The Alethiometer: A His Dark Materials Podcast: Recent Episodes
The Alethiometer
It is so hard to say goodbye to Lyra and Will, and yet here we are. After three wonderful seasons, His Dark Materials has come to a beautiful and sad ending. And there is no better way to end our show than by hanging out via Zoom and chatting with our regular contributors Fred, Brian, Jim, Barb & Kathleen! We talk about HDM as a whole, and we share faves, character and scene moments, loves and more from the entire length of the series.
This is our finale, Episode 50. To hear our final episode breakdown and analysis, please check out Episode 49.
Even though HDM is done, we still love to hear your thoughts about the series, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
As they say, all good things must come to an end, and what a bittersweet ending we had! The battle was won, but the multiverse was closed and our heroes had such a sad parting. Yet we were uplifted and glad to be part of the journey just the same. We are talking about the series finale of His Dark Materials, S03E08 “The Botanic Garden”. It aired on HBO on December 26, 2022. It was written by Francesca Gardiner and directed by Harry Wootliff.
This is Episode 49 and contains our episode breakdown and analysis. To hear our last episode, which will be a series retrospective discussion with our feedback regulars, stay tuned for Episode 50.
Lyra and Will awaken in Atal’s world, and they explore it (and bathe!). While wandering, they meet the mulefa, and Atal encourages them to come with her. They do so and Lyra reunites with Mary Malone! Mary tells them about Dust leaving the world and not knowing what to do about it. Later, Mary shares a story with Lyra and Will about how and why she left the church. She met a special woman who helped spur memories of young love and living life to the fullest. Leaving the church allowed her to follow her heart and find purpose and meaning on her own terms. This conversation helps spur Lyra and Will to discover the love that has been growing between them during their adventures. The two of them spend much time together in an idyllic state of young love.
Serafina Pekkala comes to the world and she and Kaisa find Pan and Will’s cat-daemon, whom she names Kirjava. She tells the daemons they need to rejoin their people. Pan and Kirjava find Lyra and Will and have an emotional reunion.
Meanwhile, Father Gomez uses a spyfly to track Mary. He finds her scarf and eventually stumbles onto Lyra and Will. Just as he is about to kill Lyra, Balthamos appears and stops him. Gomez offers to show his devotion to the angels by killing Lyra, and instead, Balthamos snatches Gomez’s spider daemon and crushes her, killing him instantly. Then Balthamos dissipates.
Xapahania also arrives in this world and reveals to Mary that she was the one guiding her from her lab to Atal and then to Lyra and Will. She says it’s time to return everyone everywhere to their original worlds.
Then Xaphania meets Lyra and Will and reveals that in order to heal the multiverse, all the windows created over the centuries must be closed. In order to do so, the Subtle Knife must be broken, and then angels can close all the windows save one. The children soon realize that the only window that can remain is the one from the land of the dead that allows souls to rejoin the universe. After some time, they realize they must return to their worlds and be separated forever.
Lyra and Will are crushed, and Lyra refuses to believe they can’t stay together. After sleeping on it, they reluctantly agree to go. With Mary and Serafina, they leave Atal and her world and return to Lyra’s Oxford. In the Botanic Garden, Lyra and Will promise to come back to the same bench in each world at noon on midsummer’s day and spend an hour “together.” Then Will cuts a window into his and Mary’s world. After a heart-wrenching farewell, he and Mary step through and Will closes the window. At Kirjava’s urging, he thinks of Lyra and shatters the knife forever. He then reunites with his mother, and Lyra returns to Jordan College.
In a montage, we see Lyra and Will in the future. Year after year, they come back to the benches and sit together and worlds apart. We fade out on Lyra, alone on the bench on a beautiful midsummer’s day.
We love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Sleep came easily to the intrepid voyagers who stepped through windows from across the multiverse… then they woke up and talked and talked about the incredible series finale of His Dark Materials! Yes, it’s round 2 of our Finale Party panel discussion with Barb, Kathleen, Jim, Brian, and Fred! Hear their thoughts, insights, speculations and feelings about how it all ended!
