After last week’s revelation-packed episode, we get another one this week as Mando faces off with the most famous bounty hunter of them all and the Force inadvertently leaves Grogu unprotected when he needs it most. 

But before the action starts, Mando and the child formerly named Baby Yoda have a quiet moment on the Razor Crest as Grogu plays with his favorite metal ball.  Mando tests out his new name, laughing every time Grogu responds to it. Much to Grogu’s consternation, Mando takes the ball from him but only to test his Force abilities. When they prove just as strong as Ahsoka sensed, Mando himself seems conflicted. Grogu is obviously special but Mando doesn’t have the Jedi skill to train him and that means eventually they will have to separate. Like any parent, the thought brings him anguish even if he knows it might be the best for his child. 

In a surprise for a show that likes to get waylaid on the road to its destination, Mando has actually made it to Tython already and spots the ancient temple that Ahsoka mentioned in the last episode. Tython has a long Star Wars history in the old Legends timeline, but in the current canon it’s basically rumored to be the location of the Jedi’s first temple and it looks even more rustic than what was glimpsed of the Jedi remnants on Ahch-To in The Last Jedi. 

Not able to land on the seeing stone, Mando parks the Razor Crest nearby and takes a delighted Grogu the rest of the way via jetpack. After plopping Grogu on the seeing stone and having nothing happen, Mando is not sure what to do next. As a blue butterfly flits by the delighted child (is that a shoutout to Ben Solo?), Mando looks around to see if there is some kind of trigger to make the stone work. As a ship looking very much like Boba Fett’s Slave I passes by, Mando realizes they need to go but of course that’s the moment when Grogu connects with the Force, becoming encased in a very strong, um, Force field. Mando tries to retrieve the child but the Force won’t let him go and Mando decides to buy him some time to commune with it. 

Mando takes off and is soon facing off with none other than the very much alive Boba Fett! Boba would very much like his armor back and of course, Mando being a knucklehead about the Mandalorian creed, refuses to give it to him despite hearing that the armor belonged to Boba’s father. But it turns out Boba isn’t alone and has the also very much alive Fennec Shand (the wonderful Ming-Na Wen returning from the first season) with him and she’s got a gun trained on Grogu. 

Eventually, they all agree to put down their weapons and Mando finds out that Boba saved Fennec’s life and she’s now in his service. Boba again demands his armor and tells Mando that the armor was given to his father, Jango, by Mando’s forebears and that if it is returned, they will guarantee the safety of him and Grogu. Honestly, it’s a good deal since Fennec informs him that the bounty on Grogu’s head is now worth ten suits of beskar. 

As they argue, a ship of stormtroopers arrives. While Mando heads back to the seeing stone to retrieve Grogu, Boba and Fennec take up arms against the troopers who frankly have no idea what they are in for. Even without his armor, it’s a thrill to see Boba Fett in action again and Temuera Morrison is fearsome as he takes the troopers down without mercy. Ming-Na Wen gets a great set piece that calls back to Raiders of the Lost Ark and it’s no surprise to discover that the famed Robert Rodriguez directed this action-packed episode. 

Once Boba winds up near the Razor Crest, it’s pretty obvious what he’s about to do while Mando isn’t looking. As another ship of troopers lands, Mando, who got knocked out trying to retrieve Grogu from the seeing stone, finally wakes up. He tries once again to pry Grogu from the Force but it’s impossible and he leaves to protect him. Of course, as soon as he takes off, Grogu finally stops communing with the Force and it releases him from its grip. 

Mando joins Fennec to fight off the new squad of troopers, but soon they are cornered. Things are looking dire until a fully armored Boba Fett (everyone commence screaming) lands and dispatches the troopers with every weapon at his disposal. Is it fan service to see Boba Fett kicking ass again after so many years? Yes, of course, but it’s the best kind since it’s still in service to the greater story and it’s an action sequence that is so good that it makes me want to apologize for every bad thing I’ve ever said about Boba Fett for the last four decades. 

