His Dark Materials (TV Series) The Break (2022) User Reviews

The Break

[Prismark10 · 6/10 · 29 December 2022]

Everyone wants to get to the island where Mrs Coulter is holding Lyra captive. Only Lord Asriel seems initially reluctant to get to his daughter.

Mrs Coulter seemingly will do anything to protect Lyra from the assassin sent by the Magisterium.

When Will arrive, she turns to guile and charm. Hoping the youthful Will is less cynical. When Will breaks the subtle knife, Mrs Coulter shows her true colours.

The episode was a good holding episode as the various factions descend on Mrs Coulter. Once again Ruth Wilson is exemplary as Coulter, she really has made the role her own.

I did think Amir Wilson did well to keep up with Wilson when they come face to face.

The Broken Knife

[claudio_carvalho · 6/10 · 3 April 2023]

Asriel shows Ogunwe the army he has joined when Baruch is attacked by the angel Alarbus that serves the Authority. Baruch dies but before he tells to him that Will has the knife that can kill the Authority and Alarbus is imprisoned. The Magisterium send two zeppelins with soldiers to kill Lyra, while Will uses the knife to get inside Mrs. Couler's house. Asriel also heads to her house to look for Will and Lyra.

"The Break" is a full of action episode of "His Dark Material", with a great mystery: Why Æsahættr has broken? Mrs. Coulter is manipulative and a sort of bipolar woman, and the viewer never knows her true intentions. My vote is six.

Title (Brazil): "The Break"

Converging Stories

[tristan_19 · 9/10 · 7 December 2022]

What an episode ! The Break is everything you'd want from this show and more ! Ruth Wilson is absolutely phenomenal here and the acting is outstanding.

The episode mixes adventure, emotion, drama, philosophies and ideologies, an escape story, character development, friendships and relationships, and all sorts of fantastic elements, and it does it flawlessly.

Marisa's vulnerability is shown in this episode and we get what I believe to be one of the best scenes of the series, when she opens herself up to Will. Asriel delivers a punchy monologue with absolute conviction. The way they made us care for all the new characters so quickly is unbelievable. Ama is great and the angels too.

Will's determination is unprecedented. The different stories are converging here, as the Authority and Father Gomez head towards Lyra. Will gets there too, and Lord Asriel learns about the location. The ending was really solid with some ground action.

Mrs. Coulter is awesome and defends Lyra from the Authority, but as soon as Will breaks the knife, she lets anger get the best of her and tries to get Will away from her daughter. You can feel her sorrow and you can see Lyra and Will's perspectives and get their emotions too.

Pieces are moving here and the tension is rising. The music is heightening the scenes greatly. The action is sublime, but the emotional core of the episode shines the most. People are fighting for what's right and for their beliefs. You can also see how deep a certain ideology can go, and how it can alter humanity and everything.