This is our Episode 48. Stay tuned for Episode 49, which will be our regular annotated deep dive into Season 3 Episode 8 “The Botanic Garden”!
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
They came from across the worlds, or the multiverse if you prefer! Almost all our regular feedback contributors journeyed to Sunny Pine Knoll Shores, NC for our finale party! We reveled in the bitter and the sweet at the end of the epic and wonderful His Dark MaterialsI Come and join the fun for our initial hot take just after watching the stirring and yet sad conclusion of the series. Barb, Kathleen, Jim, Brian, and Fred (via zoom) share their first impressions as we react to all we have seen.
This is our Episode 47. Stay tuned for Episode 48, which will contain even more of our thoughts and feelings from the next day after we could sleep on it!
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Could there be any more action, suspense and heart in a show? We don’t think so! It’s Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter versus Metatron and the hosts of The Authority in the penultimate episode of His Dark Materials, S03E07 “The Clouded Mountain”. It aired on HBO on December 26, 2022. It was written by Francesca Gardiner and directed by Amit Gupta.
This is Episode 46 and contains your feedback and our Bridge to the Stars spoilers segments. Spoilerphobes you have been warned! Please check out Episode 45 for our news and our episode breakdown and discussion.
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Could there be any more action, suspense and heart in a show? We don’t think so! It’s Lord Asriel and Mrs. Coulter versus Metatron and the hosts of The Authority in the penultimate episode of His Dark Materials, S03E07 “The Clouded Mountain”. It aired on HBO on December 26, 2022. It was written by Francesca Gardiner and directed by Amit Gupta.
This is Episode 45 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 46.
This week begins again where we left off. Lord Asriel and his army prepare for war with Metatron and The Authority, and Metatron brings it to them via the Clouded Mountain and a host of angels, Spectres, and cliff-ghasts! Asriel realizes that his role is not to win this war, but rather to keep Lyra and Will alive long enough to shield them from Metatron. He then attacks with his host of people, witches and angels! Mrs. Coulter shields their soldiers from the Spectres, and then she calls upon Metatron to face her. Asriel sees her enter the cathedral of the Clouded Mountain, and he flies to join her. Separately, Asriel and Mrs. C engage Metatron, and they ultimately combine forces to take him into the Abyss, where they all perish! The Clouded Mountain dissipates, and the war is over.
Lyra and Will leave the land of the dead, and reunite briefly with Pan and Will’s daemon. Will cuts a hole to another world and the daemons step into it, removing them from harm’s way. After the deaths of Asriel and Mrs. C, Lyra and Will discover the crystal box that Metatron was protecting. Will cuts into it and frees an ancient robed being who immediately dissipates. Then Will cuts back into the world where the daemons went – it’s the world of Atal! And they enter!
We love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Who knew we could feel sorry for Mrs. Coulter? Or a harpy? We felt for both of them, and of course, the waterworks came on with Lyra and Lee, Lyra and Roger, and Will and John Parry! Plus we pour one out for Ruta and Sergi after watching His Dark Materials S03E06 “The Abyss”, which aired on HBO on December 19, 2022. It was written by Francesca Gardiner and directed by Amit Gupta.
This is Episode 44 and contains your feedback and our Bridge to the Stars spoilers segments. Spoilerphobes you have been warned! Please check out Episode 43 for our news and our episode breakdown and discussion.
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Who knew we could feel sorry for Mrs. Coulter? Or a harpy? We felt for both of them, and of course the waterworks came on with Lyra and Lee, Lyra and Roger, and Will and John Parry! Plus we pour one out for Ruta and Sergi after watching His Dark Materials S03E06 “The Abyss”, which aired on HBO on December 19, 2022. It was written by Francesca Gardiner and directed by Amit Gupta.
This is Episode 43 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 44.
This week our news comes from one site: Cheatsheet! The first piece reveals that star Dafne Keen read the book series twice to prepare for her role as Lyra. Then James McAvoy shares his favorite quote from the ‘His Dark Materials’ book series!
