His Dark Materials, Season 2, Episode 7, "Aesahaettr" Recap and Review
Dafne Keen in HIS DARK MATERIALS.
Warning: MAJOR spoilers for the season two finale ahead.
In this final episode of season two of HIS DARK MATERIALS, everything we’ve been building towards comes to a head…almost! Mere days before the premiere of this episode, it was announced that the series had been greenlit for a season three. That explains why this finale answers a lot…but also leaves a lot to be answered.
Once again, the episode opens with the witches discussing their plan for battle. Lyra is concerned that due to the Spectres, the witches will not be safe here and she says they can leave without them. Serafina says she won’t do this, but as soon as they find Will’s dad, they need to leave to go to a world that is safe. She then sends the other witches to go scout for safe passage. One of the witches goes up into the mountains and overhears the Cliffghasts discussing the upcoming war. The smell of it is distinct, they say, they believe that the Magisterium will lose the battle, and Lord Asriel will be unable to win unless he has the knife.
Will has another dream about his dad, this one in which it seems Jopari is actually calling to him, and he wakes up and has a very heartwarming conversation with Pan where he describes how much he and Lyra mean to each other and how they’ve made each other stronger. Later, Will attempts to convince Lyra that they should go forth towards his dad without the witches because they will be stronger without the danger of the Spectres. Lyra is hesitant even though she knows his dad is nearby. She reminds Will that she’s already lost a best friend because she let him down, and she believes the witches will keep them safe.
Andrew Scott and Lin-Manuel Miranda in HIS DARK MATERIALS.
Marisa, who is still in the Cittgazze, stumbles upon the house that Lyra and Will were staying in and has another one of those confusing is-she-a-caring-mom-or-not moments when she finds a piece of Lyra’s clothing and holds it close to her. Soon after, one of the witches who was sent by Serafina is startled to find her in the house. Marisa tells her she knows about Lyra, Will, and the knife, and asks where they are. In an effort to protect Lyra, the witch claims to not know their whereabouts and Marisa pins her over the edge of a railing to try to get her to talk. The witch remains strong, so Marisa sends her daemon to attack the witch’s. As she fights against Marisa, just before she succumbs, she reveals that Lyra is Eve, the Mother of All.
Meanwhile, Jopari and Lee, who have seemingly survived their balloon crash, begin heading west as Jopari says that is the direction the knife bearer is in. During their trek, they see a hawk circling the sky, and Jopari says that is not his daemon, confirming the Magisterium is on their trail. Lee tells them to run, and moments later, the Magisterium begins their attack and Lee is struck in the foot. While they try to fight them off, Lee tells Jopari that he needs to go ahead without him and find his son so he can get to Lyra. Lee tells him that he’s a good shot and will be just fine, but reminds Jopari of the promise he made to protect Lyra with the knife. “Remember, I love that little girl like a daughter,” he tells Jopari as he sends him off and looks at the fight ahead of him. With only 30 bullets left, Lee and Hester work in tandem to make sure every shot counts. Lee is mostly successful, keeping his word that he is a good shot, but after receiving a brushed bullet to the scalp and a bullet to the shoulder, he is fatally struck in the chest. Hester tells him to use the last of his energy to call for Serafina, which he does. She hears the call and tells Lyra that Lee is in danger. Lyra insists she leave immediately to go help him, but she is all too late when she arrives to find that Lee and Hester have already passed. She performs a spell on him, which likely implies a possible return for him in season three.
Marisa, now realizing that Lyra is even more special than she realized, appears more power-hungry than ever as she tells her timid daemon that it is either with her or against her. As it remains hesitant, Marisa begins kicking her daemon in one of her frequent acts of violence. Feeling instant remorse, she cuddles her daemon into her arms and explains that Lyra must be protected at all costs and they must prevent the impending fall. She calls for the Spectres, who she seems to have fully at her command, and she begins yet another search for her daughter.
Amir Wilson in HIS DARK MATERIALS.
Will, after having yet another dream about his dad, decides to set off on his own to find him since both the witches and Lyra won’t agree to listen to him. He leaves Lyra alone sleeping against a rock, and he quickly runs into Jopari. It takes the duo a moment to recognize each other, and the scene that unravels is equal parts heartbreaking and frustrating. Will, who is relived to see his father but understandably has many questions for him, is only briefly acknowledged by Jopari who seems to be more concerned that his son is the bearer of the knife. Will asks him why he left and why he didn’t try to come back. Jopari gives half-hearted answers, admitting he left in pursuit of better things but was ultimately unable to make his way back. He tries to reassure Will that he has been making efforts to positively influence Will’s future in the long-term, such as helping out in the war, but then quickly turns it around to try to get Will to see how well he’s done without a father figure. As there continues to be a build-up of more tension than love, Jopari’s daemon yells out that the Magisterium are here and in one quick move, turns his back and embraces Will, thus taking the bullet shot from the Magisterium’s soldier. Will helps Jopari down to the ground, and Will begins to panic as he tells his father that he doesn’t think he is strong enough to help overturn the war. Jopari tells him he can argue many things, but that he cannot argue that he is the chosen one and tells him to believe in his abilities. He tells him to tell Lord Asriel that the knife is the only thing that can help them win the war. As Jopari takes his last breath, Will takes his hooded cape and quite literally becomes the man his father never could be.
In brief and underused screentime for Dr. Malone, as she continues her walk through the Cittagazze (thus far unaffected by the Spectres), she leads Angelica and her sister to a safe haven. She brings them to the adult camps in the mountains where they say their goodbyes in a brief and emotionally lacking moment. Dr. Malone states that she cannot stay with them as she has to continue her search, and throughout the entirety of the episode, she is only ever seen in brief glimpses following blue petals that she believes to be a sign of guidance from the Dust.
Lord Asriel (James McAvoy) is seen for the first and only time this season as he begins making his plea with the Angels, who we learned a few episodes back are Dust. He delivers a mighty monologue pulled straight from the book, one that speaks to freedom, nobility, and goodness, and repeats Marisa’s line of asking if they are with him or against him. The Angels stand with Lord Asriel and they start off for war.
James McAvoy in HIS DARK MATERIALS.
Marisa is successful in her hunt for Lyra when she finds her asleep at the rock that Will left her at. She stares at Lyra as she sleeps, again prompting the audience to wonder if she is a genuinely loving mother or an extravagant liar, and at the brush of her hair, wakes Lyra who gasps in shock. The witch, who was supposed to be looking after Lyra but had been asleep nearby, gets killed at the hands of the Spectres by the order of Marisa, who then literally kidnaps Lyra and stows her away in a suitcase on a train heading for who knows where.
The episode ends here, but a brief and unexpected post-credit scene gives us a hint of something to come in season three: ROGER IS ALIVE! Seemingly trapped in a STRANGER THINGS-like purgatory, he calls out for help and the screen fades to black. #JusticeForRoger
Overall, season two was incredibly slow-paced and sadly wasted more time setting up exposition than it did crafting fully-rounded, compelling characters or seeing out certain plot lines. The idea that we spent an entire season building up to this war and the reunion between Will and his dad, only to have it left on a cliffhanger for season three and their reunion be so short-lived, is a little bit disappointing. Here’s to hoping that season three will arrive full-force with plenty of storyline ready to go.
What did you think of the finale and this season of HIS DARK MATERIALS? Leave your thoughts in the comments below.