Don't get me wrong, I thoroughly enjoyed this series and the craft of the makers. The world building was fantastic. And I know this was an allegory for innocence love youth and all that, but the last 2 episodes had difficulty messing that with the previous 21 which spent their entirety building a captivating world of armor wearing talking polar bears angels, steam punk tech and religious zeal taken to it's zenith.
And there in lies the problem. I know what the story was an allegory for but, when they spelled it out in the last 2 episodes they undid so much of what came before it. Do we need to know consciously what the original intent was or could they leave it at a more subconscious level and let the world building stand on its own?
The ending was a downer, and it revealed a bunch of wtf plot points. Suddenly the scruffy witch with the eye scar reveals that she was well up on the lore of it all, knew all about the holes between worlds and a bunch of 'why are you telling us this now??" rules.
These problems all came in the final 3 episodes, while the previous 20 were great. Was it because the previous 20 didn't try about the mythology of this world because to do so would unravel it. Why do they travel in Zeppelins in Lyra's world? We don't have to know. You don't have to explain it, so don't try to.
So that's why the end of this series gets a 7 from me. The series over all is an 8 or a 9 because it was so well made and acted. I haven't read the books so I can't say that the landing was fluffed or not, as it might be there in the 'dark materials' to begin with. What ever the reason the ending wasn't as satisfying as the rest of the show has been for me, but I can forgive that.
A beautifully made series none the less.
And there in lies the problem. I know what the story was an allegory for but, when they spelled it out in the last 2 episodes they undid so much of what came before it. Do we need to know consciously what the original intent was or could they leave it at a more subconscious level and let the world building stand on its own?
The ending was a downer, and it revealed a bunch of wtf plot points. Suddenly the scruffy witch with the eye scar reveals that she was well up on the lore of it all, knew all about the holes between worlds and a bunch of 'why are you telling us this now??" rules.
- Can't live in a world not your own although we've not seen a single sign that this was a problem throughout the series. No one got even the slightest bit ill, but apparently now it;s a thing, in the final episode when Lyra and Will want to be together.
- Got to destroy the knife cos as long as it exists the witches wouldn't be able to seal up world cut leaks and they're bad, so, the knife's got to go, and Will can't be ar$ed popping round his trail sealing them all up properly just so he can keep the knife so they'll accept their one means of getting between worlds must be destroyed.....ok......
- Asriel with his creative steam punk genius makes the coolest Aircraft and even sorts it with rail guns, totally cool, but, he only makes one and everyone else is left on the ground with ww2 rifles as the next best tech, right,......? Absolutely no one on his team or anyone from his world has a craft anywhere near it.
- When did Mrs Coulter develop magic skills on ep 3.7? Suddenly she can knock out all the angels by raising her hands to the heavens and going hmmm despite not once indicating any foundation for this skill in the previous 2.5 series? Where did that come from?
- Lyra and Will go to the land of the dead and find a bunch of people hanging around not actually dead, able to talk to each other, no seeming need for food or water, they're just there, so, kind of better than being dead, and she persuades them to step through a gate into another world and dissolve into .... ash? Like, is that really a better option? I'd personally need some more convincing, a bit more information about what I was stepping into. What are my other options, maybe I'll hand around for a bit more and chat to some of these people for a while, no rush and all that, might even find another option?
These problems all came in the final 3 episodes, while the previous 20 were great. Was it because the previous 20 didn't try about the mythology of this world because to do so would unravel it. Why do they travel in Zeppelins in Lyra's world? We don't have to know. You don't have to explain it, so don't try to.
So that's why the end of this series gets a 7 from me. The series over all is an 8 or a 9 because it was so well made and acted. I haven't read the books so I can't say that the landing was fluffed or not, as it might be there in the 'dark materials' to begin with. What ever the reason the ending wasn't as satisfying as the rest of the show has been for me, but I can forgive that.
A beautifully made series none the less.