As the troopers flee and their ships take off, Boba takes out both of them with one of his missiles. Before they can celebrate, a shot from another unseen ship hits the Razor Crest and in a stunning move, totally obliterates it. It turns out Moff Gideon has finally arrived in his Imperial cruiser. As Boba takes off for his own ship, a shocked Mando and Fennec try to make it back to Grogu in time. 

A contingent of dark trooper battle droids takes off from Gideon’s ship and aims directly for the seeing stone, landing before Mando can get there. Now completely and conveniently unprotected, Grogu wakes up from his Force-induced nap and is immediately taken by one of the troopers. They take off back to Gideon’s ship. Boba almost heads them off in the sky but Mando doesn’t want him to engage since Grogu might get hurt. Boba decides to follow them to see who they are dealing with and he’s stunned to see an Imperial cruiser. When he tells Fennec and Mando that the Empire is back, Fennec says the New Republic has control of the Outer Rim. Denying it’s a spice dream, Boba tells them he can see the cruiser with his own eyes. 

Before they can do anything to save Grogu, the cruiser takes off into hyperspace. Looking over the wreckage of the Razor Crest, all Mando can find is Grogu’s toy and the beskar spear. He takes them both and nothing more. Once Boba shows him the chain code of his armor, Mando realizes that it is rightfully Boba’s since his father, Jango, was a foundling that fought in the Mandalorian civil wars. 

Though he tells Boba their deal is now complete, Boba disagrees since they agreed to the safety of the child as well. Showing a surprising lack of will or maybe a feeling of total despair, Mando says the child is gone.  Boba says that until he is returned safely, they are in Mando’s debt and we are happily in for few more episodes in Boba Fett and Fennec Shand’s company

Taking off in Boba’s frankly rickety-looking ship, they land on Nevarro where Cara Dune has agreed to become a marshal for the New Republic. Cara helps Mando locate Bill Burr’s ex-imperial sharpshooter, Migs Mayfeld, who we last saw being arrested in season 1. Though Mayfled is serving 50 years for the crime, Mando needs to spring him. Cara mentions that since she’s with the New Republic now, she needs to follow the rules but once she hears Moff Gideon has Grogu and Mando need Mayfeld’s help to get him back, she looks more than willing to bend them. 

Back on the Imperial cruiser, Moff Gideon discovers Grogu is Force-choking the troopers keeping him in captivity. Displaying even more power and fury than ever before, Grogu throws them around like they are dolls until he exhausts himself in the process. Gideon smiles and showing a greater familiarity with Grogu’s powers than we realized he had, he mentions that while the child’s gotten good with those abilities, it makes him oh-so-sleepy. 

As Grogu tries to recover, Gideon shows him the darksaber and asks if he's ever seen one. Grogu tries to take it but Gideon pulls it away, saying he isn’t ready to play with such a thing.  Saying he could use a nice, long sleep, he has Grogu stunned and tells one of his officers to send the message to Dr. Pershing that they have their donor. As poor Grogu is shackled, it’s obvious he’s in more peril than ever before. But an unlikely contingent of help is on the way.  

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• The Mandalorian recap: Mando helps old friends on a new mission

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Lauren Morgan

Back in her office, Lord Boreal’s police henchmen, the Pale Faced Man, appears asking a lot of odd questions about Lyra’s appearance the day before. Malone, who’s not an idiot, finds this all rather creepy and manages to head Lyra off in the hallway but not before the Pale Faced Man catches them both and forces them back into the office for questioning. Though Malone tries to stop the interview, Lyra handles it well at first until she uncharacteristically trips up and confirms she knows Will.  

Malone engineers Lyra’s escape but Lyra “conveniently” runs right into Lord Boreal as she flees from the Pale Faced Man. He offers her a lift and at first she resists until she realizes she has no better option. While Pan is trapped outside of Lord Boreal’s car as a bird, Boreal insists she put on a seatbelt which means Lyra must take off her backpack with the alethiometer. Feeling the pain of Pan being physically pulled away from her while he’s trapped outside of the car and still nervous about being followed, Lyra insists Boreal let her out of the car. But in a move that seems like she really got hit by the stupid stick, she forgets her bag as she gets out. Boreal calls after her to take the bag but not before he lifts the alethiometer out of it and drives away. 

