S02.E04: Tower of the Angels

[Cranberry]

Quote

Will and Lyra make a plan, unaware of the dangers or the cost involved.

Originally aired: November 29, 2020 (on BBC One; Dec 7 on HBO)

[Quark]

Oh this is so good. Things are really heating up now!

[Capricasix]

Holy crackers, that was amazing. The visual effects, the music - brilliant. The music in some places even reminded me of the movie “Arrival”, particularly when the Spectre was chasing the boy who had stolen the knife (I forget his name even though I’ve read the book a few times). Wow. There were multiple scenes that gave me goosebumps!

It’s also great that Phoebe Waller-Bridge is voicing Jopari/Stanislaus’s daemon! 😄

[ElectricBoogaloo]

Hey, hot priest! I checked IMDB and apparently he also appeared on the show last season but I must have completely blocked that out.

I know Will and Lyra were focused on the knife, but why didn't either of them ask where that other boy came from, how he got in the tower, why he knew the knife was there, etc.?

[mrspidey]

"Vengeance"

*goosebumps

[WatchrTina]

Not just "vengeance" . . . angels seeking vengeance.  This show is well named because this stuff is DARK.

I just hate that creepy snake dude has the Alitheometer.  And I'm worried Will is going to get an infection from that wound.  But if the specters eat Lyra's creepy mother (now that she has crossed into their world) that will be okay with me.

[aghst]

I’ve never watched any of the Harry Potter movies.

In a way Pullman and this series is creating its own mythology like Harry Potter, an alternate universe of dust or dark matter which seems to be some kind of malevolent being.

Will and Lyra were both chosen to wield these magical instruments but they just want to use them to find their fathers?  Or does Lyra care to find Asriel again?

I want to say they are being enchanted by discovery of new worlds and their own abilities but it seems the adults are also being moved by discovery.

Or more likely, Boreal and Coulter is looking to control, dominate these new worlds using whatever powers and knowledge they can acquire.

Boreal was not too skillful or subtle when he met Mary Malone, bringing up military interest in her dark matter research.  That turned her off immediately yet was he being that obvious?

[iMonrey]

Lee Scoresby must be awfully hot hiking all that way wearing all that leather. I mean it's not even that cold outside since we can't see his breath. You'd think he be dripping in sweat.

So I don't get what the heck Will's father has been doing all this time, for however long it's been since he left his family. He's in Lyra's world so he's nowhere near the knife. Has he just been sitting around waiting for Lee to show up and take him to Lyra?

[Natalie25]

9 hours ago, iMonrey said:

Lee Scoresby must be awfully hot hiking all that way wearing all that leather. I mean it's not even that cold outside since we can't see his breath. You'd think he be dripping in sweat.

So I don't get what the heck Will's father has been doing all this time, for however long it's been since he left his family. He's in Lyra's world so he's nowhere near the knife. Has he just been sitting around waiting for Lee to show up and take him to Lyra?

It was a short conversation he had with Lee in the show that's expanded in the books - but since he wasn't able to find his way back to his own world, he became a scholar in Lyra's and has been traveling on expeditions / studying etc. The first episode of the show Asriel references him as another scholar of Jordan college whose expedition was lost.

[Tachi Rocinante]

Nice misdirect on Terence Stamp.  The previews made it look (to me) like Will's Dad was in the Tower.

[tennisgurl]

On 11/29/2020 at 8:58 PM, Capricasix said:

It’s also great that Phoebe Waller-Bridge is voicing Jopari/Stanislaus’s daemon! 😄

It turns out that this is really just the third season of Fleabag, which has gotten really experimental! 

Boreal sure could have sold himself to Mary more, but she was never going to go for whatever he was selling no matter what. Especially now, because, holy shit, I got some serious chills. The dust are angels, who have been pulling humanities strings...and they want vengeance. 

We are seriously getting moving now, shit just keeps on getting real. 

[Lady S.]

On 12/7/2020 at 11:02 PM, aghst said:

Will and Lyra were both chosen to wield these magical instruments but they just want to use them to find their fathers?  Or does Lyra care to find Asriel again?