Next it’s our breakdown (in tears)! We begin with Metatron telling us he’s taking Dust back from humanity! He not only detonated the Lyra bomb, he has created an Abyss across the multiverse to remove all Dust! Then Mrs. Coulter confronts Fra Pavel, who reveals Lyra is lost in darkness. She flies to Asriel’s camp, bringing him the news of Lyra’s seeming demise. Ruta Skadi perishes as her daemon Sergi is destroyed flying over the Abyss. Asriel seeks the aid of Iorek Byrnisson in his war against the Authority, and he learns that Lyra is in the land of the dead. But she went in alive! He goes back to his camp and tells Marisa their daughter lives, and that she is destroying death as the witches prophesied! Mrs. Coulter reconciles with her poor daemon! Serafina Pekkala joins Asriel and Mrs. C and exhorts them to serve Lyra and not to fail her!
In Atal’s earth, Mary Malone sees that Dust is pouring out of the world since the creation of the Abyss. Atal tells her if they can’t stop it, her race will perish. Mary says she needs more time to help!
Meanwhile in Deadland, Lyra, Roger, Will and Lee were not destroyed by the bomb. They lead the dead on a journey to free them from their purgatory. Lee finds John Parry, who reunites with Will in a tender moment. Lyra is saved from death by the lead harpy, and she gives her a name, Gracious Wings. The harpy agrees that she and her sister harpies will lead all the dead out of their realm, as long as they share their true life stories. Will and Lyra reach the end of their path, and Will cuts a window into another world. Roger and Lyra and then Lee and Lyra have their goodbyes, and the ghosts step into a beautiful world where they dissipate into the universe!
We love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
What a journey for Lyra and Will – it’s really dark and they see dead people, including Roger and a certain aeronaut! Plus Mary Malone meets a new friend named Atal and finds her relation to Dust! Then it’s Mrs. C and Father President MacPhail in a Texas death match! And Metatron’s plus Dust and the Lyra bomb? So much is packed into an hour in His Dark Materials S03E05 “No Way Out”, which aired on HBO on December 19, 2022. It was written by Amelia Spencer and directed by Weronika Tofilska.
This is Episode 42 and contains your feedback and our Bridge to the Stars spoilers segments. Spoilerphobes you have been warned! Please check out Episode 41 for our news and our episode breakdown and discussion.
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
What a journey for Lyra and Will – it’s really dark and they see dead people, including Roger and a certain aeronaut! Plus Mary Malone meets a new friend named Atal and finds her relation to Dust! Then it’s Mrs. C and Father President MacPhail in a Texas death match! And Metatron’s plus Dust and the Lyra bomb? So much is packed into an hour in His Dark Materials S03E05 “No Way Out”, which aired on HBO on December 19, 2022. It was written by Amelia Spencer and directed by Weronika Tofilska.
This is Episode 41 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 42.
Fun news items are here this week! First up Screenrant reviews 10 book mannerisms Dafne Keene nails as Lyra Belacqua! Then we have Digital Spy with another fun interview with Amir Wilson, who shares an explosion that happened on the Season 3 set!
Then we blow things up! In the new world, Mary Malone meets her new friend, Atal, and slowly learns her language. She discovers seedpods and the huge trees they fall from. She also finds amber glass that she fashions into a lens to see Dust! Atal reveals that Dust made Atal and her kind alive and aware, and Mary sees Dust is leaving their world!
Meanwhile, Lyra and Will continue with the Boatman and reach the Land of the Dead. They find Roger, and Lyra is able to remind him how connected they were. They both share the story of their past together as the dead around them listen, which helps make them remember their previous lives. Horrible harpies try to prevent them from helping the dead! Then Lee Scoresby’s ghost joins them and has a tender moment with Lyra. Will offers to cut the dead out of the prison world they are in and Lee tries to round up all who want to follow them!
Then we see Mrs. Coulter remains a prisoner of Father President MacPhail. Dr. Cooper prepares the bomb that will sever Mrs. C from her monkey daemon and power the bomb intended to kill Lyra. Mrs. C is led to the intercision chair, and at the last moment Dr. Cooper shuts down the device, refusing to continue. MacPhail kills the doctor, and Mrs. C escapes with the help of Roke, who is also murdered by the Father President. MacPhail straps himself and his daemon into the bomb, which Mrs. Coulter disables!