While this disaster is happening, Will is back in Cittàgazze having disturbing dreams of the knife with the angel hilt and the idea he must take up his father’s mantle. As he wakes and looks at his dad’s letters, he has renewed hope that he can find him with the help of Lyra and the alethiometer. Missing Lyra’s note telling him she went to see Dr. Malone, he goes to look for her around Cittàgazze and finds Angelica instead. 

Will asks her about the person he’s seen in the mysterious tower at the center of the town and she dodges the question but tells him that the tower is called the Torre degli Angeli. It belongs to the Guild, who were a group of philosophers that ran away when the Specters came. She asks Will if the Specters got his parents and he admits they didn’t. Since they got her parents, she tells Will that he needs a plan since he is on the cusp of adulthood. Will’s not afraid of the Specters but seems awfully wary of Angelica and leaves to find what happened to Lyra. 

He finally stumbles upon Lyra’s note and heads straight for his world to find her . He doesn’t have far to go since she’s crying right outside the window to the city. She admits that she lost the alethiometer and he comforts her but becomes quite alarmed when he finds out the police were at Dr. Malone’s office and they knew about him. He wants to go back to Cittàgazze immediately but she doesn’t want to leave without the alethiometer. She tells him about Charles Latrom (a.k.a. Lord Boreal) and Pan remembers that Latrom gave her his card when they first met. 

Once they hear a police siren, they realize they can't go see him until it’s dark so they pick the best place they can think of: an afternoon screening of Paddington. As Paddington gives his hard stare to Mr. Brown and Lyra steals all of Will’s popcorn, they start arguing — and not about how Hugh Grant should have won an Oscar for Paddington 2 (but he should have). Will thinks she doesn’t take anything seriously and she’s mad he thinks she was messing around. She reminds him that her best friend was murdered by her father and the guilt that she carries because of that. Eventually, they get shushed and she continues shoving popcorn in her mouth even though she thinks it tastes like wood shavings. Remorseful, Will admits he came for her because he was worried. 

And Will was right to be, because not only has Lord Boreal found Lyra, he’s sent a message to her mother that he knows where she is. But thankfully, he’s not the only person on Lyra’s tail. Though the witches have suffered fearful devastation at the hands of the Magisterium, Serafina realizes that they must find Lyra. She sends her daemon Kaisa to visit Iorek Byrnison, who says that Lyra followed Lord Asriel through the tear in the sky, thus giving the witches a vital clue to Lyra’s whereabouts. 

But before either the witches or Mrs. Coulter can find Lyra, the latter has an unexpected meeting with Lee Scoresby, who has gotten captured by the Magisterium on his way to find Stanislaus Grumman and his magical object of protection. Having been hailed by the man himself through magical means, Lee made his way to the Samirsky Hotel in Nova Zembla where tall tales about Grumman abounded. While some think Grumman is dead, others have heard he is very much alive and point Lee in the direction of the nearby observatory. The man that works at the observatory, Dr. Haley (Angus Wright), tells Lee that Grumman is up the Yenisei River but unfortunately, he also believes the mysterious man is a heretic. Before Lee knows it, he’s in a gunfight and winds up killing the doctor in self-defense. As he tries to escape, he gets captured by the Magisterium. 

And it's in jail where Mrs. Coulter finds Lee when she lands in town on an unscheduled stop. After some dancing around the topic of Lyra, it becomes clear what she means to them both. Coulter tries to intimidate Lee into telling her where her daughter is, using pain to try and break him, but his dedication to Lyra is too strong. She must love Lyra but Lee will never trust a woman like her with the girl, not someone who could turn children into ghosts. He does some psychiatric work on Mrs. Coulter, saying she must have had the same kind of awful parents he had. Despite his past, he feels more alive than he has in years because Lyra gave him hope. 

