I Watch TV: His Dark Materials

His Dark Materials, Season 2

Season 2 is mostly an adaption of the second novel, which again brings in bits that happened off-scene in the book. The show is unafraid to kill characters, which in fact is inevitable considering what happens in the third book. [SPOILERS?] Anyway, the city with the knife is good, there’s a certain amount of faffing about in Oxford as one plot strand has to advance while another circles a bit, and I’m not sure I really cared about the political plotting back in Lyra’s world. Still, it kept Mrs Coulter busy until she was brought back to the world-crossing section and was able to reveal powers and malice and also maybe even some love.

Watch This: A superb adaption of the novels, unafraid to expand to shrink beloved parts to make it work for television
Don’t Watch This: All this stuff with witches and spectres and world-crossing is annoying, and it won’t even commit to its theology (yet)