Martin Carr reviews the fifth episode of His Dark Materials…
There is something fundamentally sacrilegious under discussion between the lines in The Lost Boy which has little to do with burgeoning relationships. By separating mind and body from other more theological elements Pullman raises one of life’s great questions. If we exist inside a body what really makes us individual? Are we a consciousness merely living through sinew, muscle and bone experiencing life via electrical impulses or just a series of primal urges?
Notions of self as manifested through social constructs are intrinsically tied to religion. Before the idea of a belief system, a means of worship or the gathering together of others people never feared for their eternal soul. Firstly because eternity was unfathomable and secondly such free thinking often left the free thinker burnt, beheaded or banished. Which is where Pullman comes in with his objections over organised religion.
Power as embodied through the Magisterium and therefore universal control seeks to use fear against those who would think for themselves. If a daemon represents the purest form of individual thought, reason and optimism then literal separation from it is akin to intellectual castration. Beyond any comparisons with The Two Towers which also involved lots of walking and stunning scenery, there is something clinical, callous and deeply dark that episode five touches on.
Firstly that innocence once lost is gone forever and secondly that love however requited remains fleeting at best. In the end time makes an enemy of us all whether through advancing years, failing memories or temptations from elsewhere. Mournful moments of emotion come alive through the relationships depicted on screen, either tentative in their beginnings or defined by their shameful sense of resignation at opportunities lost.
Between the lovelorn, broken and belittled there is little room for optimism at present. As the Gyptians journey on, sacrifices are made and our heroine stands alone purists have begun to revolt. Similar to those who shake metaphorical fists at a fictional Magisterium there will be casualties as His Dark Materials continues, until the naysayers fall silent as Lyra forges ahead.
Martin Carr