Seeing in Lee the kind of parental love she should have always given Lyra, Coulter breaks. And when she gets a note from Boreal saying that he knows where Lyra is, she frees Lee from his cell, telling him about the prophecy and that many people who are looking for Lyra mean her harm. If he finds her first, please keep her safe. He promises. As he heads up the river to find Grumman, he believes more than ever that Lyra needs whatever object of protection that Grumman has to keep her safe. 

Back in Will’s world, Dr. Malone is trying another method to communicate with the shadow particles using the I Ching as Lyra suggested and though she is not anywhere near the Cave at the time, it starts reacting to what her mind is doing. 

Lyra and Will, meanwhile, have arrived at Lord Boreal’s home in this world, an elegant mansion filled with antiques of all kinds. Though Lyra introduces Will as Mark, once Boreal takes out the alethiometer and she demands it back, he identifies both of them by their real names. Chiding her for not recognizing him, he notes that Lyra isn’t as astute as her mother and she finally realizes that he’s Lord Boreal and that she had seen him before at her mother’s party. 

As he puts the alethiometer out of her reach, she throws a glass at him and he threatens to call the police on both of them. He has an offer for them though and tells them he knows about the other world. The man who made the doorway to Will’s world has a knife and Boreal believes he’s hiding in the Torre degli Angeli. If they bring the knife to him, he’ll give them the alethiometer back. Though Lyra swears she’ll get him the knife, Lord Boreal should be careful because as the episode ends, Lyra looks like she’d like to stab him with it.

This story originally appeared on: EW - Author:Lauren Morgan

Mando arrives in the middle of this standoff looking for a lead on Ahsoka, who has disappeared back into the desiccated forest that surrounds the city. After being let in by the Magistrate’s main guard, Lang (Michael Biehn of Aliens fame), he starts to ask around the scared populace for a clue, and he’s brought before the Magistrate. While the people outside her fortress suffer in deprivation, the Magistrate lives in a virtual paradise in comparison. Knowing the Jedi are the ancient enemies of Mandalore, she wants Mando to kill Ahsoka as a bounty, offering a spear of pure beskar as a reward. Not agreeing to the deal but not saying as much, he asks where the Jedi is. 

Taken outside the city’s walls again by Lang, Mando and Baby Yoda start searching through the forest. As Mando checks out a false alarm, Ahsoka attacks and easily deflects all of Mando’s tricks. Once he tells her that Bo-Katan sent him, Ahsoka stops fighting him and says she hopes it’s about the child.

If you haven’t watched any of the Star Wars animated shows, you might have no idea who Ahsoka Tano is and why she is so important to the fandom, so here is the briefest of histories. As a teenager, she became Anakin Skywalker’s padawan and throughout the Clone Wars they became almost like brother and sister to each other. She left the Jedi Order after being wrongly accused of a bombing, an event that helped shatter Anakin’s trust in the order and leading to his eventual downfall. She’s not technically a Jedi anymore but The Mandalorian doesn’t really make that distinction. After Order 66 happened and most of the Jedi were eliminated, Ahsoka became a fugitive from the Empire. She didn’t know what became of Anakin until she joined the Rebellion and came face-to-face with Darth Vader. She survived their battle and was last seen looking for the missing Jedi Ezra Bridgers sometime after the Battle of Endor in the final episode of Star Wars Rebels. 

Now whether this meeting with Mando takes place before or after that moment isn’t quite clear in the episode but it’s obvious that Ahsoka is as powerful in the Force as she’s always been and Dawson clearly enjoys playing her (though admittedly Ahsoka’s lekku look a bit on the rubbery side). 

As Mando paces in the background like a nervous dad, Ahsoka and Baby Yoda commune with each other silently through the Force. As they finish, Ahsoka brings Baby Yoda over to Mando and he asks her if she can understand his child. Calling the child Grogu (Baby Yoda’s name is GROGU?!?), she says they can feel each other’s thoughts. Mando questions the name of Grogu (as we all do) and Ahsoka confirms that is his name. Mando calls out to the child using Grogu and he responds quite adorably (and so shall he be named Grogu from now on). 

