Malice
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Can we get any more tense? Witches, angels, Spectres! Airship attacks! Murderous children! Poison! Whoa! Everyone and everything is coming together in His Dark Materials S02E06 “Malice”, which aired on HBO on December 21, 2020. It was written by Lydia Adetunji and Jack Thorne and directed by Jamie Childs.
This is Episode 27 and contains the news and our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our feedback and Bridge to the Stars spoilers segments, stay tuned for Episode 28.
We have two news shots for you! First up Radio Times finds comments from Jack Thorne teasing season 3 details and “a lot more” James McAvoy! Then we have Den of Geek talking with show VFX head Russell Dodgson who reveals how he found a way to make Specters look very different from Harry Potter’s Dementors!
Then it’s on with the show! In the world of Cittagàzze, the witches arrive and see angels flying above them. Ruta Skadi takes off to chase them and says she will bring Lord Asriel to help them against the Magisterium. Serafina Pekkala then searches for Lyra.
Angelica and her friends attack Will and Lyra at their place with the intent to kill them. Serafina arrives in the nick of time to save the two children. Then after consulting the alethiometer, the witches guide Lyra and Will up into the mountains to try and find Will’s father.
Mary Malone enters Cittagàzze and consults the I Ching about her course of action. We see she is protected from the Specters by an angelic being. She meets Angelica and Paola and offers to take them to their parents.
Mrs. Coulter and Lord Boreal also go to Cittagàzze, where they encounter the Spectres. While Boreal hides, Mrs. Coulter is able to control herself so that the Specters cannot harm her. She then demonstrates mastery over them. To celebrate, she and Boreal share some wine, with an unfortunate outcome for Boreal: his poisoning death!
At the Magisterium, Cardinal MacPhail learns of the prophecy around Lyra. He declares that The Authority has spoken to him, and that they will attack those who left their world and flew into the anomaly. Then he says that Lyra will be the first sacrifice to the Authority!
In the skies, Lee Scoresby flies John Parry into the world of Cittagàzze. They find they are pursued by zeppelins from the Magisterium. John Parry calls up a storm to destroy one airship, then is able to cause a swarm of birds to attack another. A third airship fires at Lee’s balloon, hits it, and sends it hurtling to the ground!
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