In the Kingdom, Alarbus appears to Metatron and warns him about Asriel and the Subtle Knife. Metatron then sends a beam of energy into the Magisterium, killing MacPhail and igniting the bomb, and sending it towards its target: Lyra Belacqua!
We love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Get out those handkerchiefs – Lyra and Pan are going to make you cry! Plus Mrs. Coulter goes to the Magisterium, and Lyra meets her own Death! It’s all there and more in His Dark Materials S03E04 “Lyra and Her Death”, which aired on HBO on December 12, 2022. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by Charles Martin.
This is Episode 40 and contains your feedback and our Bridge to the Stars spoilers segments. Spoilerphobes you have been warned! Please check out Episode 39 for our news and our episode breakdown and discussion.
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Get out those handkerchiefs – Lyra and Pan are going to make you cry! Plus Mrs. Coulter goes to the Magisterium, and Lyra meets her own Death! It’s all there and more in His Dark Materials S03E04 “Lyra and Her Death”, which aired on HBO on December 12, 2022. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by Charles Martin.
This is Episode 39 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 40.
We have a couple of terrific news items this week! We start with Newsweek venturing another opinion on how ‘His Dark Materials’ Season 4 could happen! Then it’s on to Digital Spy who found out that Amir Wilson accidentally broke the key prop he took from the set!
Now on with the show! This week Mrs. Coulter flies the stolen Intention Craft to her world and delivers it to Father President MacPhail. She tries to convince MacPhail she is on his side, and with Commander Roke’s help, she finds the Magisterium is developing a bomb using her daemon severing technology. She then discovers they intend to kill Lyra with the bomb using a lock of her hair to target her. Mrs. Coulter tries to stop them by burning the hair, but they have more and she is imprisoned. She and the golden monkey daemon are to be severed to fuel the bomb to kill her own daughter!
Meanwhile, Mary Malone continues her journey in another world. She falls asleep under a tree, and is awoken by a strange creature with a long trunk. She follows the beast in pursuit!
Finally, the journey of Lyra, Pan and Will on the way to the Land of the Dead continues. They navigate a maze of bureaus to reach one where Lyra learns that to reach the Land of the Dead, she must invite her own Death to show her the way. She does this, and Lyra’s Death leads the trio to a boat on a lake helmed by the Boatman. He tells them Pan cannot journey there, yet Lyra decides she must continue her quest. She leaves Pan behind and they are wrenched apart!
What starts as a slow burn with chess pieces moving into place becomes an episode rich with emotion upon a second showing! See Asriel shed a tear, Iorek reforge a knife (with Will’s help!), and Mrs. Coulter fly in His Dark Materials S03E03 “The Intention Craft”, which aired on HBO on December 12, 2022. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by Charles Martin.
This is Episode 38 and contains your feedback and our Bridge to the Stars spoilers segments. Spoilerphobes you have been warned! Please check out Episode 37 for our news and our episode breakdown and discussion.
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
What starts as a slow burn with chess pieces moving into place becomes an episode rich with emotion upon a second showing! See Asriel shed a tear, Iorek reforge a knife (with Will’s help!), and Mrs. Coulter fly in His Dark Materials S03E03 “The Intention Craft”, which aired on HBO on December 12, 2022. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by Charles Martin.
This is Episode 37 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 38.
Two fun news items are available for your amusement this week! First up Digital Spy reveals why His Dark Materials was canceled – and the ways we could get a Season 4 or a spinoff! Then we learn we should all journey over to our Oxford courtesy of the BBC who visit the new His Dark Materials exhibition that just opened in Oxford!
