited the college.

Tony (Daniel Frogson) is telling his Ma (Anne-Marie Duff) that he wants to help find Billy, but she shouts at him. The Gyptians come to tell Ma that they know Billy is in London. She asks what if they’re wrong, but Farder Coram hands her the sweater-vest he found. She’s distraught. Benjamin takes Tony aside and asks if he wants to be part of his plan.

At the Magisterium Cardinal Sturrock (Ian Peck) tells Father MacPhail (Will Keen) about the Gyptains’ discovery in London. The Cardinal says they didn’t find them as the General Oblation Board move the children around constantly. It transpires that the Magisterium are worried about the Gyptians finding the children. The Cardinal ominously tells Father MacPhail to tell the Oblation Board to control it or they’ll lose everything.

Pan alerts Lyra to the clanging again and this time Lyra gets out of bed to investigate. She notices that the sound is moving. Lyra follows the noise to Mrs Coulter’s study. She plucks up the courage to open the door and finds the monkey sat in the dark. When Mrs Coulter calls for Lyra that girl asks Mrs Coulter how she can be so far away from her Daemon. Mrs Coulter tries to tell Lyra that she is mistaken and her Daemon was with her the whole time. Mrs Coulter hits her Daemon and he whimpers. Pan tells Lyra that he could never be that far away from her and asks what Mrs Coulter is. Lyra says she doesn’t know but they need to find out.

Boreal arrives at Jordan College wanting to look at Grumman’s skull for proof it really is Grumman. The Master (Clarke Peters) tells him that the head has already been processed and put into the tomb with other scholars. Boreal (Ariyon Bakare) is sneaking around the dark corridors of Jordan College. He releases his snake Daemon and searches for Grumman’s skull. It turns out the head isn’t Grumman’s. Boreal enters what looks like a massive, desolate greenhouse and heads up the stairs to a portal! He ends up in Oxford. Our Oxford! He rips the parking tickets off his car and sends a message on his iPhone.

Mrs Coulter asks Lyra to stay in her room as, she has guests coming. Lyra peeks out of her room and Pan tells her that Father MacPhail is Magisterium. Lyra sneaks down to the study to eavesdrop. Father MacPhail warns Mrs Coulter that if her activities keep drawing so much attention then the Magisterium won’t protect her. The roach like Daemon belonging to Father MacPhail’s chaperone (David Langham) finds Lyra. Mrs Coulter tells Lyra to run along. Pan reminds Lyra that they can’t let them find the alethiometer so she hides it in a shoulder bag.

Mrs Coulter says she wasn’t angry at Lyra, but Lyra can tell she is. Mrs Coulter asks why she is wearing a shoulder bag inside and then sets her Daemon on Pan! As Pan is pinned to the floor Mrs Coulter says if Lyra continues with her behavior they will have a confrontation, which she will win. Lyra tells Mrs Coulter that her uncle wouldn’t let this happen. Mrs Coulter shouts that Lord Asriel is a failure of a man and a failure of a father! Lyra is, understandably, in shock. She asks who her mother is and Mrs Coulter says it could’ve been anyone. Lyra asks to be left alone. Mrs Coulter is crying outside Lyra’s room as Lyra takes out the alethiometer and asks it for help. Not getting any answers, Lyra kicks the alethiometer across the floor. The pin moves, but Lyra doesn’t notice.

Boreal meets with someone called Thomas (Robert Emms) in a café. When Thomas says Boreal should care about what his world can do for ours, Boreal lets his Daemon out of his sleeve. Boreal shows Thomas a photo of Grumman saying he needs to find him.

On the terrace Mrs Coulter tells Lyra that Roger will have moved on and she needs to do the same. Lyra snaps that Mrs Coulter is lying and Mrs Coulter says it’s funny Lyra would accuse her of that. Pan lets Lyra know his suspicions of Mrs Coulter. Mrs Coulter leaves and Lyra heads to the study, but it’s locked. As they explore the vents, Lyra says that Mrs Coulter’s Daemon must’ve been using the vents to spy on them.

Mrs Coulter is visiting the kidnapped children. She tells them that they’re all going on a voyage. Back in the study Lyra finds information on the General Oblation Board. Mrs Coulter helps the children write letters to their family. As Roger writes his letter about going to the North Lyra finds a map of something called The Station. On her way out of the building Mrs Coulter throws the letters on the fire. Lyra and Pan hurry back through the vents as Mrs Coulter is approaching in the lift. They make it back just in time! Mrs Coulter’s Daemon strokes Pan. That night, Lyra covers all the vents in her room so she and Pan can talk unnoticed.

Lyra is serving drinks to Mrs Coulter’s guests. One guest, a journalist named Adele Starminster (Georgina Campbell), tells Lyra to follow her. She tells Lyra that Mrs Coulter is a gobbler. She alludes to the initials of General Oblation Board standing for G.O.B. – as in The Gobblers! Boreal tells Mrs Coulter that Lyra is with a reporter. Pan notices that the lift is open, but Lyra says they can’t leave without the alethiometer. Boreal takes the reporter off Mrs Coulter’s hands and she goes to find Lyra. Mrs Coulter and her monkey see Lyra running away and the reporter asks Boreal not to hurt her. However, once in the car with Adele he crushes her butterfly Daemon – killing her.

Girls and boys are being separated for their trip to the North. Lyra tells Pan that they need to find Roger, but he says it’s no use looking in the dark. Pan hears whistling in the distance and heads towards a fox-like Daemon. Sure enough, Lyra is kidnapped.