His Dark Materials: Season 2 (Blu-ray) – Series Review
Follow Genre: Adventure, Drama, Family
Distributor: Warner Bros. Entertainment Inc.
Episodes: 7
Duration: 60 min (per episode)

His Dark Materials: Season 2 (Blu-ray) – Series Review

Site Score
8.1
Good: Story, Acting, Overall pace
Bad: Does not always hit its mark in its delivery
User Score
10.0
(1 votes)
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Rating: 10.0/10 (1 vote cast)

As mentioned in the review of season 1, it took us some time to get used to this new rendition of His Dark Materials after the botched 2007 attempt. The Golden Compass did have a few enjoyable aspects when the movie was released, but it also strayed quite far away from the source material. The new series doesn’t follow the source material to the letter either, especially when it comes to Lyra’s appearance, but it did present us a very enjoyable buildup of Pullman’s universe. Now, things are truly kicking off with the release of the second season, which also coincides with the story of the second book, The Subtle Knife. 

In season 2, Lyra (Dafne Keen) and Will (Amir Wilson) finally meet up in the city of Cittàgazze, which is located in what is later known as the hub world. Both Will and Lyra walked through a portal in their respective worlds, finally ending up here. While Lyra and Will’s partnership starts off quite laborious, they do end up growing closer and closer. They start working together and even cross over to Will’s world (our Earth) to learn more about ‘Dust’, the particles Asriel (James McAvoy) has been researching for a good portion of his life.

At the same time, we get to see what Coulter (Ruth Wilson) is taking upon herself to find out where Lyra is. She is a force to be reckoned with, but also frustrated by how women are held back in her society. On our Earth, we meet Dr. Mary Malone (Simone Kirby), who is researching dark matter particles.

Overall, the dispensal of information feels perfect for this second season. We get more than enough story-building content, to make sure the viewer remains engaged. To top things off, this second season is very eventful and action-packed, guaranteeing there is not a dull moment in sight. The pace has been properly set, and the constant need for information which was common in the first season is no longer a necessity.

In terms of cast, not much has changed throughout the course of the second season. We do see a few minor characters pop up here and there, but nothing noteworthy as of yet. There is a clear evolution when it comes to the different main characters, however. Dafne Keen’s somewhat awkward acting capabilities during the first season seem like a distant memory, as she pulls her weight as the leading role quite dapperly. Ruth Wilson also shows that her character has a lot more nuances than initially thought, which also adds to the quality performances of the show. Amir Wilson also does a commendable job, but it sometimes feels like he’s lagging behind in comparison to other cast members. A very honorable mention goes to the performance by Lin-Manuel Miranda and the voice acting of Cristela Alonzo. The chemistry of the aforementioned duo is amazing.

The Blu-ray version of the second season of His Dark Materials comes with a load of extra features. While these mainly consist of ‘making of’ content, they do prolong your His Dark Materials experience by roughly an hour and a half. Some parts really dig into how the effects were handled, or how certain sets came to life, while others share more insights from the cast members behind the characters. We did quite enjoy going through the different features on offer.

Conclusion

His Dark Materials: Season 2 is actually a small step up from the last season, as it truly sets things in motion and there’s not really a dull moment to be had. Where season 1 was mainly an introductory experience to the universe of HDM, season 2 is very engaging and offers a lot more content crammed into the course of its seven episodes. We are quite curious to see what the third season can offer, and how (un)satisfying the conclusion of this series may be.

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His Dark Materials: Season 2 (Blu-ray) – Series Review, 10.0 out of 10 based on 1 rating
Ibuki


Aspiring ninja.

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