Then it’s time to get to the Intention Craft! In Asriel’s Republic, he greets Mrs. Coulter, who was conveniently shipped in…a shipping container! He questions her and then decides to introduce her to 3 members of his council: Commanders Ogunwe and Roke, and Ruta Skadi. They interrogate her about her intentions (ha!) and recommend Asriel allow her to stay and assist them. Mrs. Coulter then finds plans for Asriel’s Intention Craft and studies them. Asriel then has a confrontation with Mrs. Coulter about Lyra and her importance, and he tearfully asks why Mrs. C can’t be who he wants her to be! Later, he introduces Mrs. C to the now silent Archangel Alarbus. Asriel promptly turns all the dials on his “Dust-buster” to 11, destroying Alarbus in a torrent of energy and telling him before he dies to let Metatron know “I am here!” Moments afterward, Asriel realizes Mrs. Coulter has slipped away – and she steals the Intention Craft!
In Lyra’s world, we watch an apparently not very injured Father Gomez meet with Father President MacPhail. Gomez blames dark forces for his inability to kill Lyra and her mother. MacPhail later despairs at the apparent absence of the Authority and decides his mission to destroy sin and Dust will not be deterred. He brings in the evil Dr. Cooper, late of Bolvangar, and makes it clear she will help him build a weapon with what she learned by severing children, or else!
Lastly we follow Will and Lyra in the desolate world from last week. They debate what path to take, with Will initially insisting on bringing the Subtle Knife to Asriel. Lyra refuses and says she is going to Roger in the World of the Dead. Lyra suggests that Iorek Byrnisson can repair the broken knife and they journey to him in Lyra’s world. He and Will combine their strength and the knife is reforged. Will then decides he will go with Lyra to the Land of the Dead, and they say goodbye to the bear king. Then Will cuts through, and they enter the Land of the Dead!
We love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Goodness gracious y’all, it turns out that Will and Lyra CAN catch a break. Just not the one they want! We are all over the worlds and Mary Malone is back in His Dark Materials S03E02 “The Break”, which aired on HBO on December 5, 2022. It was written by Jack Thorne and Amelia Spencer and directed by Amit Gupta.
This is Episode 36 and contains your feedback and our Bridge to the Stars spoilers segments. Spoilerphobes you have been warned! Please check out Episode 35 for our news and our episode breakdown and discussion.
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Goodness gracious y’all, it turns out that Will and Lyra CAN catch a break. Just not the one they want! We are all over the worlds and Mary Malone is back in His Dark Materials S03E02 “The Break”, which aired on HBO on December 5, 2022. It was written by Jack Thorne and Amelia Spencer and directed by Amit Gupta.
This is Episode 35 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 36.
We have two news shots for you! We begin with Cinema Blend’s chat with His Dark Materials Executive Producer who opens up about adapting The Amber Spyglass and adding ‘Fun Extra Details’! Next up Syfy believes (as we all do!) that Asriel and Coulter deserve each other! And Ruth Wilson and James McAvoy agree!
Then we break down the mayhem! We are focused in three places – Lord Asriel’s Republic of Heaven, Commander Ogunwe’s camp, and Lyra’s world! In Asriel’s base, his council of Ogunwe, Xaphania, and Ruta Skadi make plans for war on the Authority, with the help of the Gallivespian spy Commander Roke. During their meeting, two angels fight in the sky and crash to earth. One is a dying Baruch. The other is archangel Alarbus, who is tortured by Asriel. He reveals the Authority has a Regent, Enoch, who now goes by Metatron. Metatron wants to eliminate free will in all worlds!
We also get to see Mary Malone at last as she enters the world of Commander Ogunwe. She meets two young women who stayed behind after Ogunwe departed with his forces. They tell her about their world and ask her to stay and rest a while before she journeys on in search of Lyra.
In Lyra’s world, the Magisterium has located her and Mrs. Coulter. Father President MacPhail sends Father Gomez and zeppelins and goons to find them, dead or alive! Meanwhile, Will, Balthamos and Iorek arrive near the cottage. Will finds Lyra and Mrs. Coulter, and Mrs. C asks him to join forces with them. Will leaves but later returns, planning to take Lyra into another world to escape. Father Gomez confronts Mrs. C but she attacks and takes him out. Will wakes Lyra and tries to escape, and Mrs. Coulter interferes, causing him to break the Subtle Knife! He and Lyra flee into a hail of gunfire, and Iorek saves them from the Magisterium goons. They then escape to the barren world Will came through to reach Lyra. Exhausted, they lie down, and Lyra takes Will’s hand.