His name isn’t the only thing Ahsoka knows. Turns out Grogu was raised at the Jedi Temple on Coruscant and has been trained by many masters (Can we have a lost Clone Wars episode of Anakin and Obi-Wan babysitting him back then?). When the Empire rose to power at the end of the Clone Wars, someone took him from the temple and he went into hiding. His memory of the time became dark and she says he was lost and alone. She tells Mando of Jedi Master Yoda and asks Mando if Grogu can still wield the Force and he confirms he can. Informed of his task to bring Grogu to a Jedi, Ahsoka says the order has fallen but Mando notes so has the Empire and yet it’s still hunting him. After saying Grogu needs her help, she agrees to test him in the morning. 

As the sun rises, Mando sets Grogu down for a test and Ahsoka floats a rock to him and asks him to return it to her the same way. Mando says Grogu doesn’t understand and Ahsoka insists he does. Grogu looks scared and drops the stone. Like any parent who watches his kid crash a test he knows the kid can pass, Mando’s disappointed. Ahsoka takes Grogu’s hand and says she senses much fear in him and that he’s hidden his ability in order to survive all these years. 

When Ahsoka asks him to try the test in her place, Mando doubts Grogu will listen to him since he knows how stubborn his child can be. Mando attempts it again with the rock and fails but realizes he knows what his kid really wants. Taking out the little round handle that Grogu always swipes from the ship to play with, Mando offers it and Grogu immediately calls it to his hand via the Force. Mando reacts like a true soccer dad when his kid makes a game-winning score and Ahsoka realizes just how bonded these two are to each other. 

Because of Grogu’s attachment (ah, not that issue again!) to Mando, Ahsoka admits she cannot train him, fearing what the child’s anger and fear will do to him. Thinking of a certain Jedi Knight who fell because their attachment to another was too strong, Ahsoka refuses to send Grogu down that same dark path.  As visions of Darth Grogu dance in our heads, Mando insists that’s all the more reason to train him and she says that it’s best to let his abilities fade. 

Not willing to let it go, Mando admits the Magistrate expects him to kill her but he didn’t agree to it. He’ll help her with her problem if she sees that Grogu is properly trained. As they go over the firepower that the Magistrate has at her disposal, Ahsoka tells Mando that the Magistrate’s real name is Morgan Elsbeth and that after her people were massacred during the Clone Wars, her anger fueled an industry that helped build the Imperial starfleet. She’s plundered and destroyed worlds and it looks like that’s what she’s doing to Corvus. 

Knowing that they’ll never see a Jedi and a Mandalorian coming, they plan their attack. As night falls, Lang and the guards on the walls sound the alarm at Ahsoka’s approach. She is soon at the top of the city walls, taking out the guards and slicing through the giant metal gong like it’s butter. 

When the Magistrate emerges from her fortress to face off with Ahsoka, she tells the guards to stand down. Ahsoka slowly walks to her and throws down Mando’s signet and demands to know where the Magistrate’s master is. As the Magistrate orders the former Jedi killed, Ahsoka takes to the rooftops and leads Lang and his guards on a chase through the darkened allies. The Magistrate withdraws back into her fortress and orders all her prisoners killed. A brave citizen (Wing Tao Chao) tries to intercede on the prisoners’ behalf and Mando flies in and they both free them before they are executed. 

Lang loses track of Ahsoka, who quickly kills most of the guards, but he eventually finds Mando. As they face off, Lang sees Ahsoka jump behind the wall of the Magistrate’s fortress. Lang is disgusted that Mando threw in with the Jedi but as they hear the clang of beskar against the hum of her lightsabers, it’s obvious that the real action is with Ahsoka. 

