His Dark Materials Review: The Cave (Season 2 Episode 2)

Danger lurks around every corner, but on His Dark Materials Season 2 Episode 2, “The Cave,” there are signs of hope that kindness can still be found.

Will’s journey continues to show him going down a path of waning trust. His world has essentially been cut off from him, with the way Lord Boreal watches the rift and the way his grandparents are so easy to turn him over to the authorities.

It’s a fairly straightforward journey for him, but one where he realizes that there’s not much left for him here. There’s a coldness to the events he is part of, like no one is being fully honest with him or has much in the way of empathy for him.

This is what makes that scene at the bench with Lyra so touching: he is upset at her for being gone for so long not because he’s impatient, but because she may be the only good thing left in his life at the moment, the one thing that can give him hope.

That Lyra is so willing to help him out with finding his father is the exact kind of push Will needs. All other avenues have caught off for him, and so she is the one that will hopefully bring hope back into his heart.

Lyra’s journey is a little different, as it starts to piece together what Dust is in terms that we can understand: dark matter.

The introduction of Mary Malone opens up more from the books, but it also shows there are still allies to make as the world they enter grows darker. Mary’s research may be incomplete for now, but her kind heart and the knowledge that dark matter reacts similarly to the way the aleithiometer does opens up avenues for her.

But for that to continue, she will need Lyra to return. One of the images that the computer/dark matter reveals is a knife, which continues to hint at the second book’s titular blade.

It’s curious that Mary’s colleague doesn’t share her optimism, though that could either be from disbelief or the more unlikely option, he may be keeping an eye on her for the Magisterium. They likely know about the correlation between Dust and dark matter, so she may be under their watchful eye, especially with Lord Boreal around.

Which brings us to another moment that stands out from the episode. Lord Boreal carefully keeps himself from Lyra’s view during Mrs. Coulter’s party on His Dark Materials Season 1 Episode 2, “The Idea of North,” and now he feels it’s time to make her acquaintance.

Lord Boreal is waging a war similar to Mrs. Coulter, where he works on the edges to make his moves. With both Lyra and Will, he’s been awfully close to revealing himself, but to introduce himself as a collector who helps the Oxford museum is a curious way to enter her life for the first time.

He can clearly see the alethiometer she’s consulting as she walks by, and so if she returns, likely to meet Mary again, this may go the wrong way for Lyra.

Now that Mrs. Coulter knows Lyra’s in a different world, and Lord Boreal is feeling confident enough to reveal himself (under a different identity), it feels like we’re finally heading toward confrontations that could have bigger consequences.

But we still aren’t quite clear on what Mrs. Coulter’s bigger intentions are. She speaks of grand aspirations, but do they include tearing down Dust and using Lyra in some way, or something larger? There’s this sense that she does care for Lyra, but with the way things have gone when they’re together, there’s an imbalance to where that care may end.

One of the darker aspects of the episode comes from the Magisterium wrestling for control. Even among their own, there is the currying of favor and using bluster as strength in the hopes of rising above all others.

But one of the smarter ways of working through this process is Mrs. Coulter’s complete disdain for each and every one of them, seeing them for their weakness and seeing them for what they really are.

There are brief moments where it feels as though Coulter is aligning with acting Cardinal MacPhail, but it’s nothing more than seeing her best way to infiltrate their ranks and to impose her own power. It’s this moment of awakening, especially for MacPhail, whose new rise to power is immediately diminished as he realizes that he’s been played.

It’s one of Mrs. Coulter’s most disarming weapons, her way of dressing people down and putting them in their place. They’re the kind of moves that may leave her without many friends, but her meteoric rise and way with manipulation will always be there to get her through the tough times.

That MacPhail consolidates his power with the bombing of the witch territories shows how far he is willing to go to tear down anyone in the Authority’s way. He may be under Coulter’s thumb, but Will Keen plays the part with this unpredictability, like you’re never quite sure what he’s really thinking.

Part of the allure of these scenes is the careful symmetry each shot holds, like everything is in its right place and exactly as it should be. It even unfolds with the slow, methodical walking of those heading into the interrogation scene or the vote to give MacPhail the status of cardinal.

These moments are some of the most fascinating to watch purely based on the layout and mannerisms of those within it. There’s an oppressiveness in each and every shot, the locations so large and imposing and sterile.

There’s not a single mistake in their composition, and it creates an even larger sense of foreboding as the enemy Will and Lyra will soon find themselves facing.

“The Cave” makes a lot of story strides, and it’s largely successful in this arena. But it’s the strides it makes with its characters, delving them into putting their trust in unlikely places, where its larger power is drawn.

Some stray thoughts on the episode:

• Lyra’s adventure wardrobe is a fun little moment to start the episode with, made even cuter by Pan being an awesome red panda. More of red panda Pan will be most welcome.
• The last episode’s cliffhanger with Will about to be attacked doesn’t end up leading to anything, though now that they are returning, maybe this will continue on the third episode.

 

What did you think of this episode of His Dark Materials? Share your thoughts in the comments below!

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His Dark Materials airs Mondays at 9/8c on HBO.

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