We love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Wow! What a tour of the worlds we got this week in the triumphal return of His Dark Materials! New people, old faves, and more await in S03E01 “The Enchanted Sleeper”, which aired on HBO on December 5, 2022. It was written by Jack Thorne and Amelia Spencer and directed by Amit Gupta.
This is Episode 34 and contains your feedback and our Bridge to the Stars spoilers segments. Spoilerphobes you have been warned! Please check out Episode 33 for our news and our episode breakdown and discussion.
We got a couple of links for more on the episode from listener Jim S. Check out these two:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mF2lhM26b00&t=2s for the hour long video of Ruth Wilson and those who collaborated with her to bring the relationship with the monkey to life
Plus the work on penance (a pdf download)
https://kuscholarworks.ku.edu/bitstream/handle/1808/6400/Turner_ku_0099M_10941_DATA_1.pdf;sequence=1
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Wow! What a tour of the worlds we got this week in the triumphal return of His Dark Materials! New people, old faves, and more await in S03E01 “The Enchanted Sleeper”, which aired on HBO on December 5, 2022. It was written by Jack Thorne and Amelia Spencer and directed by Amit Gupta.
This is Episode 33 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 34.
We have two news shots for you! First up The Verge gushes that His Dark Materials’ third and final season is its most ambitious yet! Then we have Lord Asriel himself with UPI as James McAvoy believes that ‘His Dark Materials’ is a ‘ripping good yarn’ that asks important questions.
Then we are back! We return right where we left off, with Will looking for Lyra. He searches through many worlds, and is followed by…angels! Bene Elim they call themselves. They are named Baruch and Balthamos. Will learns they are made of Dust and can travel through the worlds. He asks them to find Lyra, and they do. Balthamos then goes to Lord Asriel, while Baruch journeys with Will to a port town. There they find Iorek Byrnisson trying to free a captive bear. Will offers to fight Iorek to save lives. He uses the Subtle Knife to cut Iorek’s sky armor, which convinces the bear to stand down. They book passage together to head for Lyra.
We don’t know where she is yet, but it’s a weird place where…Roger could be? Or is she asleep? Looks so! And Mrs. Coulter is there! A girl named Ama visits them and is told by Mrs. Coulter that “magic” that put Lyra to sleep. We later see Lyra is being drugged by her own mother! Lyra later wakes and tries to run and hide, but the Golden Monkey finds her, and Mrs. Coulter drugs her again. Ama sees this!
In Geneva, new Father President MacPhail arrives and meets with priests, one of whom is a Father Gomez. He tells Gomez that Fra Pavel’s alethiometer has revealed a new Eve who will bring down mankind, and it is Lyra! MacPhail is waiting on Fra Pavel to find Lyra and it is slow going. Gomez visits France Pavel and “encourages” him to speed up. Gomez then visits MacPhail to reveal Lyra is being held by her mother! MacPhail asks Gomez to lead an army to retrieve her.
In the skies, a strange aircraft that looks like a spider hurtles by – it’s Lord Asriel and Stelmaria! They jump to another universe and crash land. Asriel is looking for a Commander Ogunwe who is imprisoned. Asriel and some tiny flying people free Ogunwe. The Commander takes Asriel to a camp where his band of fighters wages war against an organization called The Temple. Asriel says it is in the service of The Authority and that Ogunwe should join him to fight the true big bad! He later rips open a rift to take Ogunwe to another world!
We love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
Testing…testing…is this Alethiometer on? Why yes it is! And His Dark Materials is back just in time for us to read the truth! With the upcoming return of the final season of the BBC/HBO smash series, we needed to do a rewatch to remind ourselves of the brilliance of this amazing experience!