While Ahsoka was one of the best fighters the Jedi had, the Magistrate is a formidable opponent and this allows martial artist Diana Lee Inosanto to show off her prodigious fighting skills as well. Though Ahsoka loses one of her sabers during the course of the fight, she gets the upper hand and launches a question that surely led to much shock across the Star Wars fandom, “Where is Grand Admiral Thrawn?” That the fan favorite Chiss villain might soon appear on The Mandalorian is quite a surprise but significantly ups the stakes for the rest of the season. 

We don’t see the Magistrate’s response, but her reign of terror seems to have come to an end as Mando also takes out Lang. As the people rejoice and the brave citizen we saw earlier becomes the city’s new governor,  Ahsoka gives Mando the beskar spear as his payment. When Mando goes back to the ship to get the sleeping Grogu, it’s obvious in the time he takes with him that he’s slowly and painfully wishing him goodbye. 

As Mando prepares to bring Grogu to Ahsoka for training, she appears at the ship. She notes that he’s like a father to him and because of that she cannot train him. Mando doesn’t like having a promise broken but also seems a little relieved.  She says that if he wants to help Grogu, he needs to take him to the ancient temple on the planet Tython (potentially the very first Jedi temple). Once Grogu is placed on the seeing stone at the top of the mountain, he may choose his own path. If he reaches out through the Force, a Jedi might sense his presence and come searching for him. Then again, there aren’t that many Jedi left (since we most likely aren’t seeing Luke Skywalker on this show, perhaps missing Jedi Ezra Bridger or ghost Yoda might make an appearance). Mando thanks her and she says goodbye in the way the Jedi most famously do. As Ahsoka’s theme gently plays, she walks back off into the forest and Jedi legend. 

Author:Lauren Morgan - Source: EW

His Dark Materials

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At the end of the last episode, it looked like the Specters were about to attack Will but as we start the next episode, that cliffhanger gets dropped completely as a perfectly fine Will advises Lyra on how to blend in when they get to his world. Though they argue about what she should wear, it’s more important that she hides Pan who protests this idea when he gets shoved in a smelly backpack. 

As Will shows Lyra the window he climbed through, she rushes through it and promptly gets hit by a car. Thankfully, it’s just a minor knee scrape and she shakes it off. Not so fortunate though is the fact that Lord Boreal (the fascinating Ariyon Bakare) spies them right after they enter Will’s world and recognizes them both. 

As they hurry through Oxford, Lyra is a bit stunned by how different it is from her own world. Grateful to see some familiar buildings, she runs off to find this world’s Jordan College but is crushed to find a construction site in its place. Will consoles her as he cleans up her knee and as she inquires about the cell phone that he carries, she tries to tell him about the alethiometer. Unfortunately, she mentions first that it told her he’s a murderer and the conversation abruptly ends before it can go any further. 

Will takes off to check on his mom and Lyra is left on her own to explore Oxford. He tells her to stay out of trouble but she winds up walking right into it while visiting a museum and consulting the alethiometer when she thinks it's safe. The device tells her where to look for the scholar who can tell her about Dust but it also tells her that she needs to help Will find his father. But before she can get very far, she comes upon Lord Boreal, who introduces himself as Charles Latrom. Now in the book, it was a surprise when Latrom turned out to be Boreal but since they are obviously played by the same actor, we lose that shock but trade it for an increase in tension since we know outright it’s him.

Lyra, for her part, senses he’s up to no good and quickly takes her leave of him after receiving his business card. She finds her way to the office of Dr. Mary Malone (Simone Kirby), a scientist who is part of the financially struggling Dark Matter Research Unit. Unfortunately, Malone has no idea what Dust is and is a little alarmed when Lyra mentions being from another world. But when Lyra rambles on saying if she doesn’t find out about it, Roger’s death will be for nothing, the doctor takes pity and tells the distraught girl about the particles she studies. 

Malone explains that she studies dark matter, which is the matter in between all the known bits of the universe. More specifically, she’s focused on shadow particles and built a machine to detect this material by testing various objects. Her computer, called the Cave, filters and amplifies the information she receives and Malone discovered that the particles responded differently when the objects she tested were man-made. The shadow particles were conscious and as the doctor explains that you can’t see them unless you put your mind in a certain state, a lightbulb goes off above Lyra’s head. The shadow particles are Dust!