I don't think Lyra wants to find hers again, given what happened last time when she was trying to find him and give him the alethiometer. I'm struck by how she blames only herself for Roger's death, as if she's just decided that both her parents are inherently dangerous beings and Asriel was only acting according to his nature. As if she delivered her best friend to a ravenous alligator instead of her own father. She keeps saying she won't "betray" Will the way she did to Roger, which should include not seeking out Asriel again. (Neither of them knowing that Will's dad wants to team up with Lyra's, just as he doesn't know that the new bearer of the subtle knife is his own son. Ah, dramatic irony!) The only way I could see Lyra wanting to see her father after he murdered her closest friend would be to confront him over that but she just hasn't displayed any anger toward him, the actual murderer, only toward herself.

This episode was the best so far for me for several reasons but what sealed it was no tedious Magisterium political scenes. Only the good stuff.

[Ruprecht]

I enjoyed the last season quite a bit but this season is so much better! The episodes have excellent pacing, real excitement and adventure, and I appreciate the effort to show more of the daemons with the different characters. And it was critical that Lyra and Will bond immediately and I love that they did. They were best friends almost right away. I giggled when Pan also kept his back to Will in the bathtub. 

I love the design of the knife. That was great work by the prop crew. 

Very good episode and loved seeing the witches head through the portal. Last season I had to remind myself to watch the show. This season, I find the week between episodes too long. 

[Haleth]

I’m confused. Is Jopari Will’s father?

[bluestocking]

2 hours ago, Haleth said:

I’m confused. Is Jopari Will’s father?

Yes.  "Jopari" is a contraction of John Parry.  

[Bill1978]

I am really loving this season. I don't know if that's because there are a variety of different stories being told compared to Season One or just because I don't know the general plot thanks to a pre-existing movie.

The cold open explanation of the knife reminded me of all those flashback narrations that The Lord of The Rings movies had to help explain events. Not complaining as I actually enjoyed being told who made the knife, how it works and why it is being guarded.

I love that Terence Stamp's character knew Will was the new bearer because the knife chopped off the same fingers, which I think was also shown in the opening narration which I thought was cool. I also liked that Will had to practice using the knife instead of just being gifted with the talent.

I am really enjoying Mary Malone, probably because she can act as an exposition dump without it feeling like an expedition dump.  I'm intrigued about these vengeful angels. And I loved how Mary knew straight away Boreal wasn't being as kind as Mary's work partner thought he was.

Another question about the Spectres - can they only take adult souls (or whatever) when the adult is outside? Or there is an open door, broken window to get through? If that boy had stayed in a closed room in the tower he would have been safe?

I'm looking forward to seeing how Ms Coulter reacts to Will's world.

Great to finally meet Will's dad that was more than just a soundbite or video clip. I'm really intrigued with how he got his daemon, like if Will pops into Lyra's World does his daemon magically pop out?

And on a totally random note, due to being exposed to constant misspelling by students, I am always reading the title of this episode of The Tower of Angles.

[AnimeMania]

1 hour ago, Bill1978 said:

I'm looking forward to seeing how Ms Coulter reacts to Will's world.

She is going to have to buy a maternity dress and hide her deamon as a baby bump.

[Haleth]

Or a pram.  "What a lovely baby you have, madam."

I'm having trouble connecting this season.  I think it may be a case of appreciating it more if you've read the books.  While I like Lyra and Will I'm not really sure what they are doing.  I can't get a grasp on what dust/dark matter is or why it's important.  Angels?  Ok.  <hand wave>

So daemons are good and angels are bad?  

And as much as I love Lin M M I think he is terrible in this.  I don't know what his character is looking for or why he cares so much about a girl he knew for 5 minutes.

Like I said, maybe if I'd read the books I'd know what was going on.

[WatchrTina]

18 hours ago, Haleth said:

Like I said, maybe if I'd read the books I'd know what was going on.

I DID read them, years ago  Some things stuck in my mind like daemons, the Magesterium, dust, witches, Oxford, travel-by-zeppplin, gypsies-on-boats, armored bears, and the-guy-with-the-balloon.  But other parts of the plot are just GONE from my mind so I'm almost as clueless as a complete newbie to this universe.

[cleo]

Agree with the stuff about LMM. Just doesn't seem to fit in the role, and a grown man going on and on about his undying love for a child he spent like what a day with, is weird. It doesn't quite cross over into creepy territory but it just doesn't feel earned. It just feels like magical main character so of course everybody likes/loves her. But it's really over the top with him.

I am a bit spoiled about his fate.

I'm enjoying this season a lot but at the same time kind of bittersweet bc I don't know if or when there will be a season 3. I know it was renewed but nothing seems certain with covid.