And to really get in the groove, we have reassembled our wonderful roundtable of frequent contributors to talk about what we have seen and what we are looking forward to seeing! Joining us are our friends Fred, Jim, Brian, Barb, and Kathleen! Hear what the gang is thinking as we return from the long hiatus! Plus we have our Bridge segment with spoilers from both the teaser trailers and The Amber Spyglass for all the book readers – spoilerphobes beware!
We do love to hear your thoughts about His Dark Materials, so please send them in! You can email text or audio feedback to alethiometerpodcast@gmail.com or call us at 919-907-0542. Follow us on Twitter @alethiometerpod. Please like us on our Facebook page The Alethiometer. Our homepage also has our show and links to info each week at www.thealethiometer.com. And if you do enjoy the show, kindly rate us or better yet rate and review us in your favorite podcast app!
What an AMAZING ride we had with His Dark Materials Season 2! Now that we have had some time to digest the adventure and the heartbreak, we have assembled a roundtable of our frequent contributors to break it all down together! Joining us are our friends Fred, Jim, Brian, Barb,
Wow – who saw all that coming? What a heart-breaking ending to Season 2! So many battles, and sadly so many people who do not survive the hour. It’s His Dark Materials S02E07 “Æsahættr”, which aired on HBO on December 28, 2020. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed
Wow – who saw all that coming? What a heart-breaking ending to Season 2! So many battles, and sadly so many people who do not survive the hour. It’s His Dark Materials S02E07 “Æsahættr”, which aired on HBO on December 28, 2020. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed
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
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
Every week we think we have seen the best episode of His Dark Materials, and then we get one we love more! This week continues the trend! We have world shifts, slices in the fabric of universes, and good old-fashioned fighting! Plus wolverine Pan versus the Golden Monkey! It’s all
Every week we think we have seen the best episode of His Dark Materials, and then we get one we love more! This week continues the trend! We have world shifts, slices in the fabric of universes, and good old-fashioned fighting! Plus wolverine Pan versus the Golden Monkey! It’s all
We were loving this season before this week, but now “His Dark Materials” has kicked into overdrive! Lee finds Grumman! Will gets a swell new knife, but careful of those fingers! Lyra and Pan are super supportive, Mrs. Coulter and Lord Boreal get icky together! Witches are burning zeppelins! And
We were loving this season before this week, but now “His Dark Materials” has kicked into overdrive! Lee finds Grumman! Will gets a swell new knife, but careful of those fingers! Lyra and Pan are super supportive, Mrs. Coulter and Lord Boreal get icky together! Witches are burning zeppelins! And
Have we had a fave episode yet of “His Dark Materials”? This week we certainly have a contender! We’ve got Lyra and Will working together, the return of Lord Boreal, and a startling encounter between Lee Scoresby and Mrs. Coulter! All this and more await you in S02E03 “Theft” which
Have we had a fave episode yet of “His Dark Materials”? This week we certainly have a contender! We’ve got Lyra and Will working together, the return of Lord Boreal, and a startling encounter between Lee Scoresby and Mrs. Coulter! All this and more await you in S02E03 “Theft” which
The pace and cars are accelerating this week on “His Dark Materials”! We get a convergence of Dust and Dark Matter and newcomer Mary Malone! CARDINAL MacPhail! And that evil duo, Mrs. Coulter and Lord Boreal are up to no good! Thank the stars Lyra and Will are together and
The pace and cars are accelerating this week on “His Dark Materials”! We get a convergence of Dust and Dark Matter and newcomer Mary Malone! CARDINAL MacPhail! And that evil duo, Mrs. Coulter and Lord Boreal are up to no good! Thank the stars Lyra and Will are together and
It seemed like forever to come back, and at long last it’s here! Season 2 of “His Dark Materials” hits the ground running, as we shift to a new world and Lyra and Will finally meeting! We are talking about S02E01 “The City of Magpies” which aired on HBO on
It seemed like forever to come back, and at long last it’s here! Season 2 of “His Dark Materials” hits the ground running, as we shift to a new world and Lyra and Will finally meeting! We are talking about S02E01 “The City of Magpies” which aired on HBO on
Ta-da! It’s time at last for the debut of Season 2 of His Dark Materials! Before it begins, we have gotten together again with our roundtable of listeners to talk about what we saw in Season 1, likes, faves, etc., and what we are looking for out of Season 2!