In a moment of great trust, Lyra shows Malone the alethiometer and demonstrates how it is used by finding out that Malone was once a nun. The doctor is stunned and scoffs when Lyra tells her Dust is original sin and that the Magisterium in her world wants to destroy it. But she agrees to show Lyra the Cave. 

When Malone attaches Lyra to the machine, she’s stunned by the reaction: Lyra gets the biggest display she’s ever seen. Lyra communicates with it as she does the alethiometer and it starts talking in the alethiometer’s language, showing symbols on the computer screen. It’s telling Lyra that Malone has something important to do but she has to make the connection herself using the I-Ching box she has and that she’ll need it where she is going. Before Malone can ask her much else, Lyra has to rush off to meet Will but promises to return the next day.  

During this time, Will has visited his father’s solicitor to inquire about getting the money from the trust and finds out that not only are his paternal grandparents the other trustees, but they actually live in Oxford. Will never knew them since there was a falling out between his mother and his grandparents after his father disappeared. His grandmother (Jane How) seems overjoyed to see him but as soon as he asks about the trust, his grandfather (Brian Protheroe) thinks his mother put him up to it and calls the Pale Faced Man (Jamie Wilkes), the police officer Boreal had in his employ last season, to let him know Will is there as he predicted. Will soon realizes he’s in danger and takes off before he can be caught.

Feeling betrayed by those that should have protected him, he’s in no mood to hear about Lyra’s discovery with Dr. Malone. As he heads back toward Cittágazze, she chases after him and gets him to stop when she says she’s supposed to help him find his father. He doesn’t believe her until she shows him the alethiometer and proves that it tells her the truth. Will confesses the circumstances behind the murder of the man in his house and asks Lyra to check on his mother. She tells him that while his mother is worried about him, she’s safe and confirms that his dad is alive. Both have been burned before but they realize they can trust each other. Will is heartbroken by the thought of having to leave his mother, but Lyra tells him he has something to do in Cittágazze and maybe his father does too. 

Back in Lyra’s world, Ruta Skadi and Serafina Pekkala are fighting over Ruta’s attack on the head of the Magisterium. Serafina had to send Dr. Lanselius as a peace envoy to clean up the mess (he gets thrown in jail for heresy instead) and urges Ruta to focus on Lyra and the prophecy. Ruta argues that what she did protected Lyra but that they must unite the witch clans and continue to fight the Magisterium. The scenes with the witches remain a weak point for the show since their self-seriousness makes it hard to focus on any information about Lyra and the prophecy that they might reveal. 

Also not lacking in self-seriousness is the Magisterium, where Ruta’s attack has caused an uproar after Cardinal Sturrock succumbs to his injuries (with some help by Mrs. Coulter). Father MacPhail is acting cardinal but he’s being challenged for power and Coulter urges him to declare war on the witches to secure his grip. MacPhail signs the order to attack. Showing just how screwed up the man is, he physically punishes himself for this sin by holding his hand too close to a candle’s flame as his daemon urges him on. 

After being told by Boreal that Lord Asreal’s manservant, Thorold (Gary Lewis), is in captivity, Mrs. Coulter visits him looking for information on Lyra. She’s shocked to find out that Lyra was at Asriel’s lab and that he intended to sever her from Pan to make the portal until he discovered Roger was with her. Thorold tells her that Lyra tried to save Roger by following her father up the mountain and Coulter finally realizes that Lyra went into the other world. 

As Magisterium bombs drop on the lake country of the witches, Father MacPhail is elected the new cardinal in a unanimous vote. He thanks Coulter but she informs him that she’s leaving since she’s tired of all the Magisterium games now that she knows there are so many other worlds out there. He asks her if she’s going to find Asriel and she laughs. She’s after something far more valuable than that.   

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His Dark Materials

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Author:Lauren Morgan - Source: EW