It’s been forever since the last episode of His Dark Materials, but it’s returning on November 16 in the US! During the long break, we decided to watch the 2007 film version of the first book of the series called “The Golden Compass”! Then we asked some of our regular
What a first season we got from His Dark Materials! There is so much to unpack, and so much to ponder during the long hiatus before Season 2 begins later this year. Who better to help us reflect on Season 1 than a roundtable of our regular contributors! Through the
We read the books. We knew what was coming. We steeled ourselves for tragedy. We cried anyway! Everything comes crashing down in the Season 1 finale of His Dark Materials! It’s S01E08 “Betrayal” which aired on HBO on December 23, 2019. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by
We read the books. We knew what was coming. We steeled ourselves for tragedy. We cried anyway! Everything comes crashing down in the Season 1 finale of His Dark Materials! It’s S01E08 “Betrayal” which aired on HBO on December 23, 2019. It was written by Jack Thorne and directed by
The battle was a long time coming, and now it’s here: the panserbjørnebowl! Beloved Iorek versus evil Iofur in “The Fight to the Death”! Plus Mrs. Coulter down, but not out. Lyra helping Iorek and heading North with Roger to see Asriel! And Will and Elaine facing off with Lord
The battle was a long time coming, and now it’s here: the panserbjørnebowl! Beloved Iorek versus evil Iofur in “The Fight to the Death”! Plus Mrs. Coulter down, but not out. Lyra helping Iorek and heading North with Roger to see Asriel! And Will and Elaine facing off with Lord
We are careening towards the end of Season 1, and the action is intense! Lyra’s time in Bolvangar is harrowing to say the least! And Roger is alive! Those poor severed children are heartbreaking, while the evils of the Oblation board and its minions are sickening. Thank goodness for the
We are careening towards the end of Season 1, and the action is intense! Lyra’s time in Bolvangar is harrowing to say the least! And Roger is alive! Those poor severed children are heartbreaking, while the evils of the Oblation board and its minions are sickening. Thank goodness for the
After all the talk of the North, we finally get a glimpse of it, and in terrifying and heartbreaking fashion. Plus we learn about a boy who is as central to our story as Lyra! And we encounter our first witch, the enchanting Serafina Pekkala! All that plus Iorek running
After all the talk of the North, we finally get a glimpse of it, and in terrifying and heartbreaking fashion. Plus we learn about a boy who is as central to our story as Lyra! And we encounter our first witch, the enchanting Serafina Pekkala! All that plus Iorek running
As book readers, we were really looking forward to the arrival in Trollesund because of the characters we meet there, and we were so happy to see them! Yes, we got Lee Scoresby and Hester, and the incredible Iorek Byrnison! Plus Lyra took control! What a wonderful experience to be
We love those Gyptians, don’t you? And Mrs. Coulter is even darker than we thought! Plus Lyra can read the alethiometer with no training? Grumman is Parry? Poor Benjamin! There was so much going on in this week’s episode of His Dark Materials! It was all in S01E03 “The Spies”!
Who knew that the pilot was just a warmup for a blow-your-mind episode of His Dark Materials? Mrs. Coulter is kinda, um, unhingy? There’s…another universe? More than one? Lyra is just trying to figure out the grown ups with us, as we cringed and shouted at the twists and turns
We are thrilled to have had such a great introduction to the world of His Dark Materials this week! Seeing Lyra, Lord Asriel, the Master, the Gyptians, and of course Mrs. Coulter made us so happy! Plus: Pan and Stelmaria and that darn monkey daemon! Of course, this is S01E01
Welcome to Lyra’s world! We are Sara and Chip, hosts of the podcast Watching The Americans, which explored the world of Soviet spycraft in the 1980s on FX’s “The Americans”. Now we are turning to another place and time, that of our heroine Lyra Belacqua, and the adventures that lie